On the afternoon of July 31, Professor Pan Guang took to the Tencent conference room to give a lecture on "The International United Front Led by the Communist Party of China", which is the live broadcast scene (photo by Chai Jun)
After collation, the main lecture will be published in three parts, the first part is for overseas righteous soldiers and Chinese people to resist japan side by side, the second part is about the outstanding achievements of international spy Zorg in Shanghai and Japan, and this section shares how Rao Jiaju and He Fengshan, two Chinese and foreign people, rescued Chinese and foreign refugees. Questions will be published soon.
Third, French priests built the "Rao Jiaju Safety Zone" to rescue 300,000 Chinese refugees
China's rescue of Jewish refugees in World War II has been widely known, and the historical facts of French priest Rao Jiaju's efforts to rescue Chinese refugees in the same period have revealed more and more new details in recent years.
The establishment of the "Rao Jiaju Safety Zone" protected hundreds of thousands of refugees
Father Rao Jiaju – the founder of the "Rao Jiaju Safe Zone" and his tombstone in Berlin
Located in Shanghai, the "Rao Jiaju Safety Zone" is an important base for international friends to rescue Chinese refugees. Rao Jiaju is a French priest who gave himself the Chinese name "Rao Jiaju" and became a "one-armed priest" because he was blown into an arm after doing chemical experiments. When my father returned from Vietnam, he entered Aurora University, Rao Jiaju was a professor at Aurora University, and my father knew French and became a student of the French priest professor, so I also learned a lot about him. Rao Jiaju was tall, athletic, and approachable, and was a well-known professor at Aurora University at that time. He is extremely talented in languages, fluent in English, French, Latin, Japanese, and speaks not only beautiful Mandarin, but even Shanghainese. In the process of his negotiations with the Japanese, his good Japanese also played a key role.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Rao Jiaju made difficult representations with Japanese soldiers over refugee protection. After the "August 13" incident, hundreds of thousands of refugees poured into the French Concession and the public concession, and the Japanese pulled up barbed wire to refuse the refugees to enter. At that time, there were already 6 refugee clinics in the French Concession, and Rao Jiaju sent my father as the director of the first refugee house to manage the refugees. However, a refugee shelter can only accommodate a few hundred people, so how should those hundreds of thousands of refugees from Nanshi and Zhabei be arranged?
Father Rao Jiaju, as a mediator between China and Japan who regarded each other as enemies, proposed a specific name with his own name "Rao Jiaju District" with multiple temporary identities and Rao Jiaju's superb mediation skills.
Father Rao Jiaju, as the mediator between China and Japan who regarded each other as enemies, negotiated a number of informal "agreements" with Shanghai Mayor Yu Hongjun and Japanese Consul General in Shanghai OkaMotoji, in multiple temporary capacities, agreeing to establish an area for non-combatants in Nanshi and to maintain the demilitarization of the area in times of war. Due to the dispute between the parties over the nature and sovereignty of the region, Rao Jiaju proposed a specific name with his own name " La Zone Jacquinot " (also known as "Rao Jiaju Safety Zone" with superb mediation skills, which was recognized by all parties and came into practice at 12:00 noon on November 9, 1937. In this way, the first wartime civilian safety zone in the world's modern history, the "Raojiaju District", was born in Shanghai. In November 1937, the Kuomintang government withdrew from Shanghai and the Japanese army marched to Nanjing, which was no longer a place of contention for war, so the refugee area was maintained until its dissolution in 1938. During this period, at least nearly 300,000 Chinese refugees were saved.
Who feeds these refugees? The Japanese said they couldn't get it, and the Shanghai municipal government said they couldn't get it. So Rao Jiaju went overseas to collect donations, and in May 1938, he went to the United States, personally found President Roosevelt, and persuaded him to ship a large amount of wheat to China, alleviating the ration supply. Some people said that Rao Jiaju had brought a group of people to throw steamed buns at refugees, and Professor Su Zhiliang, the Master of the Great, interviewed the refugees of that year and confirmed that there was indeed something wrong. An elderly old lady said that when her grandmother flipped the umbrella over to pick up the steamed buns, an umbrella picked up more than a dozen steamed buns.
