Escape to Manila: From Nazi Tyranny to Japanese Terror

by Frank Ephraim

A harrowing account of Jewish refugees in the Philippines With the rise of Nazism in the 1930s more than a thousand European Jews sought refuge in the Philippines, joining the small Jewish population of Manila. When the Japanese invaded the islands in 1941, the peaceful existence of the barely settled Jews filled with the kinds of uncertainties and oppression they thought they had left behind. In this book Frank Ephraim, who fled to Manila with his parents, gathers the testimonies of thirty-six refugees, who describe the difficult journey to Manila, the lives they built there upon their arrival, and the events surrounding the Japanese invasion. Combining these accounts with historical and archival records, Manila newspapers, and U.S. government documents, Ephraim constructs a detailed account of this little-known chapter of world history.

Genres: Holocaust, Nonfiction

248 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Phyllis Bismanovsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who knew the Philippine government accepted several thousand Jewish refugees from Nazi tyranny in WWII only to have many of that community murdered when the Japanese invaded the Philippines. A chapter from WWII I never heard about. A very compelling account of Jewish life in the Philippines for those Jews who were allowed to enter the safety of the Philippines.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

My pathway to this book about a little known part of history is an interesting one. In the earlier days of the internet I developed an interest in genealogy. While researching a great uncle who was a Jewishbusinessmanin Manila, I had several interesting email exchanges with the author of this book that were quite informative and I saved on my computer. A recent inquiry from someone sent me back to that document and I then learned about this book when I googled the name of the person I'd emailed over 20 years earlier. And although my uncle isn't mentioned in it, it is quite fascinating. I never knew before about this brave group of German Jews who'd made their way to the Philippines following Kristalnacht. Life was fairly good for them in this new country, and they had good relationships with the Filipinos. But once the Japanese entered the Philippines, things deteriorated rapidly. This is a classic tale of a nation in the diaspora, but in a very different setting from where we generally associate Jews. It is also a sad saga of one of the few nations to take in Jews as the Holocaust swept through Europe. If any aspects of these events interest you, track this book down.

[Abra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite the fascinating subject matter, this book is extremely dry. From the gut-wrenching Nazi terror to the remarkable survivorship, everything reads like a list of names and actions. This is because the author never establishes any emotional connection, meaning everything feels the same and nothing stands out as anything other than a "fact" or a neutral "event".

[Craig Barner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow.