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The Renovation of the Museum
Time:2010/10/18 15:06:44
In 1928, Gabriel Rabinovitch, a Russian Jewish architect, converted a former residential building at 62 Changyang Road, Hongkou District (formerly called 62 Ward Road) into an Ohel Moshe Synagogue. During WWII, the Ohel Moshe Synagogue was the major venue for regular gatherings and religious services of Jewish refugees in Shanghai. After the war ended, as Jewish refugees left Shanghai one after another, the Jewish community in Shanghai declined. As a result, the Ohel Moshe Synagogue no longer held religious activities and was therefore turned back into a residential building. Since the 1990s when it was set up, the Museum for Jewish Refugees in Shanghai (now called Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum) has been visited by important political leaders of Israel, Germany, Austria and other countries, and the number of foreign visitors increased every year. It has therefore become an important platform of Hongkou District for international exchanges, so the CPC committee and government of Hongkou District have attached great importance to the construction and development of the Museum. In order to preserve and renovate the Ohel Moshe Synagogue so that it may be a vivid evidence of the history of Jewish refugees in Shanghai, the government of Hongkou District has invested generously in the renovation of the Ohel Moshe Synagogue, and thus restored it to its original look and turned it into a museum.
In May, 2006, Yu Beihua, mayor of Hongkou District, presided over a meeting at which Professor Zheng Shiling, a member of the Academy of Sciences of China and an architectural expert, was invited to conduct researches on renovation project. It was required that the renovation project and museum development should go along with each other under a high-aiming unified planning on the basis of respecting history. After the meeting, Song Yanyu, director of the Publicity Department and a standing member of the CPC Committee of Hongkou District, made the job division. Many departments of Hongkou District were involved, such as the Foreign Affairs Office, the Construction and Transportation Committee, and the Bureau of Culture, and performed their duties in close cooperation with one another. The Publicity Department and the Foreign Affairs Office reported in writing the project progress on a regular basis to the CPC Committee and government of Hongkou District. In Sept. 2006, Mayor Yu Beihua called a meeting again to listen to reports on the project and urged relevant departments to start public tendering for the project as soon as possible.
After careful preparation, from April 2007 to May 2008, the Ohel Moshe Synagogue was put under complete renovation and a museum was built within it. Shanghai Zhangming Architectural Design Firm designed the renovation plan, and No. 1 Project Company of Shanghai Construction Decoration Group won the bid and was responsible for the construction work. The company had undertaken the task of repairing Moller Villa and the former residence of Soong Ching Ling. He Ning, a Chinese-American artist who had created a large number of art works on the subject of Jews, designed the exhibition scheme. The Foreign Affairs Office of Hongkou District compiled a Special Report on the Renovation of the Ohel Moshe Synagogue during the renovation project and reported the progress of the project regularly and important issues to the District leadership as they may happen.
Leaders of Hongkou District, such as Sun Weiguo, Yu Beihua, Yuan Yuebin, Ying Mingyong and Song Yan, have paid great attention to the renovation project and came to the construction site many times to witness and inspect the actual implementation. On March 22, 2007, Sun Weiguo, secretary of the CPC Committee of Hongkou District pointed out, when inspecting the renovation project, that efforts should be made to further improve the renovation project and the surrounding environment at the same time. He also said that work should be carried out more efficiently with high-aiming planning and construction, and the relocation of residents should be completed as soon and properly as possible in order to finish the whole project without regret. During the period of construction, all relevant departments held weekly meetings to circulate the instructions from District leaders and solved practical problems that may arise in discussion. Zhangming Architectural Design Firm continuously adapted and improved its construction design, taking into consideration problems encountered in the process of renovation and suggestions from experts. The objectives are to utilize regional advantages, restore the building to its original look, designed a layout that meets future needs, improve the supporting facilities and capabilities, and thus enhance the overall quality of the environment. The entire renovation project went smoothly.
In early 2007, leaders and experts from the Foreign Affairs Office of Shanghai Municipal Government, Tongji University and the Center of Jewish Studies of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and He Ning were invited to a meeting in Hongkou District to discuss the arrangement of exhibition at the Jewish Refugees Museum and offer suggestions and ideas to meet the requirements of the District leaders. Consul General of Israel in Shanghai, rabbis and Jewish artists also offered suggestions and help.
In April 2007, Song Yan, a Standing Member of the CPC Committee and head of the Publicity Department of Hongkou District, led a delegation consisting of officials from the Foreign Affairs Office, the Tourism Committee and the Bureau of Culture of Hongkou District to Harbin. They visited the Exhibition of Jewish History and Culture in Harbin, held meetings with experts from the Academy of Social Sciences in Heilongjiang Province and the Construction Committee of Harbin to learn from their experience in exhibition arrangement. In August 2007, the District Bureau of Culture made an exhibition plan of the first three floors. With the support of the Center of Jewish Studies of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, He Ning finalized the exhibition plan for the newly built Exhibition Hall No. 2 in November 2007. Shanghai Exhibition and Advertising Decoration Co., Ltd., which was responsible for exhibition at Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center and some pavilions in EXPO 2010, undertook the art design and exhibition arrangement of the Exhibition Hall. School of Film & TV Technology of Shanghai University was responsible for producing short films for the exhibition. All parties involved had clear division of labor and smooth coordination, and completed the task with high quality and efficiency.
In August 2007, the Ohel Moshe Synagogue finally showed its former style when it was a synagogue in 1928. On October 26, 2007, the newly renovated synagogue was open to the public. On the same day, Ying Yongming, deputy mayor of Hongkou District, visited the hall and raised relevant requirements.
Exhibition Hall No. 2 was open to the public at the end of Dec. 2007. In addition to the traditional means of display such as pictures and captions, the Exhibition Hall used modern technologies and artistic means of exhibition such as clips and sculptures together with multi-screen multimedia clips, small, circular carvings and oil paintings.
With the support of the District government, Exhibition Hall No. 3, which would be used for temporary exhibitions, was completed at the end of May 2008 after relocation and reconstruction. Thus, the renovation and expansion project of the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum was basically completed.
