Last Updated on 2021/11/29
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The Photographic Work of Arthur Rothstein in China
Arthur Rothstein (July 17, 1915 – November 11, 1985) was an American prominent photojournalist.
The topics of Arthur Rothstein ranged from social issues, daily life, politics, sport to war scenarios, informing and entertaining millions of readers in the United States.
In 1940 Arthur Rothstein joined the US Army as a photographer in the Signal Corps.
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His military assignment took Arthur to Asia. After his discharge from the military in 1945, he remained in China working as chief photographer for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.
He documented the survivors of the Holocaust in the Hongkew ghetto of Shanghai and the Great Famine.
Jews from Europe immigrated to Shanghai in the late 1930s and early 1940s escaping from Nazi Germany. Shanghai did not have restrictions on immigration, and some Chinese diplomats such as Ho Feng Shan issued “protective” passports.
Photographs with the Signal Corps
The Hongkew Ghetto through the Lens of Arthur Rothstein, Shanghai
Arthur Rothstein pictured with a Rolleiflex Camera. After the Second World War, Arthur Rothstein worked with the UN Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). (Arthur Rothstein ) refugees are looking through lists for relatives and friends who may have survived the Holocaust. A communal home operated by international relief agencies for Jewish refugees in Shanghai. Conditions were often cramped, disease-ridden and dirty. The courtyard between buildings served as a community laundry and kitchen for refugee families. Although conditions were challenging, traditional German and Austrian dishes were prepared over improvised stoves using surplus U.S. Army field rations. Refugees read a proclamation ordering them to evacuate their homes. Even after the war ended, they struggled to maintain a dignified existence. Many children of Jewish refugees were born in China. All of these children knew how to speak German and English, but few learned Chinese.
Source: American Library of Congress, Wikipedia, International Center of Photography, cbc.ca