In 2024, on the 79th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, and the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, an exhibition about the life and legacy of the communist fighter Richard Frey opens in the Shanghai History Museum (Shanghai Revolution Museum). Jointly hosted by the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum and the Shanghai History Museum, the exhibition titled "A Proud Communist, No Regrets: Dr Frey's Dedication to China" will run from August 31 to October 13.

Shen Xin, Vice-President of Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Li Qian, Chief of the CPC Hongkou District Committee, Teresa Marie Bauer, Deputy Consul General of Austria in Shanghai and Michael Crook, Chairmen of International Committee for the Promotion of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives attended the opening ceremony and unveiled the exhibition.

In the first half of the 20th century, a large number of international friends traveled thousands of miles to China to fight side by side with the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people, helping to win the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. The exhibition focuses on one of them, Dr. Richard Frey from Austria, who came to China in pursuit of his communist beliefs and has devoted himself to China for 65 years, and shows the valuable contributions made by the international friends represented by Frey to the cause of Chinese revolution, construction and reform.

Richard Frey, formerly named Richard Stein, came from Austria. The exhibition is divided into four chapters--“Ignition of Faith”, “Joining the Revolution”, “Rooted in China” and “Together as Long as Possible”. Through 41 exhibits and video materials, the exhibition presents Frey's deeds of saving lives, researching medical skills, training medical talents, and serving the medical and health cause of the new China and shows the vivid image of Frey's fearlessness, courage, breakthrough, positive spirit, and love for life.

The exhibits cover all stages of Frey's life. Among which, the employment certificate at a hospital in Shanghai, the notes on learning the Party's basic knowledge, the treasured Party Constitution, the textbook of People's Health Histology, and a letter signed by Commander Nie Rongzhen are all on display for the first time. Since September 2019, Mrs. Jiang Guozhen, Frey’s widow, has donated 171 sets of historical materials about Frey to the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum, with 37 of these items featured in this exhibition. At the opening ceremony, Chen Jian, Director of the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum, presented a donation certificate to Jiang.

“I hope that these historical materials can serve to commemorate and preserve the history of Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and that more people will know about Frey’s life through the exhibition," said Jiang.

In 2021, relatives of international friends such as Richard Frey, Edgar Snow, Shafick George Hatem (Ma Haide), Rewi Alley Israel Epstein and Isabel Crook jointly wrote a letter to President Xi Jinping to congratulate the 100th Anniversary of the Communist Party of China. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and President of the People's Republic of China, pointed out in his reply that we laud the steadfast friends of China who have shared weal and woe with the Chinese people, and we will never forget those who have made outstanding contributions to China's development and fostered friendships between the Chinese people and their counterparts around the globe. Michael Crook, son of Isabel Crook and one of the joint writers also made a speech at the opening ceremony.

Key Exhibits

The letter signed by Commander Nie Rongzhen

Frey's notes on learning the Party's basic knowledge

People's Health Histology compiled by Frey

The hand-cranked medical calculator and medical bag

Biography of Frey

Richard Frey, formerly named Richard Stein, was born on 11 February 1920 in a Jewish family in Vienna, Austria. He joined the Austrian Communist Party in 1937 and entered the Medical University of Vienna in 1938. In December 1938, in order to escape fascist persecution and pursue his communist beliefs, he decided to go to China and arrived in Shanghai in January 1939. He worked in Shanghai, Tianjin and Beiping in search of the Communist Party of China, while participating in medical rescue effort. In December 1941, he went to the anti-Japanese military base in the Jin-cha-ji area, where he taught at the Bethune School. In 1944, he was sent to the China Medical University in Yan'an. In the same year, he was approved to join the CPC. In 1945, He successfully developed the crude penicillin in China. After the founding of New China, Frey chose to stay in China and devoted himself to the medical and health cause of the new China. In 1953, he received Chinese citizenship. He served as a consultant to many institutions including the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. In 1987, he established the first large-scale medical literature computer retrieval system in China. He served as a member of the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th National Committee of CPPCC, and died in Beijing in November 2004. Following his will, his body was donated to medical research, and his ashes were buried in Tang County, Hebei Province, where he had once fought.