Bloody Saturday – Shanghai August 14 1937 – The Poor Refugees

Posted: August 14th, 2026 | No Comments »

Here we are once again on the anniversary of Shanghai’s “Bloody Saturday” – August 14 1937 – then the worst civilian aerial bombing to date. It was a confusing time, rumours and conspiracy theories ran rife, Shanghainese and Shanghailanders were scared… and killed. The architectural wounds of that day can still be seen on the old Cathay and Palace Hotels on the Bund, the Great World (Da Shijie) where another bomb fell remains. The death toll exceeded Guernica – it would be exceed again until the Japanese bombing of Chongqing and the Nazi Blitz on London and otrher British cities.

My Penguin China ebook Special Bloody Saturday: Shanghai’s Darkest Day recreating that day from a Shanghailander perspective is still available for just US$2.99/UK£2.99 – amazon.com, amazon.co.uk

Every year on the anniversary (which remains sadly pretty much totally ignored in China as it’s a complicated legacy that doesn’t necessarily reflect on anyone) I try to find another angle

the bizarre sight of a terrified ostrich getting loose and rampaging up and down Nanjing Road

US Marine Guards issue “Keep Off” orders in Shanghai

a local bookshop that swiftly created a window display recalling the bombings

US Marine remembrances of Bloody Saturday

Additional US Marine deployment to Shanghai the summer of 1937

You can also read the story of Cathay Hotel dancer and Bloody Saturday survivor and refugee Terese Rudolph from a bombed Shanghai to an earthquake destroyed Manila to a plagued Hong Kong and back to the stage of the Cathay Hotel’s Tower Club on an amazing journey that inspired her to create a modern dance interpretation of Bloody Saturday!! It’s in my collection Destination Shanghai….

You can also read the story of Cathay Hotel dancer and Bloody Saturday survivor and refugee Terese Rudolph from a bombed Shanghai to an earthquake destroyed Manila to a plagued Hong Kong and back to the stage of the Cathay Hotel’s Tower Club on an amazing journey that inspired her to create a modern dance interpretation of Bloody Saturday!! It’s in my collection Destination Shanghai….

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