On April 1, Chinese Ambassador to Germany Wu Ken was a guest on the CCTV News New Media "Common Fighting the Epidemic" program, communicating with representatives of foreign students in Germany and introducing the local epidemic situation. In the
program, the ambassador described a mutual aid that spanned 80 years and touched countless netizens: who is
John Rabe?
In 1937, the Japanese invaders invaded and occupied Nanjing, causing the tragic "Nanjing Massacre". John Rabe, a German who was working in China at the time, contributed his office as a safe zone in Nanjing to accommodate refugees. In collaboration with other kind international friends, saved the total number of people in the safe zone of less than 4 square kilometers. The lives of more than 200,000 Chinese people.
However, after returning to Germany, he was repeatedly arrested and even placed under house arrest by the Gestapo for supporting China to give speeches and exposing the atrocities of the Japanese army. After the end of World War II, he was arrested by the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom successively because he was a member of the Nazi Party. Rabe suffered from severe diabetes after his release and died in poverty. But his story disappeared in China, no one knew.
It was not until more than 40 years later, in 1996, that "Rabe's Diary" was visited by Chinese Americans Zhang Chunru and Dr. Shao Ziping. On December 13th, at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Conference in New York, USA, "Rabe's Diary" was made public to the outside world for the first time and immediately caused a sensation. became one of the most important and detailed historical materials of the Nanjing Massacre.
In the same year, the British newspaper The Times ("The Times") published the story of John Rabe to commemorate the great "Orient Schindler":
At the Rape of Nanking: A Nazi Who Saved Lives
Nanjing Massacre : A life-saving Nazi
By David W. Chen (1996)
When the invading Japanese Army overran the Nationalist Chinese capital in December 1937, soldiers embarked on a two-month rampage of looting, rape and killing that left tens of thousands of Chinese civilians dead in what became known as the Rape of Nanking.
In December 1937, after the Japanese invaded and occupied Nanjing, the capital of the Nationalist government, they began a two-month frenzy of robbery, rape and killing, thousands of Chinese civilians As a result, they lost their lives, and this history was later called the "Nanjing Massacre."
Now a recently unearthed diary reveals an unlikely rescuer of thousands of Chinese: a German businessman living in China who was the leader of the local Nazi organization.
Recently, a diary that has just been discovered has unveiled a rescuer, He saved thousands of Chinese people, and his identity is surprising: a German businessman living in China and the leader of a local Nazi organization.
The businessman, John Rabe, kept a 1,200-page diary that provides a rare third-party account of the atrocities. In it, he writes of digging foxholes in his backyard to shelter 650 Chinese and of repelling Japanese troops who tried to climb over the wall, of dashing through war-torn areas to deliver rice, and of stopping Japanese soldiers from raping Chinese women. He even wrote to Hitler to complain about the Japanese actions.
This named John Rabe’s businessman wrote a 1,200-page diary that provided third-party evidence for the Japanese atrocities. In the diary, he described that he had dug shelters in his backyard to provide shelter for 650 Chinese, drove Japanese troops trying to climb over walls, rushed through war zones to transport rice, and prevented Japanese soldiers from raping Chinese women. He even wrote to Hitler complaining of Japan's behavior.
``These escapades were quite dangerous,'' he wrote in his diary.''The Japanese had pistols and bayonets and I - as mentioned before - had only party symbols and my swastika armband.''
It’s very dangerous,” he wrote in his diary. “The Japanese have guns and bayonets, and I—as I said earlier—only have Nazi symbols and Nazi armbands.”
Mr. Rabe (pronounced RAH-bay), who died in 1950, lived and worked in China from 1908 to 1938. His diary sheds light on a heretofore little-known man, who, although a Nazi loyalist, risked his life and his status to save people who would later become his country's enemies. Indeed, Mr. Rabe's outspoken support for the Chinese upon his return to Germany appears to have ruined his career.
Mr. Rabe died in 1950, and he has been living and working in China from 1908 to 1938. His diary let the world know a little-known person before. Although he was a loyal Nazi member, he risked his life and his status to save lives. These people later became enemies of his homeland. In fact, Rabe still publicly supports China after returning to Germany, which seems to have ruined his career.
Some who have followed his case say that he, like Oskar Schindler, the German industrialist who protected Jews under very different circumstances, offers another example of the durability of humanitarian impulses in the cruelest of times.
Like Oscar Schindler, a German industrialist who protected the Jews under very different circumstances, he once again demonstrated the eternal glory of humanitarianism in the cruelest of times.
