Join the Edinburgh Jewish Cultural Centre online for a historical exploration with bestselling author Paul French.

In the late 1930s, as persecution in Germany and Austria escalated, the International Settlement of Shanghai emerged as a vital “port of last resort”. Approximately 20,000 Jewish refugees fled to this distant Chinese city – fabled for its hedonistic nightlife and freebooting capitalism – navigating a chaotic environment gripped by Japanese invasion and the looming shadow of Nazi pursuit.

Paul French, whose celebrated works include Midnight in Peking and August 2026’s The Last Emperor of China, will unpack this complex history of survival. He will also share his research on the young, mostly female refugees who relocated from Shanghai to Portuguese-controlled Macao. In this neutral “Oriental Casablanca”, they faced entirely new challenges while hoping to reach the UK or US via Lisbon.

For more details and to secure a spot for this virtual talk visit: www.trybooking.com/uk/GWMW