On the afternoon of December 31, 2025, Arnold Mittleman, Founder and President of the National Jewish Theatre Foundation (NJTF), visited the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum and held a meeting with the museum’s director, Chen Jian. The two sides exchanged views on jointly promoting the discovery, preservation, and theatrical presentation of the history of Jewish refugees in Shanghai and explored multiple potential areas of cooperation.

At 3:00 p.m. that day, Mr. Mittleman and his family arrived at the museum for a tour of the exhibition, after which they met with Director Chen Jian. Mr. Mittleman presented Director Chen with a copy of his published work, Enacting History: A Practical Guide to Teaching the Holocaust Through Theatre, expressing his hope to establish a long-term friendly partnership with the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum. Director Chen, in return, presented a gift as a token of respect.

Mr. Mittleman (left) and  Director Chen (right)

During the meeting, Mr. Mittleman introduced the National Jewish Theatre Foundation’s global efforts to collect and build a database of theatre works related to the Holocaust since 1933. He expressed his desire to include more Chinese-language theatre works in the collection to enrich its content. He emphasized that the foundation remains committed to preserving the memory of the Holocaust through artistic forms such as theatre and drama, and to strengthening historical education for younger generations. For instance, the foundation has conducted theatre educational programs for young people, using methods such as scene reconstruction and survivor testimony reenactment to help the younger generation immerse themselves in history and draw meaningful lessons from it.

He also praised the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum for its contributions to historical preservation and public education and expressed his hope to incorporate the historical narrative of Jewish refugees in Shanghai into the foundation’s ongoing theatre projects.

Director Chen Jian introduced that Professor Gao Xiang, a tenured professor at the University of Delaware, has created a musical titled Shanghai Sonatas, inspired by the history of Jewish refugees seeking shelter in Shanghai. He also recommended O Vazio na Mala (The Emptiness in the Suitcase), a play created by Brazilian Theater Play Director, Dinah Feldman, who is also a Shanghai refugee descendant. Both works offer unique perspectives on the history of Jewish refugees in Shanghai and may foster future collaborative opportunities.

Director Chen Jian also expressed his hope to establish cooperation with the foundation, aiming to incorporate theatrical and other artistic forms into the museum’s future global exhibition tours. He also mentioned that the nearby Broadway Theatre stands as a historical witness to Jewish refugees' lives in Shanghai, and it is hoped that it will also play a role in disseminating this history in the future.

The meeting explored the potential for deeper collaboration between the two sides in the fields of historical education and artistic dissemination, marking a step toward the further extension and integration of the memory of Jewish refugees in Shanghai on international theatrical platforms.