Remembrance of the Nanking Massacre
A peaceful warrior: John Rabe
Yang Shanyou
John Rabe Memorial Hall, Nanjing University
Abstract: On December 13th, 1937, The Japanese invaders captured Nanjing and
committed the Nanjing Massacre. A German businessman, together with other
foreigners, built a “Noah’s Ark”, a Safety Zone within an area of less than 4 square
kilometers. This German is called John Rabe. He protected 250 thousand Chinese
refugees in his peaceful way, which contributed much to the world peace. This
paper aims to commemorate John Rabe and the 70th anniversary of victory of
World War II.
Keywords: Nanjing Massacre, John Rabe, peaceful way
John Rabe was born in Hamburg, Germany, on 23 November 1882. His father was a
ship’s captain; he died while his son was still young, so that John had to leave school
after passing general exams. He then worked for a Hamburg export firm, first as an
apprentice for two and a half years, and then as office clerk. At his boss’s
recommendation he was sent to Mozambique in southeast Africa, where he worked
for a well-established English firm. There he learned to speak fluent English. He
returned home in 1906. In 1908, he came to China. Next year he went to Shanghai,
where he married his childhood sweetheart from Hamburg. With only a few brief
interruptions, he lived in China almost for thirty years. In 1911, he joined the Siemens
branch in Beijing, where he remained throughout the First World War, even though,
under pressure from the Allies, China declared war on Germany in 1917. He was able
to convince the Chinese authorities, however, that it would be in both China’s and
their own best interest if he continued to run the Siemens office in Beijing during the
war. But in 1919, under pressure from the British, he was repatriated to Germany
along with all his fellow countrymen. German competition was not wanted. A year
later, however, he returned to China and reestablished the Siemens branch in Beijing
under the cover of a Chinese firm, until Siemens China Company was permitted to
reopen, with its main office in Shanghai. In 1925, Rabe was transferred to Tianjin to
be director, and held the wedding ceremony for his daughter there. In 1931, John
Rabe was appointed the representative of Siemens Nanjing Office, as well as
Chairman of the International Committee for Nanjing Safety Zone during 1937.12 –
1938.2. On February 28, 1938 Rabe leaves Nanjing, travelling to Shanghai then on to
Germany, where he works to alert the government and people to the events in China.
He presents lectures in Berlin, showing photographs, an amateur film of the Japanese
violence and even reports to Hitler. A few days after he sent the report to Hitler, Rabe
was arrested by Gestapo. Considering his outstanding services to the business
development of Siemens, the then President of the company, Carl Friedrich von
Siemens, bailed Rabe out on the excuse of his international reputation. But Rabe was
warned not to give lectures, publish books, or show Magee’s films on the Nanjing
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Massacre in particular. Rabe was not even allowed to correspond or make phone calls.
During 1945-46, the heads of the Victorious Nations in the War reached a decision at
the Potsdam Conference to make efforts to put into effect police of de-Nazification.
Only after June 1946 was he declared clean from Nazi. In 1948, Rabe’s family were in
great poverty. The Nanjing City Assembly established a fund-raising committee 2,000
US dollars were collected and sent to Rabe. Shen Yi, Mayor of Nanjing, purchased
milk powder, sausage, tea, and beef in Switzerland and sent to Rabe. Nanjing civilians
sent a package of food to Rabe every month. Rabe wrote back twice, telling his
friends how the friendly help from Nanjing restored his faith in life. In 1950, Rabe
dies of a stroke. In 1997 his tombstone was moved from Berlin to Nanjing where it
got a place of honor at the massacre memorial site.
Peaceful bailout
The Second World War in Asia began on September 18, 1931, the same year John
Rabe came to Nanjing, when the Japanese Army attacked and occupied Manchuria,
in northern China. Japan later launched an all-out invasion of China on July7, 1937.
On December 13th, 1937, The Japanese invaders captured Nanjing. He protected 250
thousand Chinese people in his peaceful way.
