Holocaust survivor Henry Haas and his wife Kate spoke to an audience of more than 80 students, parents and guests at Centralia Christian School in commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Using family photographs, historical documents and maps, the couple shared the incredible story of Henry’s family’s journey from Berlin, Germany, to Shanghai, China, and eventually to Centralia, Washington.
Nowhere to Go
“Where in the world can we go?” That was the question facing Henry’s parents, John and Gerda Haas, a young Jewish couple who were expecting their first child. In 1938, as persecution against Jews ramped up, the Haas were desperate to leave Nazi Germany, where life was becoming increasingly difficult. “We were not allowed in public places like parks, theaters, opera houses, concerts and movies,” recalled Gerda. The Haas made the difficult decision to leave their relatives and home in Berlin, but Gerda, wanting to be near her family when she gave birth, insisted they wait a little while longer.
By the time Henry was born in April 1938, there was literally nowhere for them to run. Most countries restricted or denied entry to Jews. Not knowing what lay ahead, John smuggled furs from his fur business out of Germany and sold them one by one. That money would help them survive. Then, the Haas packed up their few belongings and fled Berlin when Henry was only a few months old. They spent the next 12 months on the run, escaping first to Nitra, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia), where John’s father, Samuel, was staying. But even there, they weren’t safe. Shortly after the family arrived, Hungarians rode into the village, smashing windows in Jewish shops.
“On seeing this violence and destruction, all four of us picked up, like the people in Sholom Aleichem’s Fiddler on the Roof (crib, baby carriage and baggage on a handcart), and walked through woods to a railroad station and made our way by train to Prague, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic).” There, they found a hotel where many refugees were staying. In that small, cramped room, they celebrated Henry’s first birthday.
One day, when Gerda took Henry for a walk in his baby buggy, she saw the Nazis marching into the city. “Instantly, the atmosphere in Prague changed dramatically; anxiety and tension ruled the day,” said Gerda. Nazis began to pick up Jewish men and incarcerate or deport them. “It was sheer luck that week after week, John and Samuel avoided being arrested. Many of the Jewish men fled Prague to Poland. Some were caught at the border and shot on the spot. John and Samuel continued to avoid detection for about six weeks. We had to find a way out of Europe…”
While they were in Prague, Gerda learned that her own father had been sent to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp on trumped-up charges. “After several months’ internment, my father had come home from there hungry, dirty and covered with lice.” Before then, her father had adamantly refused to leave Germany, believing things would eventually get better. Yet his experience in the camp radically changed his view. Now, he and Gerda’s mother made plans to emigrate to America. “We were relieved that my parents had finally come around to the idea of leaving Germany,” said Gerda. (After the war, she found out that her parents never made it to America. They died on the train to Auschwitz.)
Meanwhile, John desperately tried to work out a plan to get his family out of Europe, but each time he thought a door had opened, it slammed shut. There was only one place in the world where Jewish refugees could go without a visa: Shanghai.
Escape to Shanghai
At that time, Shanghai was considered an “open city” tolerant of immigrants. During World War II, the Chinese port would provide a safe harbor for nearly 20,000 Jewish refugees from Europe.
The Haas family was one of the lucky ones. However, getting from Europe to Shanghai was not without risk. Gerda, Henry and his grandfather, Samuel, waited in Italy while John smuggled more furs into Holland to sell. John then made his way illegally into France. Gerda and baby Henry followed, sneaking their way into France thanks to the Jewish underground agency in Nice. The family reunited in Paris a few months later. “In Paris, the atmosphere was very strained. We had to be careful not to be caught by the French police, as that would have resulted in our being sent back to Germany,” said Gerda. There, with the assistance of a French Jewish Refugee organization, they were able to purchase tickets to Shanghai.
In July 1939, one year after fleeing Berlin, the Haas family traveled by train to Marseilles, where they boarded the ship President Doumer. They were finally on their way to Shanghai.
Their month-long journey took them across the Mediterranean Sea to Port Said, Egypt, through the Suez Canal to Djibouti. From there, they sailed across the Indian Ocean to Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong and through the China Sea up the Hwangpu River to Shanghai.
Life in the Shanghai Ghetto
When the President Doumer steamed into port that August, Shanghai was a sweltering 105 degrees. The suffocating heat and humidity were the first of many challenges the refugee family would face during their eight-year stay. As a major international trading port, Shanghai had a decidedly European flavor, and many of the European residents lived in relative comfort. Not the Haas. “Our lack of funds necessitated our finding the cheapest section of Shanghai—a neighborhood called Hongkou.”
In Hongkou, the family of three lived in a 10-by-12-foot room without a kitchen, bathroom, or running water. If their tiny apartment was unbearably hot in the summertime, it was unimaginably cold in the wintertime. With no source of heat, they went to bed wearing their clothes and hats. Each morning, Gerda bought hot water from Chinese street vendors to make hot tea and to take spit baths. “During our entire eight years in Shanghai, we lived without a bath or a shower, yet we stayed clean,” said Gerda. A bucket set on the flat roof served as their toilet. When it came to eating, they picked up food in metal containers from the Red Cross or other Jewish agencies, something for which the family was always grateful.
