hsntnovel Chapter 1400 11399 The little-known “Chinese Schindler”
Chapter 1400 11399 The little-known “Chinese Schindler”
"The Remaining Life in the Sea of Misery" is adapted from a true history.
Regarding "rescuing the Jews", whether it is the German businessman Oscar Schindler who spent all his wealth to rescue 1100 Jews from the concentration camp in the name of employment in "Schindler's List", or whether he ultimately regretted losing the Nobel Peace Prize during World War II. Elena Sendler, the Polish "Female Schindler" who died saving more than 2500 Jewish children from the Nazis, was not the only person to be righteous. "In reality, there was more than one person who risked his life to save the Jews. On that day when the lives of the Jews were hanging by a thread, there was an unknown 'Chinese Schindler' - Ho Fengshan.
It is conservatively estimated that the 'life visa' he issued has redeemed more than 3000 Jews, making him the person who has saved the most Jewish lives. But his righteous deeds slowly came to light after his death. In 2000, he was awarded the title of 'Righteous Among the Nations' by the Israeli government and had the inscription 'The Chinese Never Forgotten' engraved on the Jerusalem monument.
In September 1901, He Fengshan was born into a peasant family in Yiyang, Hunan. In 9, he was admitted to Yale-China University, a missionary college run by Americans in Changsha, with excellent results. After graduating from Yali University, he obtained public funds to study at the University of Munich in Germany. From 1921, he was employed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the National Government and began his lifelong diplomatic career. That was the period when Hitler's power was rapidly rising. In March 1935, Hitler led the German army into Austria, and Austria immediately became a province of Germany. In May of the same year, the Austrian Embassy was also transferred to the Consulate in Vienna, and He Fengshan was appointed Consul General. Since Hitler came to power in 1938, Jews who were pessimistic about their future had already fled the Nazi-controlled areas one after another. At that time they were still considered expatriates rather than refugees. Looking at the decrees issued by the Nazis and the compatriots who had been escorted to the concentration camps, those Jews who felt that it was 'not too bad' and stayed to watch suddenly found that they had become refugees, and if they did not leave, it would mean death. Influenced by Germany, Austria's exclusion of Jews once again set off a frenzy. At that time, He Fengshan had only been in office for a month, but already Jews were being sent to Nazi concentration camps one after another. Forced by the world's righteous public opinion and condemnation, the Nazi authorities issued a decree: As long as the Jews could prove that there was a place to accept them, they would be allowed to leave the country without being escorted to concentration camps.
At that time, Austria had the third largest concentration of Jews in Europe. There are 18.5 Jews, 1938% of whom are concentrated in Vienna. For a time, the consulates of various countries in Vienna were packed with people. However, due to the war, many countries in the world have restricted the entry of Jewish refugees on the grounds that they "cannot protect themselves". In July 7, Roosevelt took the lead in convening an international conference in France to discuss accepting Jewish refugees. However, among the 32 participating countries, all except Dominica were unwilling to accept Jewish refugees. Under the prevailing anti-Semitism in the West at that time, even the United States, the most friendly country to Jews, had hundreds of anti-Semitic groups. The most typical example in history is the tragedy of the cruise ship "St. Louis". Due to the obstruction of anti-Semitic forces, the ship was unable to enter even if it reached its destination.
When countless Austrian Jews were anxious for visas, the compassionate He Fengshan chose to come forward. At that time, Shanghai, China, had been occupied by the Japanese army, and no documents were required to enter the port of Shanghai. He Fengshan seized this opportunity. As long as Jews applied, He Fengshan would issue them a 'life visa' to Shanghai, China. The news quickly spread among the Jews, and many Jews who had been rejected by embassies in several countries felt like they had grasped a life-saving straw. All of a sudden, a long queue formed in front of the Chinese Consulate in Vienna. He Fengshan also seizes the time and can issue one more visa.
At that time, a Jewish guy named Eric took 20 application forms and came to the Chinese Consulate. He has visited more than 50 foreign consulates in the past few months, but was rejected all of them. According to the visa application, it cannot be issued unless I come. However, the Chinese Consulate still signed all 20 visas on the spot. That day was July 1938, 7. Based on the time and place, it is speculated that these 20 visas were issued by He Fengshan. With these 20 "life visas", Eric rescued his father who had been imprisoned in the concentration camp, and the family boarded a ship bound for Shanghai.
As time went by, the situation facing the Jews became increasingly severe. On the night of November 11, all Hitler supporters took to the streets and frantically beat, smashed, looted, and burned Jewish shops, homes, and churches. The broken glass glowed like crystal in the moonlight. So that night has a very beautiful name 'Kristallnacht'. Kristallnacht marked the beginning of the Nazis' organized massacre of the Jews, and was the darkest night in Jewish history.
