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Monday, May 29, 2023

A Forgotten Hero Of The Rape Of Nanjing

 

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John Rabe


John Rabe was a German businessman and a member of the Nazi party. He lived in Nanjing, China, where he worked for Siemens. In 1937 Japanese army attacked the city and slaughtered 50,000 - 400,000 civilians in what became later known as the Nanjing Massacre. Rabe was one of few foreigners that stayed in the city. He used his Nazi party membership and negotiated with the Japanese army creation of the Nanjing Safety Zone where the army would not attack, thus saving lives of around 200,000 people. During the massacre he actively participated in protecting civilians, putting his life at risk.

When he returned to Germany, he started talking about the massacre and wrote a letter to Hitler. He was then detained and interrogated by Gestapo, but later released and he was not allowed to talk about the massacre any further.

After the war, due to his Nazi party membership he was unable to find a job and lived in poverty, suffering malnutrition. When the citizens of Nanjing heard about his situation, they raised $2,000 (a lot of money at that time) and the mayor of Nanjing himself flew to Germany to deliver him the money and food. They continued sending him a food package every month and he died in 1950.

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