Authors

Discussion

This paper examines multi-ethnic coexistence in Harbin during the Manchukuo period. The Manchukuo government’s slogan, “Harmony of the Five Races,” referred to Han Chinese, Manchus, Mongolians, Japanese, and Koreans. Although approximately 80 per cent of Harbin’s population was Chinese, Russian culture remained deeply rooted throughout the Manchukuo era, as the Russians had laid the foundations of the city’s infrastructure.

One of the main centres of this cultural continuity was the Churin Department Store, which expanded into Harbin at roughly the same time as the city’s early development. The Churin Department Store not only sold European products and sustained a Western lifestyle but also employed a large number of European staff. About eighty per cent of its employees were “Russians” in the broad sense of the term—including both émigrés and Soviet nationals who had fled the Russian Revolution. Although it is difficult to identify their precise ethnic composition, the workforce was clearly diverse.

How were these employees treated in a company where the majority were Russian? Did their position change with the shifts in ownership and management? This presentation explores the status of minorities within the Churin Department Store, with particular attention to the case of German employees.