Abraham Kaufman
Dr. Abraham Josevich Kaufman (Абрам Иосифович Кауфман, b. November 22, 1885 – d. March 25, 1971) was a Russian-born medical doctor, community organizer and
As a consequence of his contacts with Japanese authorities during World War II and the Second Sino-Japanese War, he was kidnapped, arrested and imprisoned by Soviet authorities immediately after the war, and was interned in a Soviet Gulag penal labor camp from 1945 to 1956. Israeli authorities subsequently worked to expedite his immigration to Israel, where he was able to resume his medical practice.
Early life
Abraham Kaufman was born to Yosef Zalmonovich Kaufman in 1885 in Megilne (Мглине), a tiny Jewish village near
Kaufman became an ardent Zionist, and while working in Perm after completing his medical degree he devoted all his spare time to supporting the movement, working under Dr. E. V. Chlenov (Е.В.Членов) in the Moscow region. He toured a number of cities lecturing on
Move to China
Kaufman emigrated to
- medical director of the Jewish hospital of Harbin
- chairman of the Harbin's Jewish community
- chairman of the Jewish National Fund and Keren Hayesod Zionist fundraising organizations
- board member of the Jewish Agency
- chairman of the Jewish Zionist organization of China
- president of the Hebrew Association of Harbin
- chief editor of the Evreiskaya Zhizn ("Jewish Life" – Еврейская жизнь) weekly Jewish magazine in Russian (1921–1943)
- chairman of the National Council of the Jews of Eastern Asia (Far East) in 1937
He was also the head of the Far Eastern Jewish Council (FEJ – Национального Совета) which he helped found, and also the Vaad Haleumi (Ваад-Галеуми), both founded in 1937 with the encouragement of Japanese officials such as Norihiro Yasue.[1][5]
Activities during the Holocaust
Befriended by
In May 1939, Kaufman was invited on an official visit to Tokyo, where he visited many of the ministries of the Japanese government, met with a number of officials, and became one of the few foreigners to be honored with an imperial award. He used this opportunity to express to the government officials with whom he met the desires, needs and attitudes of the Jews of Manchukuo, and was reassured of the non-discriminatory attitude of the Japanese government.[6] He formally thanked Prime Minister Nobuyuki Abe for the prejudice-free protection offered Jews in East Asia by the Japanese authorities, and suggested that the global Jewish community would be grateful should Japan create a safe haven in East Asia, and that in return the Jewish communities of East Asia would support Imperial Japan's vision for a new order in East Asia.[7]
By 1942, a great number of Jews had sought refuge in Japan from Eastern Europe, settling in
Following his release, Kaufman returned to Harbin, and to his activities with the Far Eastern Jewish Council, which included raising substantial donations to the severely impoverished Jewish community in Shanghai.[10]
Post–war arrest by the Soviets
In 1945, just days before the end of World War II, the
The Jewish community organizers were taken to the Soviet Union, where Kaufman was imprisoned in a Gulag labor camp for 11 years.[2][11][12] Zimin would die during his imprisonment in the Soviet penal labor camp that he was interned in.
Emigration to Israel
After Kaufman's release from the Gulag system in 1956, he moved to Karaganda, Kazakhstan, and on March 25, 1961, emigrated to Israel. He was joined by his son Theodore (Teddy) Kaufman, who would later hold a high position in the Israeli government. Dr. Kaufman spent the remainder of his life practicing medicine, specializing in pediatrics under the Histadrut in Israel, and was buried there after he died in Tel Aviv in 1971.[2][11]
Family
Kaufman's wife also matriculated in medicine at the University of Bern.[13] Kaufman's son Theodore became president of Association of Former Jewish Residents of China, and also the Israel-China Friendship Society. He and Heilongjiang Academy of Social Sciences Professor Qu Wei co-wrote "The Homesick Feeling of the Harbin Jews".[13] Theodore's wife, Rasha Segerman, studied at the Shanghai Jewish School in her youth.
See also
References
- Notes
- ^ a b c d e Dr. A. J. Kaufman[permanent dead link], Jewish Communities of China website, January 12, 2002. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e Vladimirsky, Irena. The Jewish Community of Harbin Archived 2018-06-12 at the Wayback Machine, Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot website. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-7190-5604-8.
- ^ Harbin, Jewish Virtual Library online.
- ^ a b Tokayer. pp.55–56.
- ^ Tokayer. pp.66–67.
- ^ Reynders Ristaino, Marcia. Port of Last Resort: The Diaspora Communities of Shanghai. Stanford: Stanford University press, 2003. pp.148–149.
- ^ Tokayer. pp226, 231.
- ^ Tokayer. pp231-233.
- ^ Tokayer. p252.
- ^ a b c Ossin, Archie. Jews in China Archived 2010-12-24 at the Wayback Machine, January 2001.
- ISBN 0-306-48321-1.
- ^ a b Detailed History of Harbin Archived 2019-09-22 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved October 29, 2010, from the Sino-Judaic Institute website, which in turn cites:
- Ehrlich, Mark Avrum. Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture, ABC-CLIO, 2009, ISBN 978-1-85109-873-6; as well as:
- Shtetlinks website.
- Ehrlich, Mark Avrum. Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture, ABC-CLIO, 2009,
- Bibliography
- Ben-Canaan, Dan. Nostalgia vs. Historical Reality[permanent dead link], Heilongjiang University, School of Western Studies, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, P.R.C., 2007.
- Kaufman, Abraham, translation: Tzur, Benny. Camp Doctor: 16 Years in the Soviet Union, JewsOfChina.org website.
- Tokayer, Marvin & Swartz, Mary. "The Fugu Plan: The Untold Story of the Japanese and the Jews During World War Two", Weatherhill Inc., New York, 1979.
- Eber, Irene. Chinese and Jews: Encounters Between Cultures, Vallentine Mitchell, 2008, pg.14, ISBN 978-0-85303-673-9.