Rao Jiaju negotiated refugee protection with Japanese soldiers
The "Rao Jiaju Safety Zone" cultivated more than 390 Communist Party members and transported them to the New Fourth Army
In refugee areas, the Chinese Communist Party has always played an important role. According to incomplete statistics, from 1938 to 1941, the underground party of the Communist Party of China developed more than 390 party members in refugee shelters, and sent more than 1,200 young cadres to the New Fourth Army Headquarters in southern Anhui province three times; more than 2,000 people were sent to the suburbs of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu, northern Jiangsu, and the Soviet Union, including more than 50 backbone party members; after the Shanghai factories resumed work one after another, the underground party of the Communist Party selected 50 party members and cadres from the shelters and sent them to various factories to carry out the workers' movement.
According to his father's recollection, at the First International Institute, he also arranged for more than 50 young and middle-aged people to join the anti-Japanese guerrillas in Pudong, successively transported three batches of about 200 people to join the New Fourth Army, and recommended a number of progressive young people to Go to Yan'an. My father believed that Rao Jiaju was aware of the CCP's activities in the international institute, but as long as it was conducive to refugee work, he did not object.
This also reflects the role of the united front, and we must mobilize all strata and unite all the forces that can be united to participate in the struggle against fascism.
Many of the young people who came out of the refugee camp later became leading cadres, such as Cao Diqiu, who served as mayor of Shanghai, Chen Guodong, who served as secretary of the Shanghai Municipal CPC Committee, Liu Shuzhou and Yang Di, who served as vice mayors of Shanghai Municipality and deputy secretaries of the Shanghai Municipal CPC Committee, Han Nianlong, who served as vice minister of foreign affairs, Peng Baishan, who served as deputy director of the Culture Department of the East China Military and Political Commission and director of the Propaganda Department of the Shanghai Municipal CPC Committee, wu Dakun, a well-known economist who served as a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and so on.
The Geneva Conventions convention for the protection of refugees, traced back to Rao Jiaju in Shanghai
Refugee delegation at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics
Rao Jiaju saved hundreds of thousands of refugees, prompting refugee protection to be included in international conventions and becoming an important part of the Geneva Conventions. In 1948, the International and Red Cross Congresses adopted the Convention on the Protection of Civilians in War (Draft), and with special reference to the Shanghai Civilian Protected Area established by Rao Jiaju in 1937, it can be said that Rao Jiaju District has become a typical example in the Geneva Convention. The United Nations set up a special refugee relief organization, the earliest basis of which was the 1937 Rao Jiaju Shanghai Safety Zone. There are also refugee delegations at the Olympic Games, where do these people come from? Including Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries. This also goes back to Shanghai. Therefore, we should always remember Mr. Rao Jiaju.
It is puzzling that Mr. Rao Jiaju's cemetery was actually built in Germany, and it was later learned that he went to Germany after the end of World War II to help local refugees. Although Germany and France were war rivals, he rescued a large number of German refugees until his death in 1946. So, his tombstone was built on the outskirts of Berlin. After more than 70 years of searching, the staff of the Chinese Embassy finally found his tombstone and laid flowers in front of his tombstone. Rao Jiaju finally waited for his friends in his "hometown" of China to come and visit him.
The home of The Rao family foal at the time of his birth in the city of Saintes, France
Rao Jiaju was born in Sant, France, and the mayor of Zante city came to Shanghai to discuss how to honor Father Rao Jiaju, such as filming movies. On December 14, 2017, the "Monument to the Refugee Area of Shanghai Nanshi" was inaugurated in the Nanshi district where the former "Rao Jiaju Safety Zone" is located.
From Austria to Shanghai, the Chinese people went all out to help jewish refugees
The Original Patriotic Education Base in Shanghai was basically a Memorial Hall for the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and a Sihang Warehouse, which were mainly Chinese, and later Han Zheng, then secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, added a Jewish Refugee Memorial Hall and a Memorial Hall of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai. Because Shanghai is an international metropolis, there must be not only patriotism, but also internationalism. Recently, Comrade Xi Jinping repeatedly mentioned the community of human destiny in his speech, which is also reflected in the field of patriotic education.
The Shanghai Jewish Refugees Memorial Is a newly added patriotic education base
Consul General He Fengshan hid in a café to apply for visas for Jewish refugees
In that year, when Nazi Germany persecuted the Jews, Chinese people first stood up to protest, and Song Qingling led celebrities from all walks of life in China, such as Cai Yuanpei, Lu Xun, Lin Yutang, Yang Xingfo, etc., to the German Consulate General in Shanghai to lodge a solemn protest, and these people represented all the patriotic democrats in China at that time. The German Consul General did not approve of Hitler's massacre of Jews, but he did not dare to oppose it.
When Nazi Germany persecuted the Jews, Soong Ching Ling led chinese celebrities from all walks of life, such as Cai Yuanpei, Lu Xun, Lin Yutang, Yang Xingfo, etc., to the German Consulate General in Shanghai to lodge a solemn protest
Consul General Ho Fung Shan had rescued helpless Jewish refugees. Born in Yiyang, Hunan, he graduated from the University of Munich in Germany, was fluent in German, was admitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China, and was assigned to the Chinese Embassy in Austria. As a result of Hitler's annexation of Austria, the embassy was demoted to Consulate General, with Ho Fung Shan as Consul General.
Between 1937 and 1939, Shanghai was known as the "Adventurer's Paradise", which could be entered without a visa or passport, and going to Shanghai was equivalent to going to the French Concession and the Public Concession in Shanghai. Since they do not need a visa, why did He Fengshan still issue them a visa? Because these people don't have visas, it means they can't leave Austria.
At that time, thousands of Jews went to embassies and consulates in Austria around the world to ask for visas, but the Americans refused, and the British also refused. It is said that the U.S. visa can still be obtained as long as they pay money, but most of them are poor, and their property has been plundered by the Nazis, so they came to the Chinese Consulate General in Austria with the last glimmer of hope, and He Fengshan did not hesitate to issue them visas. Later, the Gestapo had already set its sights on the Chinese Consulate General, and He Fengshan went to the café behind the Chinese Consulate General to receive Jews. Originally, the visa must be present in person, an elderly Canadian once said that his family was locked up in a concentration camp at the time, he took 11 passports to ask He Fengshan to issue a visa, He Fengshan gave the visa, rescued 11 people. In the past three years, he has signed nearly 10,000 visas on hand.
The Jewish people came to the Chinese Consulate General in Austria with the last glimmer of hope, and He Fengshan did not hesitate to issue them visas
The Israeli government awarded He Fengshan the title of "Person of International Justice"
In 2000, the Israeli government awarded Ho Fengshan the title of "Person of International Justice". This is a title established by Israel to recognize non-Jews who have rescued Jews in that year, requiring three conditions to be met. First, non-Jews. Second, there is no profit. If visas are sold to Jews, this condition is not met. Third, the Jews cannot be persecuted anywhere. In accordance with these conditions, we collected information on Ho Fung Shan and submitted it to the authoritative organization, the International Holocaust Memorial Museum, for review. Many elderly Austrians said they had been given visas by the Chinese consul general. Therefore, in 2000, Israel officially announced that He Fengshan was awarded the title of "International Righteous Person". In 2006, the Yiyang municipal government moved the tombs of He Fengshan and his wife from the United States back to Yiyang, Hunan Province, and built a Memorial Hall of He Fengshan, which was also attended by the Israeli ambassador at that time. He Fengshan's act of issuing visas to Jewish refugees is very moving, and China also has a memorial to the righteous people who helped Jewish refugees.
Temporary residence for Jewish refugees after their arrival
At the time, newspapers were very cautious about planning to report on the matter, because He Fengshan was a Diplomat of the Kuomintang. But the Foreign Ministry said there was no problem, because every year when the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco held a National Day reception, he would come to participate, and he had returned to Hunan many times after the reform and opening up. Newspapers published his story, saying that "China also has a Schindler." As soon as the article was published, letters were received from all over the world, and "China's Schindler" was widely known to the world.
During the war years, Shanghai residents and Jewish refugees lived in peace and harmony
In 1938 and 1939, Jewish refugees arrived in Shanghai by steamship, because when they left Germany and Austria, each person could only carry 15 marks, so after arriving in Shanghai, many people sold their coats and watches, and lived in the refugee house in Hongkou, some of which could accommodate one or two hundred people in large rooms. If you have relatives in Shanghai, you can enter the French Concession and other places. Many technicians can find jobs in Shanghai, for example, Shanghai Jewish Hospital recruits a number of Jewish doctors and nurses. Slowly, these Jewish refugees gradually found a way out. The Zhoushan Road was known as "Little Vienna" and was a place where Chinese and Jews lived together. In San Yi Estate, Lane 818, Tangshan Road, a small alley is home to a large number of Jews. These Jews got along very well with Chinese, and children often played together. Although he lives under the rule of the Japanese, he still has a happy life.