Picture source: movie "Schindler's List"
Scholars say Mr. Rabe's diary, which includes reports from other foreign observers, photos and other memorabilia, is valuable not so much for revealing new historical facts, but because it provides an unusually detailed and personal account from a German witness to an incident considered among the most brutal in modern warfare. They believe the diary to be authentic, because American missionaries in China who were Mr. Rabe's contemporaries knew of his actions and supplied similar accounts of atrocities.
Contains reports, photos and other memorabilia of other foreign observers-its value is not in revealing new historical facts, but in that it provided the most brutal event in modern warfare from the perspective of a German witness Extraordinarily detailed and personal narrative. Scholars believe that this diary is true, because American missionaries in China of Rabe's contemporaries knew what he did, and they had similar descriptions of the atrocities.
The diary also offers a counterweight to claims by some Japanese officials who have long denied either the existence or the scale of the massacre in Nanking, which is now known as Nanjing.
For a long time, some Japanese officials have either questioned the authenticity of the Nanjing Massacre , Or question the number of people who died in the massacre. This diary is also a powerful counterattack to the above doubts.
``It's an incredibly gripping and depressing narrative, done very carefully with an enormous amount of detail and drama,'' said William C. Kirby, a professor of modern Chinese history at Harvard University, who has read parts of the diary in German .''It will reopen this case in a very important way in that people can go through the day-by-day account and add 100 to 200 stories to what is popularly known.''
Harvard University Professor of Modern Chinese History Ke Weilin Fragment of the German diary. "This diary records a lot of details and many dramatic events in detail. The brush strokes are gripping, and it makes people feel heavy after reading." He commented, "This diary re-examines the Nanjing Massacre from an important perspective, and people can learn about it. The daily life of this period. In addition to well-known historical materials, the diary also records many short stories."
The diaryhas only now come to light because of the efforts of Iris Chang, a Sunnyvale, Calif., author. While researching a book on the Nanjing massacre a few years ago, she stumbled upon a few references to Mr. Rabe's humanitarian efforts. She tracked down Mr. Rabe's granddaughter, Ursula Reinhardt, in Berlin, and upon discovering that Mr. Rabe had kept a diary, persuaded the family to make it public.
Thanks to Zhang Chunru, a female writer from Sunnyvale, California, USA, this diary Only then was able to see the sky again. A few years ago, when Zhang Chunru was reading a book on the Nanjing Massacre, he found that the notes in the book mentioned Mr. Rabe’s humanitarian assistance operations. She found Ursula Reinhardt, the granddaughter of Mr. Rabe, who lives in Berlin, found the diary, and persuaded them to publish it.
Zhang Chunru and her English historical work "Nanjing Atrocities: The Forgotten Massacre"
Born in Hamburg in 1882, Mr. Rabe spent much of his life in China working for the Siemens Company, rising to become its top representative there, selling telephones , turbines and electrical equipment. His children and grandchildren were born in China, and he had many Chinese friends. He spoke Chinese fluently.
Rabe was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1882, worked for Siemens in China for most of his life, selling phones , Turbines and electrical equipment until he became the company’s general representative in China. His children and grandchildren were born in China, he has many Chinese friends, and he speaks Chinese fluently.
But by 1937, Hitler's Germany was shifting its loyalties away from China and toward Japan. So when Japanese forces converged on Nanjing, many Germans who were working in China felt torn, Professor Kirby said.
But by 1937, Hitler's Germany was gradually Abandon China and support Japan. Therefore, Professor Ke Weilin said that when the Japanese army assembled in Nanjing, many Germans working in China felt dilemma.
Mr. Rabe was ordered by Siemens to leave for the safer grounds of Wuhan, a few hundred miles west on the Yangtze River. But he refused. Instead, he became chairman of a group of about two dozen German and Americanmissionaries, doctors and professors who established a neutral zone in Nanjing as a haven for Chinese refugees.
Siemens ordered Rabe to leave Nanjing for a safer Wuhan, which is located on the Yangtze River hundreds of miles west of Nanjing. But he refused to leave and stayed in Nanjing. About two dozen missionaries, doctors and professors from Germany and the United States established a neutral safe zone in Nanjing as a refuge for Chinese refugees. Rabe became the leader of this small group (Chairman of the Safe Zone International Committee) .
It was a daunting task. Mr. Rabe witnessed people who were shot, doused with gasoline and burned alive. He saw bodies of women lanced with beer bottles and bamboo sticks.
This is a daunting task. Rabe witnessed people being shot, doused with gasoline and burned alive. He also saw many women pierced by beer bottles and bamboo poles.
