In the spring of 1938, a month after the annexation of Austria to Germany, the Anschluss, Austrian Jews were deported to Dachau and Buchenwald Concentration Camps. At the time, there were about 185,000 Jews in Austria, and they had two choices, either flee the country or be deported to the Camps. However, it was not an easy task for most as the Nazis required Jews exiting the country to hold an entry visa to the country. Ho Feng-Shan was the consul-general in Vienna during this dark period. He went against his superior’s order and issued visas for the Jews looking to escape.
Book
Battle of Shanghai: The Prequel to the Rape of Nanking
References
https://archives.jdc.org/topic-guides/refuge-in-shanghai-1938-1953/
https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1111&context=phr
https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-shanghai-saved-20000-jews-from-the-nazis
https://books.google.com/books?id=u4I2DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA295&dq=%22June+1938%22+%221906%22+%22Feng-Shan%22#v=onepage&q=%22June%201938%22%20%221906%22%20%22Feng-Shan%22&f=false
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Feng-Shan#cite_note-:0-4
https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/stories/ho.html
http://il.china-embassy.org/eng/xwdt/t451331.htm
http://en.people.cn/200511/11/eng20051111_220515.html
https://theculturetrip.com/asia/china/articles/a-brief-history-of-hongkou-district-in-shanghai/
https://www.hmd.org.uk/resource/feng-shan-ho/
https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-shanghai-jews-20171120-story.html
https://www.military-history.org/articles/war-zone-city-of-terror-the-japanese-takeover-of-shanghai.htm
