ABSTRACT
From the middle of the 19th century, Shanghai served as a center of Jewish immigration to China. The mark of the formation of the Jewish community in Shanghai was the rise of Sephardic Jewish (Baghdadi origin) merchants in Shanghai. The second phase of the history of Shanghai Jewry started around 1900 when a new, mainly Russian, wave of Jewish immigration expanded the community. In history, no indigenous anti-Semitic activity has ever taken place in Shanghai, even in whole China. In the late 19th century and the beginning of this century, when pogroms ran through Russia and East Europe, the Jewish community grew steadily in Shanghai and all Jewish residents in Shanghai lived peacefully with a sense of security. After 1843 Shanghai opened its door to foreigners, and became the so-called "Adventurers' Paradise." In nearly one century between 1843 and 1941, all kinds of immigrants and refugees could easily find their living space in Shanghai, especially in the Westernheld sector.
