I had hoped to have written by now about our visit to the "new synogogue" in Harbin but still am processing much of it. Harbin was created as a railroad town in the mid 19th century and Jews first arrived at that time. The major migrations happened at the end of that century with the first Jewish cemetery opening in 1903. I had assumed that it was just Siberian Jews that escaped the pograms to Harbin but the bulk of those first waves appear to have been from the pale of the Ukraine. But it wasn't just those escaping persecution. Jewish soldiers settled their after the Dino-Japanese wars and merchants set up shop seeing the area as ripe for development. schools, music academies, soup kitchens, theaters all developed in a community that was unique in its acceptance. The museum show pictures of the vitality of life of that at period and of the important place Harbin became for the arts of that period. So if our families had turned right when they left Europe - what would that have changed? As it was, the bulk of those people left. There were 20,000 Jews in Harbin by 1920 which dropped to 13000 by 1930 and with the advent of the Japanese invasion of China Jews throughout the country were being rounded up.
We've just boarded our Detroit to Syracuse leg and hope to home and asleep by 1:00 am. I'll start processing the pictures this coming weekends. Thanks for sharing the trip with us. Talk to all soon!
lotus blossoms in market
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