“Kharbinger” of Trouble. Anti-German Protest and Power Relations in a Manchurian City 1933

Abstract

This paper examines the anti-German protest of the Jewish community in the Manchurian city of Harbin under the Manchukuo government. It presents an answer to the question of how the reactions to global events are shaped by local particularities. In this case, the ascendance of Hitler and his National Socialists is the global event, and the Jewish responses to it in Harbin were unique because of the local power relations between different ethnic groups and the Japanese rulers. These interrelations are demonstrated by two peculiarities. Firstly, the Japanese administration in Harbin censored and even fabricated information about events inside the Jewish community. Secondly, despite being able to suppress Jewish protests and having an interest in doing so, the Japanese officials refrained, because the Jews’ perceived economic hegemony led them to opt for a moderate response. Despite being in a position of formal superiority, the Japanese administration was restrained in its ability to shape its multi-ethnic society, and the groups inside that society therefore had room to act.