In December 1941, two years after their arrival, the Japanese occupied Shanghai. Life was about to get even more uncomfortable. In 1943, the Japanese ordered all Jews to move into the Hongkou district, where the Haas lived, a one-square-mile area which they fenced off with places for designated entry and exit. As Jews poured into the newly formed ghetto, the Haas’ neighborhood swelled to almost 20,000.
Eight months into their internment, rumors began to circulate that the Japanese planned to kill all the Jews. They lived in constant fear and anxiety. Then, more rumors circulated that the Japanese had changed their minds. After the war, Gerda discovered that Nazi officer Josef Meisinger (also known as the Butcher of Warsaw) came to Shanghai and ordered the Japanese occupying leaders to get rid of the Jews. Thankfully, the Japanese authorities refused. “So, we were left unharmed in our ghetto, Hongkou,” said Gerda.
Despite their circumstances, John and Gerda tried to provide Henry with as normal a childhood as possible. When he was old enough to attend school, they sent him to the Talmud Torah at the Ohel Moishe Synagogue to learn Hebrew and the Torah. He also attended Kadoorie School, where he was taught in German and English by teachers who were refugees. “Nobody had very much, and it made John and me feel terrible to see Henry going barefoot to school…at least he was getting an education,” Gerda said.
Toward the end of the war, Americans started earnestly bombing Japanese-occupied Shanghai. There were almost daily air raids. Gerda recalled how precious life was. “One day, when an air attack was expected, the man John worked for let the help go home early. John stopped by a fruit stand on his way home to buy a mango for us, an action that saved his life. If he had gone a little further, he would have been in the line of fire.” Forty people were killed in the attack that day.
After the war ended, the Haas decided to go to the United States, where they would make a fresh start. The Hebrew Immigration Assistance Society (HIAS) paid for their passage and provided them with clothes and shoes for the trip. On March 20, 1947, John, Gerda and Henry boarded the troop carrier SS Marine Lynx and set sail for the United States of America. “During this three-week ocean journey, we celebrated Passover. The captain, courtesy of the United States Armed Forces, provided Haggadahs (a guide to the Passover seder).” This thoughtful gesture meant a lot to the Jewish refugees.
“The night we were to arrive in the United States, I was extremely excited, and I decided to stay up all night. Very early that morning, I stood on the deck watching as we sailed through the morning mist under the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco harbor, a breathtaking moment I will remember forever,” said Gerda.
From China to Centralia
Henry celebrated his ninth birthday in the Powell Hotel in San Francisco, the day after they arrived. It was a welcome change from their cramped room in Shanghai! With encouragement from American relatives, the Haas decided to settle on the West Coast. Soon, they were on their way to Oregon, thanks again to HIAS’s assistance.
In Portland, John found a job selling clothing at a surplus store. The family lived there for three years. Later, in 1950, they moved to Centralia, Washington, where John opened a Western clothing store just a few doors down from the Olympic Club. Henry, now 12, completed junior high and three years of high school in Centralia.
After seven years in the Hub City, the Haas family made one final move to Tacoma, where Henry graduated from high school and met his future wife. After attending law school, Henry and Kate married and have called Tacoma home ever since. Henry, 87, still practices law today.
Who Would Be Interested in My Story?
When Henry was growing up, his parents shielded him from the terrors that they had escaped. He knew nothing about Adolf Hitler, the dangers his parents faced or that his maternal grandparents died in a concentration camp. He only learned bits and pieces from his mother after they moved to Washington.
As an adult, Henry coaxed his mother to tell her story of the years leading up to their escape from Germany and about their time in Shanghai. At first, Gerda said, “Ach, who would be interested in my story?” Henry’s wife Kate replied, “Your grandchildren!” Gerda finally agreed and asked Kate to write her memories down in English so future generations could know what happened. That’s exactly what Kate did. Henry and Kate have been sharing his family’s story for the past ten years as speakers with the Seattle Holocaust Center for Humanity.
Never Forget
Thanks to their dedication, the next generation was able to hear Gerda’s story and learn about the Jewish refugee experience in Shanghai.
“It was an honor to have Henry and Kate Haas speak at our school, especially since Henry has a personal Centralia connection,” said Robin Montgomery, Centralia Christian School history teacher who arranged the guest speaker. “Many of our eighth-grade students will be visiting the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in D.C. as part of their spring East Coast trip. Hearing from a Holocaust survivor—and getting to meet one in person—helps make their visit even more meaningful.” Her eighth-grade students had just completed a month-long history unit on the Holocaust prior to the Haas’ visit.
The Haas would love to share his family’s story with other schools and organizations in Centralia. To request Henry and Kate as guest speakers, contact the Holocaust Center for Humanity Speaker’s Bureau. For more information about the Jewish refugee experience in Shanghai during World War II, please visit the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum website.