Shortly before the Japanese occupation of Nanjing in December 1937, Nanjing
national government and mayor of Nanjing moved to the west China. The Siemens
Shanghai, German embassy, Rabe’s wife and relatives advised Rabe to leave Nanjing
for many times during that period. But he refused to leave and risked his life
protecting our Chinese people, as recorded in the English diary: “Thank you for your
telegram of 25 November—have decide to remain in Nanking –have accepted
chairmanship of International Committee for creation of neutral zone to protect over
two hundred thousand noncombatants.” Rabe was elected as its leader, in part
because of his status as a member of the Nazi party and the existence of the
German–Japanese bilateral Anti-Comintern Pact.Then, on the one hand, John Rabe
acted as a peaceful shuttle negotiator, by comparing the two sides’ arm forces, he
helped to put forward a peaceful proposal, trying to persuade both sides to give up
their weapons. The Japanese government had agreed not to attack parts of the city
that did not contain Chinese military forces, and the members of the International
Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone managed to persuade the Chinese
government to move all their troops out of the area. “Dr. Rosen has told me in
strictest confidence that the peace proposal presented by Ambassador Trautmann
has been accepted by Chiang Kai-shek. Dr. Rosen hopes that there will be peace
before the Japanese can tale Nanking”i, and to persuade the Japanese side to cease
fire several days for Chinese soldiers’ retreat, in vain, but the Japanese government
had agreed not to attack parts of the city that did not contain Chinese military forces ;
on the other hand, in order to reduce the harm to the Chinese civilians, On
November 22, Hang Liwu, Chairman of our school board proposed to establish a
neutral zone for the civilians and jointly establish the International Committee for
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Nanjing Safety Zone in the western quarter of the city. John Rabe was elected as
Chairman, Mills as his successor, Professor Smyth as Secretary, Hang Liwu as Director,
and Professor Bates as his successor. As Chairman, Rabe wrote letters to Adolf Hitler,
German Consul-General, and then to Chinese and Japanese authorities asking for
their support in setting up the Nanking Safety Zone and communicated with
authorities concerned to acknowledge the validity of the neutral zone.
Rabe and other committee members afterwards managed to inform the Japanese
military authorities in Shanghai of the Nanjing Safety Zone with a map of its location,
and requested them not to assault the Zone. The map was later found to be carried
by the Japanese soldiers who entered Nanjing. There were 25 refugee camps located
in the Nanking Safety Zone, covered an area of 3.86 square kilo-meters. The
International Safety Zone then was bound to be in charge of nearly all the functions
of the city government. As recorded in Rabe’s letter to the Japanese Embassy: “But
on December 1, Mayor Ma of the Nanking Municipality turned over to our
Committee nearly all the functions of the City government for the emergency of
transitions: police, supervision of essential utilities, fire department, housing
regulation, food supply, and sanitation…we were the only administrative authority
carrying on in the city. Of course, that authority did not extend outside of the Safety
Zone itself, and involved no right of sovereignty within the Zone….”ii.
On Dec.13, 1937, the Japanese army occupied Nanjing City .To optimize the function
of the refugee camps, the International Committee for Nanjing Safety Zone
distributed flyers of Message to the People of Nanjing, and stipulated Regulations in
the Refugee Zone, calling on people, especially soldiers dropping weapons, to take
refuge in the Safety Zone. Rabe wrote in his letter to Japanese Embassy: “on the 13th
when your troops entered the city, we had nearly all the civilian population gathered
in a Zone in which there had been very little destruction by stray shells and no
looting by Chinese soldiers even when in full retreat. The stage was all set for you to
take over that area peacefully and let the normal life therein continue undisturbed
until the rest of the city could be put in order. Then the full normal life of the city
could go forward. All 27 Westerners in the city at that time and our Chinese
population were totally surprised by the reign of robbery, raping and killing initiated
by your soldiers on the 14th”iii. In order to minimize the dangers, the Committee took
the following measures:
To ensure the security of the Safety Zone, Rabe and others decided to set up flags, on
which are the symbols of International Committee for Nanking Safety Zone on the
boundary; roadblocks and security lines at all the entrances and exits of the Safety
Zone. Policemen wearing safety zone armbands stood sentry at each post with pistols
in hands, examining everyone who wanted to enter the zone and guarding the
border of the Safety Zone.
