Schindler author visits synagogue in Shanghai

The Australian author of the book that formed the basis for Steven Spielberg's holocaust film "Schindler's List" visited the Mose Synagogue in what was once the Jewish Quarter of Hongkou District yesterday. Thomas Keneally, who won the prestigious Booker Prize for "Schindler's Ark" in 1982, is in town for the 2nd Australian Writers' Forum, which will be held today at the Shanghai Library.

He and fellow author Hsu-Ming Teo will be the keynote speakers at the forum, which is organized by the Australian Consulate General in Shanghai.

"Great human cataclysms like World War II produce strange bed fellows," said Keneally.

"It's interesting that Jews were better treated here than they were in their own Europe. From Spinoza to Einstein, they contributed so much to European civilization. And yet Europe decided they were too dangerous to let go on breathing and some of them found breath in Shanghai," Keneally said.

"So I think it's an interesting and appropriate place to visit during the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz."

Shanghai was the last refuge open to many Jews during the early part of World War II. The city's police of extraterritoriality allowed refugees to enter Shanghai without a passport or visa - a system that ended after Japan occupied the city.

Teo enjoys a strong reputation as one of Australia's most exciting new authors.

Born in Malaysia, she emigrated with her family to Australia at the age of seven. Her first book, "Love and Vertigo," won the Australian Vogel Literary Award in 1999.

"I really feel privileged to come to Shanghai," she said. "When I was growing up, there was almost no English novels about Asian people and culture in Australia. Now I'm happy to see that more and more works of Asian literature are coming out."

CE