In early 1939, Sun Ke, president of the Legislative Yuan, formulated a plan to settle European Jewish refugees in southwest China. At the same time, the German Jewish businessman Jakob Berglas and the politically active American Jewish dentist Maurice William presented plans to both the Nationalist and U.S. governments to transplant European Jews to China. The Nationalists have been harshly criticized for not confronting the invading Japanese with enough determination. However, their Jewish policy demonstrates that the Chinese Nationalists were determined not only to fight the war but also to use every possible tool, domestic and international, to win. It also illuminates how the “Jewish issue” complicated the relationships between China, Japan, Germany, and the United States before and during World War II.
Albert Einstein Archives ( 1939) Maurice William to Albert Einstein, Oct. 31, 1939. Call no. 54-623.00. Jewish & National University Library, Jerusalem .
2.
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7.
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8.
--- (1939a) 893.55 J/10, letter from M. Speelman to the American Consul General in Shanghai (Gauss), Mar. 1, 1939, attached to "Jewish refugees in Shanghai," letter from the American Consulate General in Shanghai to the State Department, Mar. 8.
9.
--- (1939b) 893.55/35, "Berglas plan for Yunnan colony of 100,000 Europeans," American Consulate in Kobe, Japan to the Secretary of State, Aug. 11. RG59. --- (1939c) 893.55 J/21, "Memorandum of conversation," Aug. 31.
10.
"‘Don’t be fooled by Chiang [Kai-shek]’: the promoter of the ‘Jewish settlement’ in Yunnan on his way to collect funds in the United States" ["Shō ni gomakasarenu" Unnan-shō "Yudayajinkyō" no motojime shikin atsume ni tobei] (1939) Daityo shimbun, Aug. 10.
11.
"Draft Memorandum Submitted to the Secretariat of the Highest National Defense Council: Opinions of the Executive Yuan [Concerning the Jewish Settlement Plan]" (1939) Xingzhengyuan zhi guofang zuigao weiyuanhui mishuting gaojing niju jielüe yijian qing zhuanchen heduo han. April 20. Pp. 171-75 in Shao, 2002.
12.
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13.
--- ( 1939a) "Minutes of the 408th meeting of the Executive Yuan" (Xingzhengyuan di 408 ci huiyi jueyi), April 4.
14.
--- ( 1939b) "Text of a telegraphic message from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chungking, May 6, 1939," attached to Hu Shih to Maurice William, May 18.
15.
--- (1939c) Maurice William’s marginal comments on two newspaper articles from the New York Herald Tribune: "Colony in China is planned for 100,000 exiles: government is interested in German’s proposal for Yunnan refugee haven," June 20; "Chinese official rules out big colony for refugees: says ‘few thousand’ might find home, but not 100,000," June 22.
16.
--- (1939d) Foreign Ministry to the Secretariat of the Executive Yuan concerning Governor Long Yun’s proposal to use Jewish refugees to cultivate Yunnan (Hefu Yunnan Long zhuxi dianqing liyong Youtairen kaiken shi), July 4.
17.
--- ( 1939e) "General principles governing the working of the plan for the immigration of Jews into China," attached to Wei Taoming to JakobBerglas, July 26.
18.
"Feng-Shan Ho, China" (2010) Webpage of Yad Vashem. www.1.yadvashem.org/righteous_new/china/china_feng.html .
19.
FMD: Foreign Ministry Documents (Waijiaobu anjuan), 611.21/172-1/3046, Academia Historica, Taipei.
20.
--- ( 1939a) "The Executive Yuan to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Concerning the Establishment of a Jewish Settlement in Southwest China and the Drafting of Overseas Propaganda" (Yu xi’nan bianqu huading Youtairen jiju quyu banfa bing niding duiwai xuanchuan cuoci an), Mar. 14.
21.
--- ( 1939b) "Opinions of the Secretariat of the Executive Yuan [on the Jewish Settlement Plan]" (Xingzhenyuan mishuting qianzhu yijian), no. 871, Mar. 22.
22.
--- ( 1939c) Hu Shih to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attention Hollington Tong, April 29.
23.
--- ( 1939d) "Jakob Berglas to H. H. Kung," June 6. Attachment, "Plan for the Immigration of Central European Immigrants into China."
24.
--- ( 1939e) "Governor Long Yun’s Proposal to Use Jewish Refugees to Cultivate Yunnan, forwarded by the Secretariat of the Highest National Defense Council to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs" (Guofang zuigao weiyuanhui mishuting hanzhuan Yunnan Long zhuxi dianqing liyong Youtairen kaiken yian) , June 27.
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--- ( 1939f) Telegram from the Foreign Ministry to the Chinese Embassy in France concerning the arrival of Jews in China (Youtairen lai Hua shi) , no. 043204, Aug. 21.
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27.
--- (1940) 914.3/0238, "Files of the Consulate General in Vienna." May 22, "Report from the Acting Consul General Yao Dingchen to the Foreign Ministry Concerning the Activities of the Consulate General."
28.
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41.
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