Bar mitzvah invitation of George Tomchinsky
Gift of George Tomkin
Id no. 1999.A.388, Document, Hebrew, English
Subject(s): Ritual, Bar mitzvah
This is an invitation to the 1947 bar mitzvah of George Tomchinsky (later Tomkin). It is printed in English and Hebrew. The bar mitzvah took place in Shanghai, China, where the donor and his family lived at the time.
Tomkin was born Giorgi Lvovich Tomchinsky on June 5, 1934 in Harbin, China. His parents were from Odessa, Ukraine, but they worked their way east to Birobidjan (Birobidzhan), the administrative center of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in the Soviet Union.
They eventually made their way to China, which was only 46 miles from Birobidjan, and settled in Harbin.
In 1940 or 1941, the family moved to Shanghai, which had a fairly large Jewish community during WWII. Shanghai had no restrictions on immigration at the time, providing refuge for some 20,000 European Jews. The family received American visas in 1941, but they were unable to leave because of the war. They eventually immigrated to the US in 1947.
Tomkin was born Giorgi Lvovich Tomchinsky on June 5, 1934 in Harbin, China. His parents were from Odessa, Ukraine, but they worked their way east to Birobidjan (Birobidzhan), the administrative center of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in the Soviet Union.
They eventually made their way to China, which was only 46 miles from Birobidjan, and settled in Harbin.
In 1940 or 1941, the family moved to Shanghai, which had a fairly large Jewish community during WWII. Shanghai had no restrictions on immigration at the time, providing refuge for some 20,000 European Jews. The family received American visas in 1941, but they were unable to leave because of the war. They eventually immigrated to the US in 1947.
