1943 – Maj.Gen. M.A. “Two Gun” Cohen striking a defiant pose on board the repatriation ship conveying him from the Stanley internment camp in H.K. to freedom in Canada..JPG
General Cohen in his own words. Canada, Dec. 1943: It is true I was appointed a major-general by the Government of China. It is not true that I was born in Brooklyn. I was born in England and came some 40 years ago to Canada. In spite of the fact that various magazines have carried my obituary, describing me as the only Jewish General in the Chinese Army, I can tell you simply that I am very happy to be alive and out of the Stanley internment camp at Hong Kong. But I will be much happier when I am on my way back to China. China is still fighting a defensive war. We have not yet got the heavy equipment we need to smash the Japanese. Once we get the tanks and the heavy armaments necessary for an all-out land offensive, we will lick the Japanese in a short time. Extracts from the Canadian press, Dec. 1943.
Michael Alderton notes: The above image, labelled General Cohen of China, is a reworking of a rather revealing full-length portrait, taken with limited professional photographic equipment on board the repatriation vessel m.v. Gripsholm, by the gifted American photojournalist, Mr Carl Mydans. It is a purposefully defiant and powerful portrait of his fellow passenger and serving general in the Chinese army. In spite of the limitations facing him, Carl Mydans has managed to capture something of the toughness and strength of character of his subject, even though General Cohen was, at the time, suffering quite badly from the beatings and privations he had endured during his internment in the Stanley camp. This image is a perfect match for the newspaper heading of the day that announced: Powerful Jew Is Repatriate.
Extracts from the Canadian press selected by Michael Alderton (essarem):
Edmonton, Alberta, March 1944, “Gen. 'Two-Gun' Cohen Lauds Canadian Soldiers at Hong Kong. Chinese General ‘Two-Gun’ Morris Cohen lowered his hefty frame into an easy chair at Edmonton’s prestigious Macdonald Hotel and told the story of how 7000 Allied fighters, including Canadians, stood off 70,000 Japanese to an 18-day fight that ended in the capitulation of Hong Kong. Said the London-born adventurer: 'Canada can be proud of the show her boys put up. For 18 days the whole force of Hong Kong – 7,000 troops including civilian volunteers – stood up against air, naval and land forces of the Japanese, totaling about 70,000.' Gen. Cohen, former real estate dealer in Edmonton, and friend of every Chinese in the city, was taken prisoner at Hong Kong and recently repatriated. He is back in the city for a visit. When told about reports that he had been executed by the Japanese, Gen. Cohen laughed and boomed, ‘Grossly exaggerated! I’m far from dead! I’m very happy to be back, and I’ll be far more pleased when I can get back to China.’ Gen. Cohen’s friendship with the Chinese started in Canada when he became acquainted with Sun Yat Sen, father of the first Chinese republic. He went overseas in the First Great War and was in charge of Chinese labor troops at the front. He came back to Edmonton, where he took an active part in organizing the Chinese Nationalist League (Dr Sun’s representative organization in Canada), and in 1922 went to Canton where he became Dr Sun’s bodyguard. He’s been fighting for the Chinese ever since. Asked whether China would collapse in the fight against the Japanese, Gen. Cohen growled, ‘Nonsense. They’ll go on fighting even if it’s just with the point of a bayonet. The Chinese know what would happen if they quit. They were fighting for years before the Allies came into the war. They’ll go on.’ The general had met most of the Canadian officers in Hong Kong. Since being first called to China in 1922 at the request of Dr Sun, Gen. Cohen has held various appointments with the Chinese government. He speaks Chinese fluently. Gen. Cohen’s telephone was ringing constantly as word spread through the city that he was here. He is busy making the re-acquaintance of all his Chinese friends and others in Edmonton."
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Maj.Gen. M.A. “Two-Gun” Cohen
General Cohen in his own words. Canada, Dec. 1943: It is true I was appointed a major-general by the Government of China. It is not true that I was born in Brooklyn. I was born in England and came some 40 years ago to Canada. In spite of the fact that various magazines have carried my obituary, describing me as the only Jewish General in the Chinese Army, I can tell you simply that I am very happy to be alive and out of the Stanley internment camp at Hong Kong. But I will be much happier when I am on my way back to China. China is still fighting a defensive war. We have not yet got the heavy equipment we need to smash the Japanese. Once we get the tanks and the heavy armaments necessary for an all-out land offensive, we will lick the Japanese in a short time. Extracts from the Canadian press, Dec. 1943.
