The Soviets charged the refugees exorbitant fees for the exit visas and travel expenses. The Joint and the Vaad Hatzalah provided funds for these costs, with Rav Avraham Kalmanowitz investing herculean efforts to ensure the Mir contingent were able to fund their escape. Many refugees sold their personal belongings. They then embarked on a 10-12 day train journey on the Trans-Siberian Railroad across the vast expanses of the Soviet Union, arriving in the port city of Vladivostok. From there the Sea of Japan was crossed and the refugees settled temporarily in Kobe and Yokohama.
The refugees received a generally warm reception from the local Japanese as well as the small local Jewish community. When it became evident that Curacao wasn’t going to be practical as a final destination, Japanese and Jewish activists interceded with the Japanese Imperial government to extend the refugee’s visas. As a result, the refugee community was able to remain in Japan for several months.
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The Great Shanghai Escape Part III
Bonus Episode: With Dovi Safier & Seforim Chatter host Nachi Weinstein
The Great Shanghai Escape Part II
The Great Shanghai Escape Part I
Rebbe Under Communism: The Ribnitzer Rebbe
The Jews of Sighet Part II
The Jews of Sighet Part I
The Life & Times of the Baal Shem of Michelstadt
The Mirrers Who Didn’t Make It
Medicine & the Holocaust
From the Ashes to the Hilltops: Rav Yehuda Amital
Chasam Sofer Part V: Halacha & Leadership in a Changing World
Antisemitism Part III: The Road to Racial Antisemitism
Antisemitism Part II: Nationalism & Modern Antisemitism
Antisemitism Part I: Old & New; Religious & Racial
Chassidic Influencers: Mashpi’im & Recurring Themes of Chassidic History
Live From Prague with Dovi Safier & Nachi Weinstein of Seforim Chatter Podcast
Get Out! Get & Divorce in Jewish History
Jewish Population Growth Through the Ages
80th Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
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