Erika Lewin Weinblum papers

Erika Lewin Weinblum papers 

Erika Lewin Weinblum (1917-2002) was born in Korjanke, Germany. After Kristallnacht, her family fled the country to China, where she lived in the Shanghai ghetto (Hongkew) until 1947. She was able to immigrate into the United States, but was forced to leave her father behind. Living in New York, she traveled to Washington D.C. several times to meet with members of Congress in order to persuade them to pass legislation that would allow stateless Jews living in Shanghai to immigrate to the United States. Deciding that she could accomplish more with the help of others, she joined forces with Jacob Weinblum (who she later married), along with several other Jews who had family still living in Shanghai, to create the Emergency Committee of Parents and Children of European DPs in Shanghai. She served as the committee’s secretary, and continued to write to members of Congress. She was finally allowed to speak at the Senate Judiciary Sub-Committee in a special hearing on August 5th, 1949, where she implored the sub-committee to push forward amendments to the Displaced Persons Act that allow Jews living in Shanghai to immigrate the United States. The amendments were eventually added to this bill, and her father emigrated from China in 1950. 

Erika Lewin Weinblum papers