Arrival in Shanghai
This part of the story starts with Charles at the end of his voyage sailing from Vancouver to Shanghai. At this point he has managed to get Claire out of Romania to Greece, where she stayed with the family of Simon Klein, an engineer colleague of Charles. In Europe it was accepted as fact that Jewish refugees would be required to deposit, in a Shanghai bank, $400 per head to enter Shanghai. Charles did not have $400.
People referenced:
- Paula, his niece, and Kurt, Paula’s husband.
- Robert Lang had been interred in Buchenwald at the same time as Charles. He accompanied Charles on his voyage to Shanghai.
Again on the high sea the radio reported a real thunderbolt for me. Greece was invaded by Italy. Athens was bombed. I was utterly downcast. It seemed to me that now everything is lost, that Claire will be deported by the Greek authorities or even interned as an enemy national. All my efforts, all my desperate planning all was in vain. Utterly dejected I lived through the last days of our journey. Almost as a bad omen I saw a curious change of the colour of the open sea. The deep blue which I loved so much changed perceptibly into green then into a muddy yellow. We were in the yellow sea, and the outpouring of millions of tons of mud by China's big rivers coloured the sea, though we could not see land. But at last low lying islands came into sight and we began to steam up the Yang-the-kiang. Twelve miles inland, we entered the Wang-poo River and followed it upriver. Soon houses, and wharves and factories came into sight until our ship cast its anchors within sight of Shanghai's impressive water front, the Bund. We had to wait for hours, until we could transfer to a barge and then we went to the customs shed. Not there, and not anywhere later, did we have to show that we had deposited $400 with a Shanghai Bank. We were in the International Settlement of Shanghai, where every national of every nation was free to come and go as he pleases. Only later did I find out that the demand for $400 for new Jewish immigrants was somehow engineered by the Jewish community of Shanghai, who feared that a too great influx of Jewish brethren would break their hearts. Many a times I accused them later of having caused the death of thousands of Jews who would have grabbed the only hope they had, a ship ticket to Shanghai, had not the Jews of Shanghai managed to impose the $400 deposit by illegal means, which were not supported by the authorities (SS 210-59) .
In late October 1940 Charles arrived in Shanghai, with very little money. Charles had to secure accommodation and work to earn money to survive. Above all else he had to send money and advice to Claire in an effort to get her to Shanghai.
And then at last, we could leave the customs shed, and there was Paula and Kurt waiting for us. It was a wonderful sight for me, members of my family. Robert was lead to a hotel, and I went to Paula and Kurt who had only one room for themselves. I managed somehow to sleep on two easy chairs. In the morning I sent off a cable to Claire asking for an immediate answer, which came the next day telling me with great relief that she is alive and not interned, and ready to come to me. There was not a day to lose, I went to the American Express and immediately deposited the whole money for her travel ticket from Greece to Istanbul, then to Odessa, Moscow, and across Siberia to Manchuria and from Port Arthur then across the Yellow Sea to Shanghai. Alas, it turned out more than I had expected. But it could not be helped. I gave whatever I had from Charles Lindsay and a part of the $400 deposited for our business, I begged Robert to understand that I had to do this. After all, we needed more than $400 for our business start, and I shall make up for the difference with renewed efforts and industry. But Robert apparently was not more interested in a business. After a few days in Shanghai a new world had opened up for him. First of all, Shanghai was simply overflowing with food. It is situated in the Yang-Tse delta, one of the most fruitful areas in the world with 3 harvests a year. Consequently, food and living was extremely cheap, and Lang suddenly realized that he is again a rich man and could live for years on the money which my idea and my effort had transferred to Shanghai against all the obstacles of the Bank of England. When he asked me what I am going to do with the rest of the money, about $250, I said why of course we shall start our business with it, and I outlined my plan of a film service. At that, Lang said that he had no written document that I owe him actually $400 and would I give it (SS 210-59) to him. Certainly, I said. At that he pulled out a well-prepared document with a text which looked innocent enough. Certainly, in accordance with our agreement in London, I had to pay him back in installments whatever money he lent to me for a business venture, I signed therefore. Immediately he told me that he cancels all our agreements and preparation for a common business venture, and that I had to go alone, and start paying back the installments. This was a terrible setback to me, because I could do almost nothing with this money. But I understood and immediately set to work (SS 210-60) .
The Bund, Shanghai