Shanghai Sanctuary

In the 1930s and 1940s, great numbers of Jews fled Germany to the U.S. and parts of Europe, seeking to escape Nazi persecution. Rather less known is the exodus of 30,000 Jews eastward — to Shanghai. The community they formed is the chief focus of the city's newly renovated and expanded Jewish Refugees Museum, tel: (86-21) 6521-6669. And while historical proof of the cosmopolitan nature of prewar Shanghai is everywhere, this 100-year-old building is among the more intriguing.

There had been a high-profile and wealthy Jewish community in Shanghai since the mid-19th...