England: the International Settlement of Shanghai
Despite many concerns, the International Settlement of Shanghai, becomes a possibility. In fact, it becomes the only possibility.
In my frantic search of a country overseas where I could go and Claire could go too there was one possibility, which however I rejected time and again. Every state was a national state and protected their own nationals and no foreigners. Moreover, almost every state (with few exceptions) had barred Jewish refugees from the Hitler terror. But there was one state left in the world, which was not a national state. I had written about it in my first book on Semantography pages 84 – 90.This state was in my opinion the hope of the world that a world government is possible, that a state could be created where there is no discrimination against any colour, race or nation, where all nations could work together for the common benefit. But all this I did not know when I was in England, and consequently I rejected this state and the possibility to go there for a variety of reasons and warnings I had received. (SS 210-54) .
I am speaking of the International Settlement of Shanghai. This amazing creation of Great Britain together with other Western nations was created and governed by a council of consuls, which were soon joined by consuls of non-European states, notably the Japanese, but they had their special design of conquering it. No entry visa was necessary to go there, because it was a free city and a free port. All you need is only a ship ticket. And consequently thousands of Jewish refugees in Austria and Germany who could not wait for an entry permit anywhere, grabbed this their only hope. They bought a ship ticket to Shanghai and could get out of Nazi Germany. But alas, when I tried to go there, there was one barrier erected which was harder to scale than an entry permit. The shipping agencies were advised that they could only issue a ticket for Shanghai if the traveler could produce proof that he had deposited with a Shanghai Bank the sum of $400. I had not even a fraction of it. Little did I know that this money barrier was not imposed by the Shanghai authorities, but by the rich Jewish community of Shanghai, who saw themselves flooded with thousands of refugees and who simply wanted to stop this influx, which may be an impossible burden to their not so generous heart. (SS 210-54) .
But there were other considerations which always made me turn down the idea of going to Shanghai. There were terrible tales of infectious diseases, of smallpox, cholera, the plague, etc., etc. which made life a living hell in the Far East. There were the Japanese who controlled the great port of the city, the harbour and the arrival and departure of Ships. How could I give myself and Claire into the hands of an ally of Germany? And then there were other tales of hardship, notably the terrible heat, the terrible living conditions of which I heard people tell again and again. No, to go to Shanghai would expose Claire and myself to great dangers. But then came an even greater danger, the invasion of England by Hitler and of Greece by Mussolini. Perhaps, Shanghai would be the lesser evil! (SS 210-54) .
This was my personal situation when I had the talk with Dr. Lang in London during the terrible days of Hitler’s invasion of Holland, Belgium and France. Lane was utterly downcoast. “This is the end of my life,” he said to me. “I have been unable to find any employment in England, and soon the last £1000 I have would be gone. And should Hitler come to England, I would have to do what hundreds of Jewish people did when he came to Vienna. They took poison. This I shall do too. My life is at an end!” “No”, I cried; “It isn't. Here is a way out!” And I began to explain to him how he can save all his money, how we can get out of England, and how we could then start a new life together as business partners which he always wanted to do. We could go to Shanghai, I said. The Bank of England would see no difficulty to transfer his 1000 pound sterling in the very same currency to another English Bank, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. All we need is the ship ticket, which is quite cheap. And then there is that deposit of $400, which is £280 with a Shanghai Bank. Lang could transfer all his money to his own account in Shanghai. And all I ask from him is that he should divert £280 and deposit it in my name, so that I could produce this to the shipping agency and get my ticket for Shanghai. These £280 would remain Lang's property, and would be available when we arrive in Shanghai, and should be the first capital with which we .would start a business, of which I had already a quite fair idea that it would succeed. (SS 210-55) .
All our fears about living conditions in Shanghai were alleviated by me when I remembered letters I have read in Vienna. These letters were sent by Paula, the daughter of my aunt Hermine (see foregoing pages 43, 44) who had- followed her fiancé Mr. Kurt Beck to Shanghai and had married him there. I read these letters when I returned to Vienna from Buchenwald, and they made a great impression on me because Paula was madly in love with Kurt, and all her letters were full of happiness. When I remembered those letters in London I told myself that Shanghai could not be such a bad place, if a girl could be so happy there, even discounting her being in love. And perhaps the fact that Kurt and his family are already there and in business could be of great help to me and my friend Robert Lang. I wrote immediately to Paula, told her of my plans to open up a film business and asked her for her advice, She could not say much, but she encouraged me to come. This was all I needed. (SS 210-55) .
