On November 22, 2012, when the main leaders of Nanjing municipal Party committee investigated Mr. Rabe's former residence in Nanjing, they made the instruction of "repair the tomb of Rabe with gratitude". In November 2013, the construction of Rabe Memorial Cemetery was completed. Professor Wu Weishan, Dean of Art College of Nanjing University, designed and produced the relief of Mr. Rabe's portrait on the tombstone for the cemetery free of charge, and Professor Shan Ying of southeast university designed the tombstone body. Thomas Rabe believes that the re construction of the cemetery is a symbol of Germany China friendship and international friendship. Shi Mingde, Chinese ambassador to Germany, said the completion of the Rabe Memorial Cemetery shows the Chinese people's admiration for the noble humanitarian spirit of Rabe, and it is also a chapter of the friendship between the Chinese and German people. Hu Wanjin, deputy mayor of Nanjing, said that Rabe is known as a "good man in Nanjing". The purpose of rebuilding the cemetery is not only to thank and remember Rabe, but also to pay homage to the international humanitarian spirit he represents.
[this article is the contribution of the author Chen Hui to Chawang]
"To be grateful, to be grateful for every drop of water, to be grateful for every spring." This is the Chinese, this is the Chinese nation.
Novel coronavirus pneumonia is a common German doctor seeking help from China's ambassador for the new crown pneumonia. It is a refusal to seek help and is a refusal to seek help. It is a special request from the Ministry of foreign affairs of People's Republic of China.
Who has such a big face? What's so special?
We pushed the historical lens to 83 years ago to tell the story of Nanjing Massacre.
The man's grandfather, John Rabe, was German. Here are four news about John Rabe:
On April 29, 2009, the film "Rabe's diary", directed by verory garnberg of Germany and co starred by Ulrich Tucker, Daniel Bruch, Steve bussimi, Zhang Jingchu and Xiangchuan Zhaozhi, was released in mainland China.
Thomas Rabe (first from left), the grandson of John Rabe, listened to Chinese ambassador to Germany Shi Mingde (first from right) at the inauguration ceremony of John Rabe Memorial Cemetery.
On December 11, 2013, the completion ceremony of the Rabe Memorial Cemetery, which was rebuilt by Nanjing municipal government of China, was held in the western suburb of Berlin, the German capital.
On the evening of April 24, 2019, the large-scale original opera "Rabe's diary" with the Nanjing massacre as the background appeared at the Opera Festival of the National Grand Theatre.
On the evening of July 3, 2019, the original opera "Rabe's diary", jointly produced by Jiangsu Grand Theatre and Jiangsu performing arts group, was staged at the National Opera House in Berlin, Germany, which officially kicked off the European tour of the play in 2019.
The story of John Rabe was dramatized and put on the screen in China. After his death, China funded the construction of a Memorial Cemetery. Why?
John H. D. Rabe, born in Hamburg, Germany on November 23, 1882, was the head of Siemens' Representative Office in Nanjing, Vice Minister of Nanjing Branch of German Nazi Party and chairman of Nanjing Safety Zone. Later, he served as a military adviser to the Nanjing National Government.
Rabe had joined the German social workers' party, the predecessor of the Nazi party, in the 1920s. He was a senior figure among the Nazis.
Rabe in the middle
Although Rabe was a Nazi, he was full of justice. In 1908, at the age of 26, Rabe came to China and spent 30 years in China. He had special feelings for China, which was his second hometown. Therefore, on July 7, 1937, after the outbreak of the comprehensive anti Japanese War, Rabe did not compete with other foreigners to withdraw, but insisted on staying in Nanjing. Despite several calls from the German government, Rabe has refused to leave. He believes that as a military adviser to the national government, he has an obligation and should stay in China.
In the film, Rabe rescues Chinese refugees under the Japanese tiger
On December 13, 1937, the Japanese massacre in Nanjing began. Rabe personally organized a group to build the "international security zone", which saved 250000 lives of Chinese people and was called "the Bodhisattva of the ocean". The Japanese army slaughtered the unarmed innocent people and the Chinese soldiers who had given up their resistance in Nanjing. Rabe stood up and, together with more than 20 foreign people such as American and British businessmen, missionaries and university professors left behind in Nanjing, established the "International Committee of the Nanjing security zone" under his chairmanship to provide asylum for Chinese refugees.
Old house
Rabe, suffering from severe diabetes, let out his residence and countless Chinese refugees hide in his home. He also dug air raid shelters in the yard to prevent air strikes by Japanese planes. And Rabe himself was blocking the door, blocking the crazy Japanese army with his weak body. At that time, the Japanese army had already killed Hongyan, and there was no reason to talk about it. The brave Rabe was fearless in front of the Japanese bayonet. He always confronted with the Japanese, and even openly robbed people from the Japanese bayonet. Because the Japanese refuse to recognize Rabe's International Committee of the Nanjing security zone, a non-governmental organization, Rabe is not safe. But Rabe was unmoved. He argued with the Japanese, showed his Nazi identity and covered the roof with the Nazi flag. The Japanese don't want to offend the Germans, so they can only watch Rabe protect the Chinese refugees behind him.
December 13, 1937, xiaofanqiao Road, Nanjing. A Japanese soldier found a pair of Chinese mother and daughter, like a wild animal, rushed to her daughter and dragged them into a small house nearby.
Mother cried and begged. A Japanese soldier smashed a gun butt and her mother fell to the ground.
Just as her daughter was about to be dragged into the hut by Japanese soldiers, a German rushed over and shouted in English: stop!