To ensure the survival of the poverty-stricken refugees, the International Committee
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opened three porridge stalls providing free porridge twice a day, which served for
two months. When part of the refugees returned to their former living places, the
International Committee extended their relief work, setting up temporary refugee
camps within the Safety Zone, taking in peasants from the suburbs, ensuring daily
food supply. In order to prevent the outbreak of plagues, the International
Committee bought from Shanghai and shipped into Nanjing a lot of goods such as
beans, cod-liver oil and medicines against diphtheria and other diseases. Meanwhile,
special toilets were built, and garbage and excrements were also timely cleared.
These measures were highly effective in preventing epidemics from erupting. Gulou
Hospital, a Christian hospital headed by Malin, a Canadian missionary, was used by
the International Committee to take in and treat a great number of patients and
Nanjing civilians who were wounded by the Japanese army. In order to protect the
refugees effectively, John Rabe dealt with the Japanese side in peaceful way. He used
the dugout and Nazi party flag to prevent the Japanese bombing and his party
symbols and his swastika armband to prevent the Japanese bayonets; and he asked
the Japanese authority to restore order with his continuous protests. “All that we are
asking in our protest is that you restore order among your troops and get the normal
life of the city going as soon as possible. In the latter process we are glad to
cooperate in any way we can.”iv Among the 250,000 Chinese people he saved, over
600 were protected at his home, as well as his Siemens Office. Not only people’s lives,
but also many national buildings were protected from Japanese bombing. And now
these buildings have already become historical relics.
Even after leaving Nanjing, John Rabe continues his peaceful behavior. On the 18th of
February, the International Committee for Nanjing Safety Zone was forced to close
and it was renamed as Nanjing International Relief Committee. John Rabe finished
his missions, and was also called back to Germany in the same month. Rabe leaves
Nanjing, travelling to Shanghai then on to Germany, where he works to alert the
government and people to the events in China. He presents lectures in Berlin,
showing photographs, an amateur film of the Japanese violence and even reports to
Hitler, asking him to stop the Japanese’s inhuman doings. A few days after he sent
the report to Hitler, Rabe was arrested by Gestapo. Considering his outstanding
services to the business development of Siemens, the then President of the company,
Carl Friedrich von Siemens, bailed Rabe out on the excuse of his international
reputation. But Rabe was warned not to give lectures, publish books, or show
Magee’s films on the Nanking Massacre in particular. Rabe was not even allowed to
correspond or make phone calls.
After the World War II, John Rabe leaded a miserable life, the then Chinese
government decided to help him out because of the great things he had done in
Nanking. The Chinese offered him an apartment and a pension if he were willing to
resettle in China. All he had to do was to be a witness for the prosecution at the
Tokyo war crimes tribunal. John Rabe declined. In a message he left for his
grandchildren, he explained: “I didn’t want to see any Japanese hang, although they
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deserved it…. There must be some atonement, some just punishment; but in my
view the judgment should be spoken only by their own nation”. In fact, John Rabe
expressed his peaceful viewpoint in his particular way.
Peaceful declaration
From Dec. 1937 to Feb.1938, Rabe witnessed what happened in Nanking and wrote
the famous “Rabe’s Diaries”. Nanking Massacre is one of the most misery memories
in the humans’ history. Memorizing this period of tragedy history helps to prevent
such atrocities from ever happening again. Just as a famous Spanish-American
philosopher—George Santayana pointed out: “Those who cannot remember the past
are condemned to repeat it” v . In this sense, “Rabe’s Diaries” is the peaceful
declaration.
The discovery was made in 1995 by Iris Chang. She was writing the book named “the
rape of Nanking” and heard about a German businessman called John Rabe, who had
created a safety zone in Nanjing to protect Chinese refugees. Then she contacted the
descendants of John Rabe in Germany. They found the diaries in the attic of his son.
In 1996, the diaries were shown to the public for the first time in New York by his
grand daughter, Ursula Reinhardt.
They were about 21hundrd pages long, and recorded over 500 cases of the Japanese
brutality. The announcement of diary attracted media’s attention. The diaries have
been published in Chinese, German, Japanese and English. John Rabe loved keeping a
diary. It was his passion. Actually, he kept a diary in Africa, Beijing, Tianjin and the
other places he lived. But his Nanjing diaries are different from the others. They are
filled with reports, letters, official documents; photos and newspaper articles of that
time that document the Japanese atrocities. It seems the war encouraged him to
write in more detail.
