Ho Feng-Shan

Template:Chinese name Ho Feng-Shan (simplified Chinese: 何凤山; traditional Chinese: 何鳳山; pinyin: Hé Fèngshān, sometimes translated as He Fengshan), born in Yiyang, Hunan September 10, 1901 (some sources give 1904) – died in San Francisco, September 28, 1997, was a Chinese diplomat who saved hundreds, probably thousands of Jews during the early years of World War II. He is known as "China’s Schindler".

Biography

Ho was born to a poor family. Even so, Ho did well in school, as did his family. His father died when he was 7 years old. Being a diligent and hard-working student, he managed to enter the Yali School in the provincial capital of Changsha, and later Yale-in-China University. He went to Munich University in 1926, and received his Ph.D. in political economics in 1932.

In 1935, Ho started his diplomatic career within the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of China (ROC). His first posting was in Turkey. He was appointed First Secretary at the ROC legation in Vienna in 1937. When Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938, and the legation was turned into a consulate, Ho was assigned the post of Consul-General.

After "Kristallnacht" in 1938, the situation became rapidly more difficult for the almost 200,000 Austrian Jews. The only way for Jews to escape from Nazism was to leave Europe. In order to leave, they had to provide proof of emigration, usually a visa from a foreign nation, or a valid boat ticket. This was difficult, however, because at the 1938 Evian Conference 31 countries (out of a total of 32 which included Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) refused to accept Jewish immigrants due to their fear of Nazi Germany. The only country willing to accept Jews was the Dominican Republic, offering to accept up to 100,000 refugees on generous terms. Acting against the orders of his superior Chen Jie (陳介), the ROC ambassador to Berlin, Ho started to issue visas to Shanghai for humanitarian reasons. At the time it was not necessary to have a visa to enter Shanghai, but the visas allowed the Jews to leave Austria. Many Jewish families left for Shanghai, whence most of them would later leave for Hong Kong and Australia. Ho continued to issue these visas until he was ordered to return to the ROC in May 1940.

The exact number of visas given by Dr. Ho to Jewish refugees is unknown. It is known that Dr.Ho issued the 200th visa in June 1938, and signed 1906th on October 27, 1938. How many Jews were saved through his actions is unknown, but given that Ho issued nearly 2,000 visas only during his first half year at his post, the number may be in the thousands.

Later, Ho Feng-Shan served as the Republic of China's (ROC) ambassador to other countries, including Egypt, Mexico, Bolivia, and Colombia. After his retirement in 1973, Ho settled in San Francisco in the United States, where he wrote his memoirs, 40 Years of my Diplomatic Life (《外交生涯四十年》) published in 1990.

After his retirement in 1973, the ROC government under martial law on Taiwan denied Ho his pension on the grounds that he had "not properly accounted for" the equivalent of USD300 in embassy expenses. These charges by the ROC dictatorship are widely believed to have been politically motivated. Despite repeated appeals, the ROC never exonerated him, even today.

In the 1980s, he returned several times to Mainland China and also visited his alma mater in Changsha during its 80th anniversary in 1986. In 1985 he was, perhaps wrongly, impeached by the ROC for embezzlement (said to have taken place in 1970).

Ho Feng-shan died in San Francisco at the age of 96.

Awards

Ho's actions in Vienna went unnoticed during his lifetime, save for a black mark in his personnel file for disobeying orders; but they were recognized posthumously when he was awarded the title Righteous Among the Nations by the Israeli organization Yad Vashem in 2001. He is the only citizen of the ROC to be given this honor; a PRC man named Pan Jun Shun was also so recognized.

See also

• Chiune Sugihara
• Fugu Plan
• History of the Jews in China
• List of individuals and groups assisting Jews during the Holocaust
• Shanghai ghetto
• Oskar Schindler

External links

• "The Righteous Among Nations - China". Yad Vashem The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority. Retrieved April 28, 2006.
• Ho Feng Shan at Yad Vashem site.
• Joan Deman's Dissenting View Holocaust Survivors and Remembrance Project