The Holocaust and Hong Kong: an overlooked history

Abstract The British colony of Hong Kong was one of the last ports that Jewish refugees transited through before their arrival in Shanghai. By using recently declassified materials this paper argues that Hong Kong played a more complicated role an ambiguous refuge: one that provided shelter, but whose colonial administration was responsible for the internment and expulsion of Jewish refugees. This paper broadens its inquiry by analyzing local and historiographical factors that contributed to Hong Kong being overlooked. Adopting a Global Holocaust framework and following refugees' paths of escape reveals Hong Kong as more than just a transit port.