German-Jewish Women in Wartime Shanghai and Their Encounters with the Chinese

Abstract

This chapter shows gendered and transnational experiences of German-Jewish refugee women in Shanghai. First, they played an active role in adapting to a new life in Shanghai. Due to primitive living conditions, they spent much of their time meeting basic needs. Since there were more low-wage jobs than professional jobs, it was easier for them to find employment than the Jewish men. This work resulted in strengthening their role in the family and weakening the men’s patriarchal authority. Second, these formerly middle-class refugee women often showed sinophobia toward their low-class Chinese neighbors. Their mostly negative portrayal of the Chinese echoed the Western discourse on the “Yellow Peril.” Nonetheless, there were some exceptions where limited transnational understanding took place.