Freya (Qingyang Zhou) Presents Her Research on Jewish Refugees in Shanghai During World War II at the CURF Research Expo

Freya Zhou is a junior in the College majoring in German and cinema studies. This January, she received funding from the College Alumni Society and the Jewish Studies Program to conduct independent research on Central European Jewish refugees in Shanghai during World War II under the mentorship of Dr. Kathryn Hellerstein. The primary objective of her project is to investigate the Chinese people’s perception of and reactions towards Jewish refugees who arrived in Shanghai from Germany and Austria between 1938 and 1945. She also explored the influences of Jewish cultural life on Shanghai by examining contemporary German, Chinese, and English publications preserved at the Zikawei Library of Shanghai, as well as memoirs, documentaries, and artifacts in the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum. This study offered a unique insight into the Jewish refugees’ cultural exchanges with their surrounding Chinese community. It was featured at the Fall Research Expo of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF).