The refugees stay in Japan lasted much longer than their brief transit visas had initially allowed for, with the imperial government allowing them to remain for several months. Though some refugees made it to the United States or other countries, most had nowhere to go. With the Japanese government commencing the operational planning for Pearl Harbor, they wished to rid the country of all foreign elements, and the refugee community was unceremoniously deported to Shanghai, China, under Japanese occupation, where they’d remain throughout the war.
Many refugees were assisted by Professor Setsuzo Kotsuji, who later converted to Judaism. Others were assisted by the Polish ambassador to Japan Tadeusz Romer. The Jewish rescue activist Zorach Warhaftig continued to be active on behalf of the refugee community as well. The Dutch national Nathan Gutwirth was able to rescue a ship of 74 refugees who were missing documentation, by requesting assistance from the Dutch consul in Kobe, Japan, Nicolaas de Voogd. De Voogd provided the desperate refugees with Curacao visas, enabling them to arrive in Japan.
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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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