In his diary entry for Jan. 1, 1938, Mr. Rabe wrote:''The mother of a young attractive girl called out to me, and throwing herself on her knees, crying, said I should help her. Upon entering (the house ), I saw a Japanese soldier lying completely naked on a young girl, who was crying hysterically. I yelled at this swine, in any language it would be understood,'Happy New Year!' and he fled from there, naked and with his pants in his hand.''
wrote in his diary on January 1, 1938: “The mother of a pretty little girl called me loudly and knelt down and cried and begged me to help her. I entered ( At the door of her house, I saw a Japanese soldier lying naked on top of a little girl. The little girl was crying hysterically. I yelled at him "Happy New Year!" in a language that the animal should understand. ", he got up and ran, naked, with pants in his hand."
In another entry, referring to the Chinese he had hidden, Mr. Rabe wrote that it was hard to sleep with 650 people snoring in his backyard. On Dec. 10, with water and power failing and the city ringed by fire, he noticed that his canary, Peter, sang in rhythm to the sound of gunfire.
In another diary, Rabe mentioned what he had hidden Chinese people. He wrote that 650 people snored in his backyard, so it was difficult to fall asleep. On December 10, Nanjing was cut off from water and electricity and was surrounded by fire. He noticed that his canary Peter would scream in accordance with the rhythm of guns.
Rabe laid a German Nazi flag in the courtyard of the safe zone to shockThe Japanese army
Upon his return to Germany in February 1938, Mr. Rabe wrote a letter to Hitler, asking him to persuade Japan to stop the atrocities. But he was arrested by the Gestapo, interrogated for three days and ordered to keep silent on the subject.
After returning to Germany in February 1938, Rabe wrote a letter to Hitler asking him to dissuade the Japanese atrocities in Nanjing. As a result, he was arrested by the Gestapo, interrogated for three days, and ordered to remain silent on the matter.
From there Mr. Rabe's life headed into a downward spiral. Between 1938 and 1945, Mr. Rabe worked on and off for the Siemens Company, including a brief stint in Afghanistan.
Since then, Rabe's life has fallen into a vicious circle . Between 1938 and 1945, Rabe continued to work for Siemens on and off, including a short stay in Afghanistan.
As World War II intensified, Mr. Rabe wrote increasingly in his diary about hunger and the ravages of war; he and his family in Berlin had to eat nettles and acorn soup.
As World War II intensified, Rabe wrote in the diary Increasingly, he wrote about the destruction caused by hunger and war, and he and his family could only eat nettle and acorn soup in Berlin.
Because Mr. Rabe was one of the about 9 percent of Germans who were members of the Nazi party, he had to petition to be de-Nazified by the Allies after the war in order to hold a job. His first petition was denied, and Mr. Rabe had to appeal.
At that time, about 9% of Germans were members of the Nazis, and Rabe was one of them. For this reason, after the war, he had to apply to the Allies to remove the Nazis in order to keep a job. Identity. Rabe's first application was rejected, so he had to appeal.
Ultimately, in June 1946, Mr. Rabe was granted de-Nazification status because of his humanitarian acts in China, according to Ms. Chang. But the investigation proved draining, and he died of a stroke in 1950.
According to Ms. Zhang Chunru, In the end, Rabe was removed from Nazi status in June 1946 due to his humanitarian actions in China. But the investigation left Rabe exhausted, and he died of a stroke in 1950.
``He was humiliated because he had to go through de-Nazification,'' Mrs. Reinhardt said in a telephone interview from her home in Berlin.
Reinhardt said in a telephone interview from her home in Berlin: "This experience of having to get rid of the Nazi status made him feel humiliated."
Mr. Rabe's diary may bolster the efforts of Chinese organizations, who contend that as many as 300,000 Chinese were killed in Nanjing massacres, to extract an apology, or possibly war reparations, from the Japanese Government. Unlike Germany, Japan has been perceived as resisting responsibility for wartime atrocities. Some high-ranking Japanese officials, including a former Minister of Justice, Shigeto Nagano, maintain the incident never happened.
Rabe’s diary can support the efforts of some Chinese organizations-up to 300,000 Chinese In the Nanjing Massacre, these organizations demanded an apology or war compensation from the Japanese government. Unlike Germany, Japan has always refused to take responsibility for wartime atrocities before the world. Some senior Japanese officials, including former Minister of Justice Shigeru Nagano, insisted that the incident had never happened.
Ms. Chang said of Mr. Rabe:''I think he felt that he could make a difference, that if Germany knew what Japan was doing, then maybe Germany could have influenced Japan to stop it. It may have been naivete. But to me, John Rabe is the Oskar Schindler of China, another example of good in the face of evil. Z1z
Ms. Zhang Chunru said when talking about Mr. Rabe: "I think he thinks he can play a role. If Germany knows Japan What it is doing, Germany may prevent Japan’s atrocities. This may be too naive. But for me, John Rabe is China’s Oscar Schindler, another example of doing good deeds in the face of evil. ”
