Hitler came to power in 1933. At that time there were approximately 500,000 Jews in Germany and approximately 180,000 Jews in Austria. They were loyal to their country, were part of the government, and fought for Germany in World War 1. Hitler had a plan to annihilate the world’s Jews. Jews were stripped of their citizenship, their property taken over and their means of a livelihood destroyed. Jews were given an X amount of time to find a country that would take them, otherwise they would be thrown into concentration camps. Aside from the Dominican Republic, Shanghai was the only place that remained open to these refugees without requiring a visa. Approximately 20,000 German, Austrian and Polish Jews were able to make the trip.

Berl Falbaum, is a former political reporter for the Detroit News. His family was among those that made the journey. In his presentation, for those 50 and over, Mr. Falbaum will describe his family’s experiences and those of other Jews. He has compiled and edited a book “Shanghai Remembered: Stories of Jews Who Escaped to Shanghai from Nazi Germany”.

This is the second in OLLI’S distinguished lecture series for 2019-20. A total of ten lectures are presented covering a variety of topics. Lectures are held on Tuesday mornings once each month. The next lecture will be held November 12, 2019. The title is Actual Innocence in Michigan: An Update from the Michigan Innocence Clinic.