The exhibition post Photo: Courtesy of the Consulate General of Switzerland in Shanghai

The Last Swiss Holocaust Survivors exhibit opened at the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum on December 12, 2019. It is the first time the exhibition was shown in China after touring Switzerland, the United States, Germany, Singapore, Albania, Israel and Italy. The exhibit gives a voice to the witnesses who built a new life in Switzerland after surviving the Holocaust. The exhibition tells the untold stories of survivors in Switzerland through film and photography - the existence of which only became known during debate over dormant assets and historical research of the Bergier Commission in the late 1990s.

At a time when other countries were closing their borders, relaxed immigration policies made Shanghai a safe harbor for more than 30,000 Jews fleeing persecution in Europe. 

The exhibition at the Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum Photo: Courtesy of the Consulate General of Switzerland in Shanghai

The Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum preserves the memories and the historical traces of the city's former Jewish settlement. With the full support of the Consulate General of Switzerland in Shanghai, the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum and the Gamaraal Foundation present the exhibition to the public. The Last Swiss Holocaust Survivors is one of many projects resulting from Switzerland's chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which ended in 2018. 

Nearly 75 years after the end of World War II, it is crucial to ensure the knowledge of the Holocaust and the remembrance of its victims is transferred to younger generations. Witness accounts in this exhibition keep the memory of the atrocities committed alive for future generations. 

"Therefore, we must realize the urgency in preserving and recording their stories," said Olivier Zehnder, Consul General of Switzerland in Shanghai.