Maj.Gen. M.A. “Two-Gun” Cohen.
Michael Alderton notes: The above image, labelled General Cohen of China, is a reworking of a rather revealing full-length portrait, taken with limited professional photographic equipment on board the repatriation vessel m.v. Gripsholm, by the gifted American photojournalist, Mr Carl Mydans. It is a purposefully defiant and powerful portrait of his fellow passenger and serving general in the Chinese army. In spite of the limitations facing him, Carl Mydans has managed to capture something of the toughness and strength of character of his subject, even though General Cohen was, at the time, suffering quite badly from the beatings and privations he had endured during his internment in the Stanley camp. This image is a perfect match for the newspaper heading of the day that announced: Powerful Jew Is Repatriate.
Maj.Gen. M.A. “Two-Gun” Cohen.
Extracts from a 1943 U.S. Immigration Document:
Manifest of Alien Passengers for the United States per m.v. Gripsholm, arriving at New York on 1 Dec, 1943.
Name of Passenger – Cohen, Morris Abraham.
Occupation – Banker.
Nationality – Canadian.
Race – English.
Place of Birth – London, England.
Extracts from a 1943 Canadian Immigration Document:
Department of External Affairs, Ottawa. List of Canadians repatriated on board the m.v. Gripsholm.
Name of Passenger – Cohen, Morris Abraham.
Place of Birth – London, England.
Profession – Banker. (Repatriated as an Official)
Employment Status – Employed.
Property left in territory under enemy control – Shares in China Light & Power Co., Hong Kong to the value of Can.$40,000.
Maj.Gen. M.A. “Two-Gun” Cohen.
Extracts from the Canadian press selected by Michael Alderton (essarem):
Edmonton, Alberta, March 1944, “Gen. 'Two-Gun' Cohen Lauds Canadian Soldiers at Hong Kong. Chinese General ‘Two-Gun’ Morris Cohen lowered his hefty frame into an easy chair at Edmonton’s prestigious Macdonald Hotel and told the story of how 7000 Allied fighters, including Canadians, stood off 70,000 Japanese to an 18-day fight that ended in the capitulation of Hong Kong. Said the London-born adventurer: 'Canada can be proud of the show her boys put up. For 18 days the whole force of Hong Kong – 7,000 troops including civilian volunteers – stood up against air, naval and land forces of the Japanese, totaling about 70,000.' Gen. Cohen, former real estate dealer in Edmonton, and friend of every Chinese in the city, was taken prisoner at Hong Kong and recently repatriated. He is back in the city for a visit. When told about reports that he had been executed by the Japanese, Gen. Cohen laughed and boomed, ‘Grossly exaggerated! I’m far from dead! I’m very happy to be back, and I’ll be far more pleased when I can get back to China.’ Gen. Cohen’s friendship with the Chinese started in Canada when he became acquainted with Sun Yat Sen, father of the first Chinese republic. He went overseas in the First Great War and was in charge of Chinese labor troops at the front. He came back to Edmonton, where he took an active part in organizing the Chinese Nationalist League (Dr Sun’s representative organization in Canada), and in 1922 went to Canton where he became Dr Sun’s bodyguard. He’s been fighting for the Chinese ever since. Asked whether China would collapse in the fight against the Japanese, Gen. Cohen growled, ‘Nonsense. They’ll go on fighting even if it’s just with the point of a bayonet. The Chinese know what would happen if they quit. They were fighting for years before the Allies came into the war. They’ll go on.’ The general had met most of the Canadian officers in Hong Kong. Since being first called to China in 1922 at the request of Dr Sun, Gen. Cohen has held various appointments with the Chinese government. He speaks Chinese fluently. Gen. Cohen’s telephone was ringing constantly as word spread through the city that he was here. He is busy making the re-acquaintance of all his Chinese friends and others in Edmonton."