Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Hans Arons papers
- Dates:
- 1939-1949
- Creators:
- Arons, Hans J., 1914-1997
- Abstract:
- The Hans Arons collection is comprised of photographs depiciting his life and activities in the Jewish ghetto in Shanghai, China from 1939-1945, as well his refugee and identification documents from Shanghai.
- Containers:
- Folder: Archives Box 18
- Extent:
- 0.1 Linear feet
- Language:
- Preferred citation:
-
Hans Arons papers, 1988-2035, Tauber Holocaust Library, JFCS Holocaust Center, San Francisco, California
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection documents the experiences of a German Jewish man, Hans Arons, who fled Berlin for the safety of Shanghai, China in 1939. Shanghai was one of the few places in the world at that time that did not require visas, and thousands of German and Austrian Jews spent the war years in the ghetto of Hong Kew in Shanghai.
The collection comprises photographs and documents. Photographs depict individuals and gatherings in Shanghai, China and provide insight into social and cultural conditions there. The documents include refugee and identification cards.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Hans Arons was born in 1914 in Hanover (Hannover), Germany. He was an only child. In 1918, his mother died, and he went to live with his paternal grandparents in northern Germany. Mr. Arons was schooled in horticulture, in Hanover, and graduated in 1934 as a gardener.
Because of prohibitions against Jews in Germany, it became increasingly difficult for Mr. Arons to find work. He was employed on a farm near Berlin, where the landowner, a Catholic, was sympathetic to Jews. In December 1936, all Jews were ordered off the farm. Mr. Arons was transported to Buchenwald and later to Sachsenhausen. In December 1938, he was released from Sachsenhausen and returned to Berlin. His stepmother had successfully negotiated with the Gestapo office in Berlin for his release and had obtained boat tickets for Mr. Arons to go to Shanghai, China, where he arrived in January 1939. For the next eight years, he lived in the Ward Road Camp for stateless refugees.
In November 1947, Mr. Arons immigrated to San Francisco. He moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico for work, where, in 1948, he joined the US Army. After basic training, he was stationed in Korea, Hawaii, and the Presidio in San Francisco. In San Francisco, he met and married his wife, also a former Berliner. He was discharged from the military in the early 1950’s, and settled in San Francisco. Mr. Arons died in 1997.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Holocaust survivors -- United States
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives
Jewish ghettos -- China -- Shanghai -- Photographs
Jewish refugees -- China -- Shanghai
Jews -- China -- Shanghai -- Photographs
World War, 1939-1945 -- China -- Shanghai
Immigration records -- China -- Shanghai
Photographs -- China -- Shanghai - Names:
- Buchenwald (Concentration camp).
Sachsenhausen (Concentration Camp).
Arons, Hans J., 1914-1997 - Places:
- Shanghai (China) -- Social conditions -- 20th century -- Photographs
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2012-06-26T12:16-0700
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
There are no restrictions to access for this collection.
- Terms of access:
-
There are no restrictions to use for this collection.
- Preferred citation:
-
Hans Arons papers, 1988-2035, Tauber Holocaust Library, JFCS Holocaust Center, San Francisco, California
- Location of this collection:
-
JFCS Holocaust Center2245 Post StreetSan Francisco, CA 94115, US
- Contact:
- (415) 449-3717