Persecution of Chinese people in Nazi Germany

Many Chinese nationals and citizens who had remained in Nazi Germany were persecuted, especially during the war.

Background

Chinese in Germany

Almost 3000 Chinese persons lived in Germany when Hitler seized power in 1933.[1] There was no a reliable source to prove the accurate number of Chinese.[2] They were minority in population of 63.3 million of Germans (stat. of Weimar government in 1925).[3]

Many Chinese moved to Germany for education. Some came at the behest of their political party (KMT or CCP), while some came for learning science. The approximate no. would be 200, 500 or 3000.[4][1] The Chinese people lived in poor neighbourhoods, the social conflicts always happened[2], for example, in 1920, an "incident of Chinatown" drew attention by c. 200 traders who lived near Schlesischer Bahnhof.The early reports of Chinese life in Hamburg always focused on crime.[2]

Students in university

Starting in the 1920s, university graduates of Chinese origin emerged in Berlin, and most of them adhered to a radical left-wing ideology. Zhu De, Liao Chengzhi and Zhou Enlai and others later became prominent leaders of the Chinese Communist Party. Others joined the Communist Party of Germany, and founded a saloon called "Circle for the Chinese language".[5]

Nazi racism

Further information: Nazi racism

Initial persecutions

Initially the everyday life of Chinese people in Germany was unaffected by the Nazi government.

Later, Chinese people in Germany, some of whom adhered to a right-wing ideology, were targeted for persecution. Although most were not politically active, the government surveilled them. Under these circumstances, life became increasingly difficult for Chinese civilians in Germany. Beginning in 1936, Gestapo, local police and custom officers enforced regulations in Hamburg's Chinatown. On January 25, 1938, the Center for Chinese (Zentralstelle für Chinesen) was founded under the control of Reinhard Heydrich. It was dedicated to controlling the size of the Chinese population.[6]

Many Chinese nationals were forced to leave Nazi Germany due to increased government surveillance and coercion. Most members of Germany's Chinese population chose to return to mainland China, but some chose to fight in the Spanish Civil War. According to a report by the Overseas Community Affairs Council, the Chinese population in Germany was reduced to 1,938 before the beginning of the Second World War.[5] After the start of World War II and the subsequent collapse of Sino-German cooperation, the Gestapo launched mass arrests of Chinese Germans and Chinese nationals across Germany and sent many of them to labor camps. One Chinese person was sent to Auschwitz.[7]

During the war

After the Chinese government declared war on Nazi Germany following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Gestapo launched mass arrests of Chinese nationals across Germany,[8] concentrating them in the Arbeitserziehungslager Langer Morgen (Langer Morgen Labor Camp) in Wilhelmsburg, Hamburg, and used them as forced labourers; 17 died in the process.[9] In 1944, there were 165 Chinese arrested by Gestapo.[10]

Post-war

By the end of World War II, every Chinese restaurant in Hamburg had closed.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Chinesisch-Jüdische Paare im Dritten Reich". Goethe Institut.
  2. ^ a b c Yü-Dembski, Dagmar. "Chinesenverfolgung im Nationalsozialismus - Ein weiteres Kapitel verdrängter Geschichte". Bürgerrechte & Polizei/CILIP. 58: 3/97.
  3. ^ SONDERHEFTE zu WIRTSCHAFT UND STATISTIK (PDF). Statistischen Reichsamt. 1925-06-26.
  4. ^ Ostasiatische Rundschau 1937, S. 541
  5. ^ a b Benton, Gregor (2007). "德国". 中国移民与国际主义. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-41868-3.
  6. ^ Amenda, Lars (2006). 陌生人的海港城市：中国移民及汉堡对其的态度 1897-1972. Munich: Dölling und Galitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-937904-36-8.
  7. ^ "Other ethnic groups". Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  8. ^ Gütinger, Erich (1998). "Sketch of Chinese Communities in Germany: Past and Present". In Benton, Gregor; Pieke, Frank N. (eds.). The Chinese in Europe. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-17526-9.
  9. ^ From: "The 'Chinese Quarter' in St. Pauli." A plate in Hamburg, Germany. It said there were at least 17 Chinese killed and 129 Chinese nationals were arrested. Written by St. Pauli-Archiv (www.st-pauli-archiv.de). Image:
  10. ^ Eberstein, Bernd (1 Jan 1988). Hamburg. China. Geschichte einer Partnerschaft. ISBN 978-3767210226.
  11. ^ Gütinger 1998, p. 199
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