In the early morning of the 10th, He Fengshan received a call from his Jewish friend Rosenberg's house, asking him not to come to see him off. Witnessing the scene of Nazi beating, smashing, looting and burning last night, He Fengshan vaguely felt that something was wrong. Although Rosenberg issued a visa to He Fengshan, the Gestapo still refused to let him go. He Fengshan arrived immediately and said in his capacity as the Chinese Consul General in Vienna: 'The visas they hold are legal and you have no reason not to release them. Seeing that He Fengshan was so determined, the Gestapo had no choice but to release Rosenberg. He Fengshan left only after personally putting the Rosenberg family on the train leaving Austria.
Soon, He Fengshan's move to issue visas to Jews in large quantities aroused the dissatisfaction of the Nazi authorities. At that time, the Nationalist Government also wanted to maintain good relations with Germany. After all, Chiang Kai-shek's regime was assisted by German military advisers, and his son Jiang Weiguo was receiving military training in Germany, so it did not dare to offend the German army.
Ho Fengshan received a call from Chen Jie, the Chinese ambassador in Berlin, who ordered Ho Fengshan to immediately stop issuing visas to Jews. At first, He Fengshan insisted on issuing visas to Jews in large numbers on the grounds that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' instructions were not true. After his immediate boss Chen Jie became furious, he verbally agreed to Chen Jie and said yes. But in private, He Fengshan continued to sign his name on the application form. At that time, Chen Jie believed that He Fengshan was still issuing visas to Jews at this point because he had received money from Jews. So he secretly sent one of his subordinates, Ding Wenyuan, to Vienna to investigate. There, Ding Wenyuan checked all the files and account books without saying a word, but found nothing suspicious. No clues could be found. Although Chen Jie was extremely dissatisfied, he had no choice but to accuse He Fengshan of offending his boss and put it in his personal file as a demerit.
Suddenly one day, a group of Gestapo broke into the Chinese consulate and confiscated the building rented by the consulate on the grounds that it was Jewish property. In an attempt to prevent Ho Fung Shan from continuing to issue visas to Jews. So He Fengshan applied for relocation funds from the National Government. Of course, the answer he got at that time was, 'During the Anti-Japanese War, there were financial difficulties that could not be solved. '
He knew that he was alone and helpless, but he could not bear to bow his head like this. Because, a visa is an innocent life. So he quietly moved the consulate out of Beethoven Square, where rent was expensive, rented a small house in an alley next to the square with his own money, and continued to complete his mission.
It is difficult to find out how many "life visas" Ho Fengshan issued from May 1938 to May 5, because he did not have a list like Schindler. But the visa numbers of the Jewish survivors who obtained visas can give us some idea. The visa date of a Jew named Hans Laux was October 1940, 5, and his visa number was No. 1938.
He has issued more than 5 'life visas' in just five months since he took office. We don’t know how many more times he signed during his more than a year in office. But even based on the figure of 1900, it is conservatively estimated that he is considered by European scholars to be the person who saved the most Jews.
However, for the rest of his life, his righteous deeds remained unknown. On the one hand, China had been occupied by Japan at that time, and Jews did not need visas to enter, and no one studied the source of the visas. However, more importantly, He Fengshan felt that this was not an earth-shattering event. He wrote in his memoirs: 'Helping others is a natural thing, from a human point of view, it is just what should be done. 'In his 290-page autobiography, "Forty Years of Diplomacy," he devoted less than 10 pages to the period when Vienna saved the Jews.
In 1997, 96-year-old Ho Feng-shan passed away in San Francisco, USA. Daughter He Manli mentioned in her obituary that her father had issued visas to Jews while he was stationed at the consulate in Vienna. After this obituary published in the "Boston Globe" attracted the attention of Jewish historian Eric Saul, with the historian's verification and investigation, Ho Fengshan's righteous deeds came to light.
Eric found some of the descendants of Jews who had been rescued by Dr. Ho. Among them was Singer, the famous American billionaire and current secretary-general of the World Jewish Congress. Singer excitedly said to Eric: "My parents were saved by Dr. He. He is a true hero. I must introduce him to the world. '
Since then, Ho Fengshan has become a saint in the hearts of the Jews. Whenever Jews hold exhibitions on the Nazi Holocaust, Ho Fung Shan's deeds will be placed in the most prominent position. In 2001, Ho Fung Shan was honored as a "Righteous Among the Nations" by the Israeli government. His name was engraved in the "Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations" and he was admired by countless people. "——Adapted from "The little-known "Chinese Schindler" who saved the most Jews during World War II."