Feature: Holocaust exhibit illustrates national spirit of Chinese

CHICAGO, June 26 (Xinhua) -- An exhibition in Chicago detailing how Jews during the Holocaust sought refuge in Shanghai sheds light on the world's shared humanity and fosters empathy for survivors of genocide.

"The story of the Safe Haven in Shanghai has vividly demonstrated the national spirit of integrity, kindness, fraternity and inclusiveness of the Chinese people," said Chinese Consul General in Chicago Zhao Jian in a speech at the reception for the exhibition: Shanghai: Safe Haven During the Holocaust.

Zhao said the exhibition also "demonstrated the profound friendship between the Chinese people and the Jewish people," rooted in shared hardship and suffering during the Second World War.

"The Chinese people created an oasis of life for tens of thousands of Jews, and many Jewish people also fought side by side with the Chinese people against the Japanese fascist aggression, writing a touching chapter of the history featuring mutual support of our two peoples," Zhao stressed.

To flee persecution, hundreds of Jewish refugees arrived in Shanghai, China, in 1938, and thousands more followed in the coming years. By 1941, around 20,000 Jews found refuge there.

When many parts of the world closed their doors to Jewish refugees, "the kind-hearted Chinese people and the inclusive city of Shanghai opened their arms to tens of thousands of Jewish refugees, and provided them with this 'Noah's Ark,'" said Zhao.

The exhibition, combining photographs and artifacts, sheds light on a lesser-known moment in Holocaust history. European Jews who had been shut out of country after country while trying to escape Nazi persecution in the 1930s and 1940s found a beacon of hope in an unlikely place: Shanghai.

The photos on exhibit have depicted the everyday life of the Jewish refugees in Shanghai's 1-square-mile Hongkou District, including families struggling to survive in overcrowded communal housing, washing laundry in cluttered courtyards framed by grimy buildings and searching lists of concentration camp survivors.

"These photos provide a window into the lives of refugees who found temporary sanctuary during the turbulent years of World War II," said Chief Curator Arielle Weininger.

Shanghai: Safe Haven During the Holocaust runs until Sept. 5.