Ho feng shan biography definition

After a long diplomatic career, Ho retired inand died inat the age of After carefully evaluating the case, the Commission for the Designation of the Righteous decided to award Feng-Shan Ho the title of Righteous Among the Nations for his humanitarian courage in issuing Chinese visas to Jews in Vienna in spite of orders from his superior to the contrary.

Ho's daughter, Manli, accepted the award on his behalf. Sources: Yad Vashem ; Elis, Niv. Download our mobile app for on-the-go access to the Jewish Virtual Library. Category » Biography. Han Li can be reached at han sfstandard. Culture Remembering the Chinese diplomat who helped thousands of Jews flee the Holocaust. Share Share. By Han Li Published Sep.

Retirement in San Francisco. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. Chinese diplomat — In this Chinese namethe family name is Ho. YiyangHunanChina. San FranciscoCalifornia, United States. Early life [ edit ]. Before World War II [ edit ]. After the war [ edit ]. Death [ edit ]. Legacy [ edit ].

See also [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Retrieved October 25, In Bartrop, Paul R. ISBN September 9, Retrieved October 2, The Life and Times of a Caribbean Dictator. The MacMillan Co. Ho did not argue; instead, he found a new office, which he paid for with his own money. The Nazi threat of relocation proved devastating. Jews were soon grabbed in the streets and forced to perform menial labor while Nazi storm troopers Sturmabteilung looked on and jeered.

Thousands were pulled from their homes and sent to ghettos or concentration camps. Kristallnacht marked the start of what is now called The Holocaust. Word quickly got out that the Chinese consulate was a place to get visas; no other consulate in Vienna would help, despite the entreaties of Jewish citizens. Reasons were many: anti-Semitism was a prevailing sentiment throughout the world, and even the United States had turned away ships bearing Jewish refugees.

Also, stories of Nazi atrocities against Jews seemed unbelievable. Ho's superior officer in Berlin ordered him to cease over concerns that it would damage relations between China and Germany. Ho ignored this order and continued issuing visas. It is not known how many visas he gave out in total, but a sampling of visa numbers tells the tale.

In June ofhis office issued visa number ; by the end of his tenure visa numbers were in the 4,'s. Scholars estimate that Ho saved the lives of as many as 5, Jews this way. Ho made the strategic decision to issue all visas for Shanghai in China, even though Shanghai was an open-port city that required no papers of any kind. In this way, visa recipients could use the Chinese consulate document as a transit visa to get them out of Austria, and thus out of the clutches of the Nazis, after which they had several choices.

While some traveled to Shanghai, ho feng shan biography definition a Jewish colony formed and waited out the war, others went to Australia, the Philippines, Palestine, South America, and other locations. Following World War II, Ho continued working for the foreign service of the Republic of China, and he followed this exiled government to Taiwan in later years.

His record of service had one black mark—insubordination—reported by his superior in Berlin.