John Rabe recorded the massacre from a neutral viewpoint. He let the facts speak, so
his diaries are credible. Many directors have produced film documentaries based on
Rabe’s diary. In last April, a film titled “Rabe’s diaries”, was released, and helped to
publicize John Rabe, the International Safety Zone and the Nanjing Massacre the
world over. It is also very important evidence to prove to the Japanese right wing and
deniers of the Nanjing Massacre that the massacre is real. It is not made up or
exaggerated. The Diaries helped victims of the Massacre to prove, and back up their
tragic experiences. In one case, it helped to win a lawsuit against a Japanese author.
Mrs. Xia ShuQin is an 80-Year-old survivor.11 members of her family were killed by
the Japanese soldiers during the war. She sued the Japanese author because he
claimed that her story and the Nanjing Massacre are totally made up. Because John
Rabe mentioned her in the diaries twice, she could prove to the Japanese judge in
Tokyo. She won at last and got the compensation.
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John Rabe released more details about particular atrocities or the creation and
maintenance of the International Safety Zone, so it is easy for us to locate the 25
refuge camps in the Safety Zone. He also recorded he had protected over 600
refugees in his home. Up to now, we’ve found almost half of them or their
descendents from the refugees' signatures with their fingerprints. They are the living
evidence to prove the Nanjing Massacre.vi
Peaceful expectation
To our Chinese people who survived the Nanjing Massacre, nothing is more
important than safeguarding national peace. I trust it is also not difficult for us to
understand how important and valuable peace is to all the other nations. We will
never, ever forget the role John Rabe played in helping Chinese people against
Japanese Aggression. In order to commemorate the peace warrior, John Rabe’s
residence is co-renovated to John Rabe Memorial. And now it is well preserved and
turns out to be a location for promoting peace education and peace studies.
John Rabe’s residence is located on the beautiful campus of Nanjing University. In
1930s, the University of Nanking, a former Nanjing University, built the house
according to Rabe’s requirements and rent to Rabe. Here was his home as well as his
office. John Rabe established a German school in his courtyard for the children of the
German employees. And Rabe joined the Nazi party to get the financial support. He
would never realize this very membership will bring him disasters in his later life.
John Rabe’s residence has a beautiful garden with green plants. Rabe’s daughter
often brought her lovely daughter, Ursula Reinhardt to visit him in Nanjing. Little
Ursula always delighted her grandfather and the house was filled with laughter, just
like a paradise. Even during the Nanjing Massacre, here is also a green island that
brings the people the hope of life.
The whole world seems to believe that Nazi Party member Oskar Schindler was a
hero because of his work to save the lives of 1,200 Jews. John Rabe played the key
role in saving the lives of more than 250,000 Chinese. On this comparison alone,
Rabe must rank as a major hero of the 20th Century. So it is of great significance if
John Rabe’s former residence is possible to be renovated and open to public as a
Memorial Hall and International Research and Exchange Center for Peace and
Reconciliation.
In September 2003, the then President of Germany Johannes Rau visited Nanjing
University and paid close attention to the renovation after hearing Rabe's story. In
August 2005, Nanjing Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau included Rabe’s former
residence into the historical and cultural sites under permanent protection. Since
2004, Nanjing University, the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany
in Shanghai, Siemens Ltd., China, Bosch-Siemens Home Appliances Sales Co. Ltd. in
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Jiangsu, have jointly decided to renovate Mr. Rabe’s former residence. On December
6, 2005, the signing ceremony of the agreement was held for the Sino-German
joint-establishment of John Rabe and International Safety Zone Memorial Hall and
John Rabe International Research and Exchange Center for Peace and Reconciliation.
