Faces of the War

He Fengshan

Israel posthumously honored He Fengshan (Fengshan Ho) with the title Righteous among the Nations in January, 2001 at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem. His daughter He Manli said of He Fengshan: “My father was a typical Chinese, generous and broad-minded. He believed that compassion and wanting to help is natural. When driven by humanitarian concerns, this is the way it should be.”

He Fengshan

He Fengshan gained a PhD in political economics from the University of Munich in 1932, and in 1935 embarked on his diplomatic career. In May 1938, he was assigned to the post of Chinese consul-general in Vienna.

His appointment coincided with the reign of terror of the newly installed Nazi regime in Austria, under which the 185,000 Jews living there suffered inhuman persecution. Their survival depended on fleeing Austria, but the Nazi authorities demanded that Jews traveling to another country must first obtain an entry visa and boat ticket. He maintained close personal relationships with certain Jewish people. Their plight drove him to help them escape, and to issue Chinese visas to all Jewish applicants. From May to October 1939, He issued 1,900 visas to China.

Shanghai was at that time an “open city” that did not require a visa, but Jews nonetheless needed one to leave Austria. “Although aware that Shanghai was not the eventual destination of some applicants, my father knew that unless they obtained a visa they would be sent to concentration camps,” He Manli said.

In early 1939, the Nazis confiscated the Chinese Consulate in Vienna, claiming that it was Jewish property. To reopen the office, He Fengshan had to rent a small house at his own expense. At this time he also met with criticism from Chinese political circles, some of whom accused him of selling visas to Jews for profit. Although proven innocent, he was removed from his post in Vienna in May 1940.