Ernest Glaser was born Ernst Adolf Berthold Glaser on March 2, 1924 in Berlin. In 1939, his family left Germany to escape the Nazis and attempted to immigrate to the United States, but the family ended up in Shanghai, China. The Glasers thought that they would only be in Shanghai for a year at most, but ended up staying for eight years, until 1947, when they left for the United States. There, Ernest and his family settled in San Francisco. Later, he married, raised a family, and became the president of Avoset Food Corporation.
Explore Ernest’s experiences during the Holocaust, in Shanghai, and more in this Museum program presented in partnership with Shanghai Ark.
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Learn More About Jewish Refugees in ShanghaiApproximately 18,000 European Jews fleeing Nazism in the 1930s and ’40s found refuge in Shanghai, which did not require entry visas until August 1939. The refugees rebuilt their lives in the Chinese city, and they established schools, synagogues, and mutual aid organizations that long outlasted the war. Learn more about China’s wartime legacy in this Museum program.Explore Jerry Lindenstraus’ StoryAfter witnessing the burning of synagogues during Kristallnacht, Jerry Lindenstraus and his family escaped Germany in July 1939. They made their way to Shanghai, where Jerry attended a British-style school for Jewish refugees founded by Horace Kadoorie, became a bar mitzvah at a Shanghai synagogue, and joined the 13th Shanghai (United) Group of the Boy Scouts. Learn more about Jerry’s story in this Stories Survive program. Discover the Story of the Jews of KaifengKaifeng is a city in central China whose Jewish community dates back to the Song Dynasty, when Jews arrived from either India or Persia. Although the community once had 5,000 people, there are now only around 1,000 Jews in the city. Learn more about the Jews of Kaifeng in this article from My Jewish Learning.