On Oct. 31st, 2006, the opening ceremony of Rabe’s memorial hall was held. John
Rabe house has two functions, one is John Rabe and International Safety Zone
Memorial Hall and the other is John Rabe International Research and Exchange
Center for Peace and Reconciliation. And John Rabe Memorial Hall has ranked on the
list of the world’s peace memorial hall. Since opening to the public, great
achievements have been made in terms of reception, publicity and academic
research. Rabe's memorial hall has received over 60,000 visitors home and abroad,
including German Ex-president, German Ambassador in China, American
congressman, and Japanese vice-consul general of consulate general in Shanghai,
students abroad and Nanjing citizens. Many visitors leave their messages to
commemorate Mr. Rabe and the members of the international committee for their
deep love of humanity and the great spirit of humanitarianism. Especially the
refugees and their relatives protected by Rabe even greatly appreciate Rabe.
The establishment of the John Rabe memorial hall is meant, firstly, to commemorate
Mr.Rabe and the members of the international committee for their deep love of
humanity. The establishment is also intended to refresh people’s memories of this
kind will never recur. Moreover, the project is meant to promote world peace and
humanitarianism everywhere, and to further develop friendly communications and
co-operations among peoples of China and all other countries of the world. We
believe that the establishment has immeasurable significance in inspiring people of
the world with the spirit of benevolence and sacrifice, in demanding human peace
and in preventing the committing of war crimes.
China on Tuesday awarded the top 10 international friends selected by Internet users
for "making exceptional contributions to the country in the past 100 years."
Those who came onto the list include Norman Bethune, a Canadian doctor who died
during the anti-Japanese war in the 1930s for saving Chinese soldiers; John Rabe, a
German who rescued 250,000 Chinese people during the Nanjing Massacre
committed by the Japanese invaders; Juan Antonio Samaranch Toriello, honorary
president of the International Olympic Committee who supported China's bid for the
2008 Olympics; Edgar Snow, an American journalist who wrote the renowned book
"Red Star over China" in the 1930s to make the Chinese Red Army world famous; Dr.
Joseph Needham, a British scientist who spent some 50 years writing a milestone
masterpiece "Science and Civilization in China". Also on the list are Poland-born
Chinese citizen Israel Epstein, New Zealand educator Rewi Alley, Indian doctor
Kwarkanath Kotnis, Thai princess Maha Chakri Sirindhom and Morihiko Hiramatsu of
Japan. Top political advisor Jia Qinglin extended appreciation for the great support
and help of the prize winners and their representatives, adding the Chinese people
would never forget their contribution. "China cannot develop without the support of
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foreign friends from various countries, neither can the world proper in the absence
of China," said Jia, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
National Committee, while meeting with the winner or their representatives. As
globalization continues, countries and people around the world need to enhance
understanding and boost cooperation to promote world peace and development, he
said. "The Chinese people are willing to join hands with friends around the world to
contribute to the building of a harmonious and beautiful world," he said.
Princess Sirindhom said she was greatly moved to receive the honor, as that meant
the Chinese people had never forgotten those old friends who had extended helping
hands to China. The online voting was organized by China Radio International as part
of the activities to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.
Altogether 56 million eligible votes had been collected in the voting which lasted
from Aug. 31 to Oct.10.vii
Either the establishment of John Rabe’s Memorial or the on-line survey only stands
for a symbol for our expectation of the world peace. And the expectation must
extend to every corner of the world. As a non-controversial issue, on the way to the
world peace, there are a lot of obstacles today. All of us should spare no efforts to
contribute to the world peace. John Rabe’s peaceful behavior did not change much
of the war situation, but I do believe what he did will positively impact the lives of
people and the progress of the world peace and reconciliation.
i
ii
iii
iv
THE GOOD GERMAN OF NANKING, The Diaries of JOHN RABE, EDITED BY ERWIN WICKERT P.51.
THE GOOD GERMAN OF NANKING, The Diaries of JOHN RABE, EDITED BY ERWIN WICKERT P.268.
This part is from Rabe’s letter to the Japanese Embassy, Nanking, 17 December 1937
THE GOOD GERMAN OF NANKING, The Diaries of JOHN RABE, EDITED BY ERWIN WICKERT P.269.
v
Human rights in the Asia Pacific 1931-1945, “A resource guide for teachers to support aspects
of senior social studies curriculum.”, Co-published by B.C. Association for Learning & Preserving
the History of WWII in Asia. P.4.
vi
This part is from my talk show at CCTV9, broadcast on July 1, 2009.
vii
This part is from Xinhua News Agency, Updated: 2009-12-09 17:41
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