During WWII Shanghai was an open city under mixed Chinese and colonial governance and was one of the last cities to accept Jewish refugees during the war. Jehuda Menczel, 70, a chemistry professor, was among more than 30,000 Jewish refugees who fled Europe to seek asylum in Shanghai during WWII. He lived in the Tilanqiao area of Shanghai from 1939 to 1949 and is among 120 Holocaust survivors who have petitioned to the United Nations that they recognize Shanghai’s Tilanqiao neighborhood as an international heritage site, a designation that would preserve the area of Hongkou district where thousands once found salvation.

Menczel summed up his feelings, and those of his fellow survirvors when he stated, “I used to play in Shanghai, go to school here. I love this area, and I love the people here.”

Until Tilanqiao is formally granted UNESCO status, Shanghai has made the area into a monument and tourist attraction, preserving a 28-hectare area as a historical site that combines Jewish and Chinese culture.

According to Pan Guang, an expert in Jewish culture at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Tilanqiao is well qualified for the title of “World War Heritage Site” and “If successful, it would become China’s first war heritage site.” Pan also reports that a senior official from UNESCO visited Tilanqiao two months ago and strongly supported the idea.