In December 1937, Nanjing, the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties , faced the most tragic historical catastrophe in history. The brutal and cruel Japanese invaders won the victory in the Battle of Songhu and the Defense of Nanjing, and successfully entered the city after the main force of the Chinese army withdrew from Nanjing.
At this time, Nanjing had fallen. Perhaps it was the Chinese people's will to resist that angered these Japanese invaders. After entering Nanjing, the Japanese army launched the "Nanjing Massacre" with bloody and cruel means.
Japanese soldiers on the battlefield
In catastrophes like the "Nanjing Massacre", the lives of hundreds of thousands of Nanjing citizens were threatened. But thankfully, a German lent a helping hand, he was John Rabe .
He not only used his status as a Nazi to intimidate the Japanese army, thereby opening up a valuable safe zone for the refugees, but he also tried to record the horrors of the Nanjing Massacre and sent a message to Hitler asking for help. So, what happened to John Rabe?
Rabe's friendship with China
In 1882, John Rabe was born in Hamburg, Germany. His father was not only a captain, but also a devout Christian. Influenced by his father, Rabe embarked on the road of overseas business. When he was 26 years old, Rabe traveled thousands of miles to China as an employee of Siemens branch in Beijing, and worked and lived in China for a long time.
John Rabe took a group photo with everyone
While working in China, Rabe not only married his fiancée Daura and had his own family, but his career also developed rapidly in China. Therefore, in Rabe's mind, China is almost like his " second hometown ".
Out of his love for Chinese culture, Rabe collected a large amount of folklore materials about Beijing, Tianjin, Nanjing and other places. These materials later became valuable materials for studying the social life of modern China.
In 1931, the Siemens headquarters transferred Rabe to the Nanjing office, so Rabe began to look for a residence in Nanjing. He personally visited the streets and alleys of Nanjing, and finally took a fancy to , , No. 10, Xiaotaoyuan, Nanjing, and converted it into his residence. This residence was close to the then Jinling University, and its natural and cultural environment was of first-class quality.
Rabe's former residence
At that time, the power of the Nazi Party had already risen in Germany. Hitler even successfully ran for office in 1933 and became the German Chancellor. Under such circumstances, any German who joined the Nazi Party could receive a considerable sum of money.
Rabe has long been troubled by the problem of language communication among Chinese employees. In order to obtain funds to establish a language school, Rabe joined the Nazi Party.
Hitler became the head of Germany
and stood up during the Holocaust
However, in the 1930s, the threat of war faced by China became more and more serious day by day. After the ambitious Japan invaded Northeast China in 1931, encouraged by the militarist forces, it decided to continue to expand the scale of its invasion of China. In 1937, the Japanese army launched the Marco Polo Bridge Incident and the Songhu Battle, launching a comprehensive war of aggression against China from the north and the south.
The Japanese army launched a war of aggression against China
In August 1937, Rabe, who was originally on vacation in Beidaihe, learned that Nanjing had been bombed by Japanese planes. He was very worried and immediately left to return to Nanjing.
Although the German Embassy has repeatedly issued warnings to Germans stationed in China, warning them to evacuate Nanjing as soon as possible, Rabe still chose to be a "rebel" out of his deep friendship for Nanjing. On September 7, Rabe arrived in Nanjing and began to establish a refugee reserve.
Regarding why he helped the citizens of Nanjing who were facing a huge disaster, Rabe wrote in his diary:
"The host country that has treated me kindly for more than 30 years is facing a huge humanitarian disaster. I know the nature of those Japanese. Once they enter the city, they will seriously threaten the safety of the citizens... I hope I can use my special identity to block the cold bayonets of the Japanese."”
Rabe’s former residence
With the defeat of the Chinese army in the Battle of Songhu, Nanjing, the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, has been in turmoil.Nanjing National Government had already moved its capital to Chongqing and had made strategic plans to abandon Nanjing.
After the Japanese army completely occupied Shanghai on November 12, the fall of Nanjing was actually only a matter of time. Rabe was so anxious that he united more than 20 troops to station in China. Foreigners established the "Nanjing Refugee Area International Committee" in an attempt to open up a precious safe area for those refugees who had no way to escape.
Old photo of John Rabe
The International Committee for Refugee Areas submitted a note statement to the Japanese army, requesting that the area bounded by Zhongshan Road in the east, Shanxi Road in the north, Xikang Road in the west, and Hanzhong Road in the south should be used as a safe zone for Nanjing refugees. The Japanese army was not allowed to enter this area. Innocent civilians were killed by force in the area.
Forced by international influence, the Japanese army reluctantly agreed to this request. After the Nanjing Massacre broke out, this small safety zone became the only shelter for Nanjing citizens.
On December 13, the Japanese army entered the urban area of Nanjing, and after entering the city, let out their bestial desires wantonly. Although Rabe and others had heard about the brutality of the Japanese army, when they saw it with their own eyes After seeing the atrocities of rape, murder, and looting by the Japanese army, the anger in my heart reached its peak.
The barbaric atrocities of the Japanese army
Rabe clearly recorded in his letter to the German Embassy in China:
"After the Japanese army entered the city, it seemed that they completely lost the discipline and restraint on the grassroots soldiers. At least 20,000 Chinese women were raped by the Japanese army, and more than 100,000 civilians were killed by the Japanese army." In addition, my private residence was repeatedly harassed by Japanese soldiers. "
Rabe's ending
The reason why the Japanese army harassed Rabe's residence was because he transformed his residence into a refugee camp and took in more than 600 refugees. However, Rabe brought the Nazis to The sign was hung high at the door of the house, which made the Japanese soldiers quite afraid, so they did not dare to be overly arrogant.
With his identity as a member of the Nazi Party, Rabe not only established a refugee safe zone, but also effectively guaranteed the supply of food and medicine in the safe zone, saving the lives of thousands of refugees.
The refugee safe zone established by Rabe
Out of indignation at the massacre by the Japanese army, Rabe recorded a series of photographic evidence of the crimes committed by the Japanese army. When the German government was forced by Japan to recall him to the country in 1938, Rabe made public the evidence of the Japanese massacre and sent a telegram to the German head of state Hitler, hoping that Hitler could take retaliatory action against the Japanese army.
However, at that time, Germany and Japan were under the Axis Alliance, and Hitler obviously would not Break with Japan. Not only that, Rabe himself was arrested by German police on the grounds of "damaging the image of allies and thus affecting Germany's diplomatic reputation."
Hitler and the Nazis
After he was released from prison, Rabe lost his job, and he himself also faced the threat of war-Berlin, Germany, was facing a pincer attack by the US and Soviet forces.
In 1945, the Soviet army launched the Battle of Berlin and successfully destroyed Hitler's regime, while some Rabe, a member of the Nazi Party, was arrested and imprisoned by the Soviet army again. Rabe was not released by the Soviet army until the Chinese government issued proof of his good deeds in Nanjing.
John Rabe
Rabe spent his later years in poverty and illness.. In January 1950, in Berlin, where supplies were scarce, Rabe died of a stroke at the age of 68. His epitaph reads:
"Here is buried a good man, an unyielding man, John Rabe. "