The Japanese soldiers were stunned and did not dare to move their guns.
Rabe, who shows no weakness in front of the Japanese Army
Because the German in front of him was wearing a German uniform, helmet and a pistol. The most eye-catching one is wearing a swastika on his arm.
The German yelled at the Japanese. Although the Japanese didn't understand it, judging from the German's gesture, they let him go.
At that time, Japan and Germany were allies. The Japanese soldiers held a standoff for a while. They didn't know what the "allies" in front of them were. They finally gave up leaving.
The little girl who was saved is Tang Ying. And the German who came out half way was John Rabe.
Rabe's home in Nanjing, located at No. 1 xiaofanqiao, Guangzhou road, is an independent building with a courtyard and the office of the Nazi party in Nanjing, China. This small building has become a sanctuary for Chinese refugees. When the Chinese heard that the Japanese were afraid of Rabe, they rushed to the small building of Rabe to take refuge.
In Rabe's small house and yard, full of Chinese asylum. For Rabe, as long as there is still a place for one person, one more person will be taken in, and Tong Ying will be taken in here.
One night, three Japanese soldiers took advantage of Rabe's going out and pushed several Chinese women with bayonets just to go out. In a critical moment, Rabe came back.
As Tang Ying describes it, Rabe rushes in like a raging lion, yells at Japanese soldiers in English and tells them to get out.
Japanese soldiers look at the Nazi symbol on Rabe's arm and want to walk out of the gate. But Rabe didn't allow it. He let the Japanese soldiers climb in and out.
Japanese devils insist on going out of the gate. Rabe yells and pulls out his pistol. Three Japanese devils can only climb out of the wall obediently.
In Rabe's yard, there is a big flag made of his bed sheets and curtains on the roof, which is a "Swastika" flag. This flag is put to let Japanese planes see it, and also let Japanese passing by see it and "make a detour".
However, in front of the Japanese, the security zone is not safe. Once, Rabe promised more than 1000 Chinese soldiers who had laid down their weapons to enter the security zone. He thought the international law would be effective, so he informed Japan that some Chinese soldiers had laid down their weapons and should be treated as "prisoners of war".
As a result, the Japanese army agreed on the surface, then rushed into the security zone, tied up more than 1000 Chinese soldiers in front of Rabe, and then dragged them out to shoot.
The same thing happened in more than 20 other safety zones in Nanjing. Rabe and other members of the safety committee not only provided shelter for the refugees, but also raised funds everywhere to buy food and medicine for the refugees. They shuttle under the bayonets of the Japanese army and rush to rescue Chinese refugees. Under Rabe's leadership, the Security Council has hosted and rescued as many as 250000 Chinese refugees. Without Rabe and his foreign friends, there might be 250000 more martyrs in Nanjing Massacre. It was not until peace was restored in Nanjing and the refugees were arranged that Rabe left China. As Rabe left, the refugees lined up to see him off and bowed to the ordinary and great German.
After the Nanjing Massacre, Rabe returned to wartime Germany and made many speeches, telling what he had seen and heard, and delivering a film recording the atrocities to Hitler. John Rabe is called "Schindler of China".
Rabe and his wife
After returning to China, Rabe was arrested by Nazis for refusing to summon him. He was unfairly treated and kept under house arrest for a long time. His "Rabe's diary" recording the Nanjing Massacre was also confiscated by the Nazis.
After the end of the Second World War, the situation of Rabe did not improve, and was criticized by the allies. Rabe was once a Nazi, arrested by the Soviet Union and Britain, and imprisoned. When the story of Rabe spread to Nanjing, the national government provided political help to Rabe. After confirming that Rabe had not participated in the Nazi's crimes at all, the Allied court acquitted him. The national government finally made him escape from prison, but Siemens company has terminated the contract with Rabe.
In 1946, at the age of 64, Rabe began to live without food and clothing. He began to work 12 hours a day as a demolition porter to make a living. In view of his benevolence and righteousness in Nanjing, Rabe received money and food from the national government every month. The Nanjing government and Nanjing citizens vied for donations. The mayor of Nanjing also went to Switzerland to buy food and medicine for Rabe and mailed them to Rabe to express the gratitude of Nanjing citizens and Chinese people to Rabe and to thank Rabe for his contribution to the Chinese people in the Nanjing Massacre. The Chinese government also said that if Rabe is willing to go to China, China will take care of him. But Rabe refused China's good intentions. He was not willing to give China trouble or leave his hometown.
Rabe's diary, published in 1997, has been translated into Chinese, English, Japanese and German. It is one of the most important and detailed historical materials of the Nanjing Massacre.
On January 5, 1950, Rabe died of a stroke. He died at the age of 68. He was buried in the cemetery of William's Memorial Church in the western suburb of Berlin.
The tombstone of Rabe cemetery, which expires in 1985, was donated to the memorial hall of the victims of the Nanjing Massacre of the Japanese invaders in jiangdongmen, Nanjing City, China, where it is permanently preserved. At this time, Mr. Thomas Rabe, the grandson of Rabe, reported to the Chinese Embassy in Germany that he hoped to renew the lease of the original site of Rabe cemetery and rebuild the tombstone of Rabe.
Nanjing attaches great importance to this and decides to support it. On November 22, 2012, when the main leaders of Nanjing municipal Party committee investigated Mr. Rabe's former residence in Nanjing, they made the instructions of "repairing Rabe's tomb with gratitude". 2013 1