But it seemed impossible to get out of England. Hundreds of thousands of British people tried to reach the safety of Canada or Australia or other places overseas. The queue at the exit permit office was a mile long, and shipping space was utterly limited. Besides, the British authorities did not allow aliens to leave the country. Suddenly all refugees were potential spies for Germany. Who knows, the Home Office said whether or not there are German spies among the 70,000 Jewish refugees in Great Britain. Who knows whether all of them are Jewish? I got mad and frantic in my pleas to officials. I cried that I am going to open my pants and show them that my penis is circumcised, proof that I am a Jew (and an inmate of Dachau and Buchenwald too which I could prove too). But I had little time to run to officials. I had to keep my job at the torch battery factory to the very last moment. Perhaps I would be unable to leave England, and meanwhile I needed that £7 a week for my own upkeep and for Claire's too. I had only the 2 lunch hours for myself in which I could do something. And unfortunately, Robert Lang was of no help whatever. His idleness for nearly one and a half years in England had not been helpful to learn to speak English. He simply couldn’t do it. So, everything depended on me and the two lunch hours. We would dash together to the exit permit office, to the Bank of England, and to shipping agencies. Everywhere, insurmountable obstacles were encountered. I could write a whole book of the ingenious ways I devised to overcome them all. I shall only relate one instance. (SS 210-55) .
I would start a vigil the night before at the door of the exit permit office in London, in order to be the first in the morning. But the official would not let me and Robert leave England. The obvious and the cheapest way to go to Shanghai was via Suez. But the official was adamant. All these ships call at an European port. And you might get out there and report on conditions in England and worse. Besides, how do I know that you are really going to China? (SS 210-55) .
I then devised a mad plan. I would go to the London Consul of the Nationalist Government in Chungking. But he would turn down my plea for a visa. “If you want to go to Shanghai, I cannot; help you. The Japanese control the whole coast and all the provinces. My government had to flee to Chungking. We have no power and no representation in Shanghai.” “Never mind,” I said “give me your big rubber stamp with all the Chinese characters into our passports and charge us your highest fee.” Hell, he needed money, and few people travelled nowadays to Chungking. And if those crazy Jewish refugees want a useless visa for Chungking and want even to pay for I, well, here goes, and wham, we had a big and beautiful rubber stamp in our passports with lots of beautiful Chinese characters. “This should satisfy the exit permit official” I said to Robert, “But now the second proof that we are going with a ship which does not call on any European port.” (SS 210-55-56) .
After mad searches we found at last a small travel agent who would demand a fee which was open bribery. But nevertheless, he would secure us two ship tickets to Shanghai via Canada and Japan, but first class only. This was a terrible shock, because we intended to travel quarterdeck, or in the coal bunks if possible, especially I, because in accordance with my agreement with Robert, I had to pay all expenses for myself out of my own pocket. “Alright then,” I said to the travel agent, “first class it is and here is the deposit, but we want from you a document that the tickets are reserved in our name.” We got this, and then I had no difficulty getting something in my passport which other Jewish refugees looked on agape in wonder and envy: an exit visa out of invasion threatened England. (SS 210-56) .
Help from the Society of Friends.
Came the terrible question what to do to earn more money, what to do with the 14 year old boy, my cousin Willy, and what to do when I should be able to reach Shanghai. I had not a cent with me to get then Claire over to me. Sure, there was a way open for her to go via Russia and Manchuria, but where should the money come from? All these were terrible questions and I had no answer. Meanwhile I worked frantically in the evenings on my treatise about the manufacture of tungsten rods and wire, which treatise I had sold beforehand to a British firm, who promised me £85 for it. As to my cousin Willy, he came over to England and was quasi adopted by foster parents, rich people Mr. and Mrs. Spielman, who promised to look after him. He a young boy was not in great danger, even should the invasion come, we all said. But those who were already in a German concentration camp would be marked for death, this was sure. But as to the way and the means of how to get Claire to me, I was utterly at a loss. But then, I found the man who helped me. When I came to England, I was welcomed in the circle of the Quakers, the Society of Friends. There I showed my movies and played my mandolin and recounted the experiences in Dachau and Buchenwald. And I very much impressed a man Mr. Charles Lindsay. I went to him, and told him of my desire to get Claire over to me. All I needed was the money for her travel via Russia. At that he opened up his cheque book and wrote out a cheque for £115, the amount needed, and gave it to me without asking for a receipt or anything. I was speechless, but somehow I found my belief come true, that if you are eager to help someone else, someone will come along and help you to do it. I cashed the cheque and was able to make up the difference for the Ship ticket first class. I felt sure that my people in Shanghai would help me with the difference when it comes to send it to Claire. I am glad to report that I repaid all the money to Charles after the war, and with interest. During the postwar years with little food in Great Britain I sent him and his family, father sister, etc. over 100 food gift parcels from Australia, the moment I arrived there and later on during the following months. Alas, I am sad to report that Charles died 10 years later. The reader will find a dedication to him on the first page of a brochure, which appeared as a serial in a Shanghai magazine, and which is incorporated in this issue. (SS 210-56) .