Baghdad on the Yangtse

Click on the image above to enlarge it.

Young Judea group 1929, students of the Jewish Studies Circle in the garden of Ellis Hayim adjacent to D.E. J. Abraham brother of Flora Sassoon.

The students were from both the Baghdadi and Ashkenazi communities. Shanghai, China.

Copyright Beth Hatefutsoth Photo Archive, Courtesy of Joseph Toeg, Tel-Aviv.

Aba (Abdalla) Joseph Toeg of Tel-Aviv writes: I was less than 6 years old and appear crouching in front.

On grass: Levy, Abraham, Beracha children etc..

Left to right: In the picture, my aunt Katie Toeg married Lazar Levy, appears as a child on the lap of Ellis Hayim's woman secretary 4th on the bench; Jason Isaac married Mozelle Toeg, my aunt; Ezekiel Toeg married Winnie Moses; the Shamash of Ohel Rahel Synagogue, Mr Beracha standing at the back; Ezra Toeg, my uncle, 3rd standing at the back; Maisie Hayim married Ruby Abraham, DEJ's son, 5th standing at the back; Jason Isaac married Mozelle Toeg, my aunt, 1st sitting on a chair. China has been in the news lately with the visit of President Bill Clinton. Shanghai is again a bustling metropolis recalling the days when she was the Paris of the East. The Chinese government frantically restored the Ohel Rachel Synagogue in Shanghai which was visited by Hilary Clinton.

During World War II, Shanghai was the only place in the whole world that accepted Jews fleeing from Nazi terror without requiring a passport or a visa. Some 25,000 refugees were able to make the long journey to Shanghai.