Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum

Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum

The Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum is a national AAA-level tourist attraction and a protected cultural heritage site of Shanghai.

The Jewish Refugees in Shanghai Memorial (originally the Ohel Moshe Synagogue) is located at No. 62 Changyang Road, Hongkou District, Shanghai. It consists of the original Ohel Moshe Synagogue site and two exhibition halls, and is an important part of the “Tilanqiao Historic and Cultural Area.” This museum is a thematic memorial dedicated to commemorating the history of Jewish refugees who lived in Shanghai during World War II. Originally built in 1907, it was relocated to No. 62 Huade Road (now Changyang Road) in 1927. During World War II, the Ohel Moshe Synagogue became the religious center for Jewish refugees, and the Jewish Youth Organization also once had its headquarters there. The Ohel Moshe Synagogue holds the most extensive and complete collection of written and physical materials related to the “Shanghai Jewish Refugee Ghetto.”

The Jewish Refugees in Shanghai Memorial is a three-story building with a red brick, sloping, pointed roof. Its white window frames feature blue arched patterns that crown the tops of the windows and then extend outward, forming decorative blue stripes on the red walls. The memorial welcomes visitors through its open wrought-iron gate adorned with intricate patterns. On the front and to the left are coffee-colored wooden doors with stone archways, reminiscent of Baroque style. The left door leads upstairs, while the one in front opens into the prayer hall. The entire synagogue is quiet, with only long rows of benches neatly arranged within. On the left and right walls of the prayer hall hang several old photographs, including images of former synagogues in old Shanghai and various buildings in Shanghai constructed by the Jewish businessman Victor Sassoon.

This site served as an Orthodox synagogue for Russian and Central European Jews. Built in 1927 with funds raised by Russian Jews, it was initially called the Huade Road Synagogue and later renamed the Ohel Moshe Synagogue. It stands as an important testament to the history of Jews in Shanghai. When Hitler was crazily persecuting and attempting to annihilate Jews, many European Jewish refugees who fled to Shanghai settled in Hongkou, and the Ohel Moshe Synagogue became a key place for Jewish religious activities at the time. Shanghai’s largest Jewish community organization — the Shanghai Jewish Religious Community — had its long-term headquarters in the synagogue (it moved to the Ladu Road Synagogue in 1941).

In 1902, when there were already 25 Russian Jewish families in Shanghai, they quickly organized their own congregation and built the Ohel Moshe Synagogue within five years. As the number of Russian Jews in Shanghai grew, they jointly raised funds in 1927 to relocate the Ohel Moshe Synagogue to a new site at No. 62 Huade Road (now Changyang Road) in Hongkou. It retained the name Ohel Moshe Synagogue, but was commonly referred to as the “Huade Road Synagogue.” At the time, the Shanghai Jewish Religious Community, primarily composed of Russian Jews, was the largest Jewish organization in Shanghai and had its long-term headquarters in the synagogue (it moved to the Ladu Road Synagogue in 1941). The headquarters of the Zionist Youth Organization was also once located here. Jewish refugees once prayed here, sorrowful over their tragic experiences. It was formerly the Hongkou District Psychiatric Prevention Institute and later came under the Hongkou Civil Air Defense Department. The first floor retains the original church layout. The second floor was originally a Jewish school and, under the premise of cultural relic protection, is now used as space for the Hongkou District Civil Air Defense Engineering Management Office. The third floor houses a photo exhibition hall displaying images reflecting the lives of Central European Jewish refugees in Hongkou at the time. Room 0 was once the residence of the Russian Jewish Levinsky family.

In 2007, the Hongkou District People’s Government of Shanghai, adhering to the principle of “restoring the old as it was,” invested $1 million to renovate the original Ohel Moshe Synagogue. The building has been restored to its original veranda-style architectural design. The interior exhibition halls display over 140 photos and, for the first time in Shanghai, utilize a multi-screen multimedia playback system to show short films, along with various sculptures, statues, and oil paintings.

The renovated Ohel Moshe Synagogue site now serves solely as the “Jewish Refugees in Shanghai Memorial” for tourist visits and is no longer used for religious activities. The newly built exhibition halls of the memorial are located in the garden of the synagogue. The exhibition halls employ a variety of display methods, including films, photos, replicas of artifacts, models, and artworks, as well as high-tech presentation tools such as a multi-screen multimedia playback system. Designers have integrated historical space and time through comprehensive artistic design, vividly recreating the history of Jewish refugees in Shanghai.

Address: No. 62 Changyang Road, Hongkou District, Shanghai

Transportation: Bus routes 13, 134, 875, 22, 33, 868

Type: Memorial

Recommended visiting time: About 2 hours

Phone: 021-65126669

Opening hours:

9:00–17:00 (last entry at 16:30)

Ticket information:

Adult ticket: 20 RMB; student ticket: 10 RMB (with valid ID); children under 1.3 meters, retired cadres, and people with disabilities can enter free of charge with relevant documentation.

Information source: Hongkou District People’s Government