Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum

The Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum commemorates the more than 20,000 European Jews who fled Nazi persecution and found refuge in Shanghai during World War II. It is located in the former Ohel Moshe Synagogue in the Tilanqiao Historic Area of Hongkou district, which was once the Jewish Quarter and later the site of the Shanghai Ghetto. The museum displays documents, photographs, films, and personal items that tell the refugees' stories.

Don't miss

• The restored Ohel Moshe Synagogue, one of only two surviving Jewish synagogues from old Shanghai
• A 34-meter copper memorial wall engraved with the names of 13,732 Jewish refugees
• Historical photographs and artifacts in the No. 2 Exhibition Hall, including a refugee's passport and copies of the Shanghai Jewish Chronicle
• A documentary film about the refugees shown in the No. 2 Exhibition Hall
• The No. 3 Exhibition Hall, used for temporary exhibits
• A memorial statue designed by artist He Ning

Tickets & tours

Ways to visit Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum

Cheapest way inShanghai Tower Ticket Booking4.3★ · 68 travelers1-3 hoursFree cancellationFrom$39 per personSee dates →Most booked4-Hour Private Shanghai City Tour with Old and New Highlights5★ · 284 travelers4-5 hoursFree cancellationFrom$93 per personSee dates →Private & flexible3-Hour Private Tour to Jewish Ghetto and Shanghai Bund5★ · 74 travelers~3 hoursFree cancellationFrom$90 per personSee dates →

Getting there

Know before you go

• The museum is in the Tilanqiao Historic Area of Hongkou district, on what was once Ward Road (now Changyang Road), near the former Ward Road Gaol.
• The museum includes the Ohel Moshe Synagogue building, two additional exhibition halls, and a courtyard.
• The synagogue contains a Torah ark, Ark cover, and reader's platform, but no Torah scroll or prayer books, so it is not used for prayer services.

A bit of history

The Ohel Moshe congregation was founded in 1907 by Russian Jewish immigrants. The current building was created in 1927 by remodeling an existing three-story structure. After the Communist victory in 1949, the synagogue was confiscated and used as a psychiatric hospital and office space. It reopened in the 1990s and was restored to its original architectural style in 2007, when it opened as a museum. In 2014, a monument with a memorial wall listing over 13,000 refugee names was unveiled.