Zoya Shlakis was born in Mukden, China in 1927, to Stayses and Alexandra Shlakis. Her father was of Lithuanian descent and her mother a White Russian. The Shlakis family fled Russia for China, eventually settling in Shanghai in 1936. In 1948, as Communist forces advanced across China, the Shlakis family relocated to Taipei, Taiwan. In Taipei, Zoya acquired a visa under the 1948 Displaced Persons Act, which allowed her legal entry into the U.S. The collection consists of records documenting Zoya's life in Shanghai (ca. 1930s-1940s), correspondence with friends and family, numerous Old China Hands activities, and photographs documenting the Shlakis family from the early days in Mukden in the 1920s until 2008.

Zoya Shlakis was born in Mukden, China in 1927 to Stayses and Alexandra Shlakis. Her father was Lithuanian and her mother a White Russian. Due to the revolution and social unrest in Russia, the Shlakis family fled Russia for China. After Stayses managed to secure a position as a mechanic with the Chinese Postal Service, the Shlakis family moved from Mukden to Nanjing and eventually to Shanghai in 1936. Their lifestyle in Shanghai was by some standards unusual since, due to Stayses's job, they were given a residence inside the General Post Office of Shanghai with fully furnished quarters, servants, and access to the rooftop garden. During her time in Shanghai, Zoya was enrolled at Public and Thomas Hanbury School for Girls, participated in theater at the local British Lyceum, and joined the Army & Navy YMCA.

54.94 linear feet

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