Mr. Xu Fu, a famous Jewish refugee painter, specially produced a cartoon called "I like Chinese", showing that Jewish refugees and Chinese get along very harmoniously (listening to friend Hu Yang)
At that time, mr. Xu Fu, a famous Jewish refugee painter, specially produced a cartoon called "I like Chinese", showing that Jewish refugees and Chinese get along very harmoniously. On the day of the victory of the War of Resistance, Jewish newspapers in Shanghai also published articles to celebrate the victory of the War of Resistance. After Japan's surrender, Jewish refugees painted on the walls the flags of allies China, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Britain, which also meant the end of jewish refugee houses.
In addition to supporting China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Chinese and foreign people in Shanghai also actively supported the anti-fascist struggle in other parts of the world. Chinese and foreign personages have jointly initiated and organized many rallies and demonstrations to protest against the massacre of Jews in Nazi Germany, support the Spanish people's anti-fascist struggle, solidarity with the Ethiopian people against fascist Italian aggression, support for the Korean people's anti-Japanese independence movement, and solidarity with the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union. Shanghai Jews and some foreigners also attacked the Nazis' celebrations of "victory" in Shanghai and launched a campaign to boycott "Made in Germany" goods. These are also great encouragement and support for the Chinese people's anti-Japanese struggle.
Fifth, take history as a mirror, face the future, and create the future
In general, the study of this history has very important value and significance.
First, Shanghai, as the largest city in China, lasted 14 years of war. During these arduous and long years, the anti-Japanese struggle of the Chinese people and the people of Shanghai has always been closely integrated with the anti-fascist struggle of the people of all countries, from Korea to the Soviet Union to the Jews and other peoples, which has made Shanghai an important battlefield for the world's anti-fascist united front.
Second, the people of Chinese and Shanghai have won the support of foreign people in Shanghai and China and the people of the whole world; at the same time, the people of Chinese and Shanghai have also vigorously supported the anti-fascist struggle around the world, and have also taken practical actions to rescue refugees from all sides in Shanghai. In addition to Jewish refugees, Shanghai also rescued many Korean refugees, Indian refugees who opposed British colonial rule, Vietnamese refugees who opposed French colonial rule, and many other refugees. This mutual assistance embodies the powerful strength of the united front of the world anti-fascist war and has written a glorious page in the history of the world anti-fascist struggle.
Third, ideologically, the Chinese and foreign residents of Shanghai are very different, such as some of the foreigners, especially the upper echelons of the European and American diaspora, such as Sassoon and Hartung who started out on unequal treaties, and others, such as the White Russians who opposed the October Revolution in the Soviet Union, who were resolutely opposed to the CPSU. However, when all mankind faced the threat of fascism, the majority of Chinese and foreign residents sided with the anti-fascists and did what they could to support China's anti-Japanese struggle. This shows the great cohesion and significance of the anti-fascist united front that transcends ideology.
On the one hand, the study of this issue has profound academic value, such as the study of the history of World War II, the history of the anti-fascist war, and the history of the War of Resistance Against Japan. On the other hand, these studies have practical implications. In recent years, some people have openly denied the historical crimes committed by fascists and the victorious achievements of the world anti-fascist war, such as some leaders of Japan and neo-Nazis in Germany, which makes the significance of this topic of taking history as a mirror and facing the future more and more prominent. At the same time, this topic also plays an important role in promoting friendship between the Chinese people and the peoples of all countries, and many stories, movies, and novels are particularly touching when they write about this issue, because it carries forward a righteous spirit of friendship and mutual assistance in human history. There are also many books, stories, and movies that describe and portray this aspect of the story.
In the past, we proposed to "take history as a mirror and learn from the past and learn the new". Now we are more advocating "taking history as a mirror and facing the future," and "taking history as a mirror and creating the future." ”
In particular, it should be emphasized that in the past, we proposed to "learn from history and learn from the past." Now we are more advocating "taking history as a mirror and facing the future," and "taking history as a mirror and creating the future." "This formulation is more innovative and more high-level. (End of Presentation)
(Editor: Jin Meng, Li Nian)
Previous Review:
Pan Guang: Bombing the Japanese generals who invaded China, purchasing overseas weapons, and the international righteous soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder to resist Japan| 156 Lecture Hall 1 Party History Series
Pan Guang: Zorg gathered intelligence in Shanghai, gave Moscow nearly 600 urgent telegrams| 156 lecture hall 2
Author: Pan Guang
Editor: Qian Yichen