Thomas Rabe: "Rabe's Diary" strings together the century-old Chinese relationship of four generations of the Rabe family

China News Service, Beijing, December 12 (Xinhua) -- Thomas Rabe: "Rabe's Diary" strings together the century-old Chinese ties of four generations of the Rabe family

Written by Yao Jingwen

December 2023, 12 is the 13th National Memorial Day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre. On this day 86 years ago, the Japanese army invaded Nanjing and created the horrific Nanjing Massacre, in which more than 30,72 Chinese were killed. In that darkest moment, the German Johann Rabe fought to protect the Chinese and wrote the "Rabe Diary" to reveal the truth to the international community. Recently, Thomas Rabe, a <>-year-old professor at Heidelberg University in Germany, the grandson of Mr. Johann Rabe, was interviewed by China News Service's "East-West Question", telling about the Chinese relationship between four generations of the Rabe family spanning more than <> years.

Video: [East and West Ask] The century-old Chinese relationship of the Rabe family Source: China News Network

John Rabe statue at the Beijing Exchange Center. Photo by Yuan Li

My grandfather never thought of giving up on protecting the common people of Nanjing

On August 1908, 8, Johann Rabe, who had been interested in China since childhood, took a train from Hamburg, Germany, and arrived in Beijing after several journeys, starting his "China Journey". "People always ask me what the first thing my grandfather saw when he came to Beijing was the Temple of Heaven." Thomas Rabe said.

After moving to China, John Rabe worked for Siemens AG in Beijing. In 1914, after the outbreak of World War I, Rabe did not leave China, "my grandfather persuaded the Chinese officials at the time to let him stay in China. Because he can continue to work at Siemens for the benefit of the Chinese people. Thomas Rabe said. However, with the defeat of Germany, Johann Rabe was reluctantly repatriated in 1919.

A year later, John Rabe returned to China for decades, during which time he had children with his wife and had a happy and unforgettable time. "During his grandfather's time away from China, his Chinese friends cleaned his house and office spotlessly, and when he returned, they warmly embraced him and welcomed him home." Thomas Rabe said that the enthusiasm of Chinese and the experience of living in China for many years made my grandfather have a deep affection for China.

At the exhibition of John Rabe Beijing Exchange Center, a photo of John Rabe and his wife. Photo by Yuan Li

However, the good times were short-lived. In 1937, the Japanese army invaded Nanjing and killed more than 30,30 unarmed Chinese in just two months. "At that time, there was a lot of war in Nanjing, and many wealthy people, government officials, and high-ranking officials were evacuated to Hankou (Wuhan), but there were still many people in Nanjing who were helpless, and they did not have enough money to support them to leave here." "My grandfather and family lived in China for 25 years, worked for Siemens for <> years, and his children and grandchildren were born in Beijing, so he has many friends and colleagues in China. In his opinion, it was a moral duty to protect them, and as such, he felt compelled to stay. ”

Today, looking back on this history, Thomas Rabe still fears his grandfather, "who could be threatened by air strikes or invading soldiers at any time, and because he was diabetic, he could not get the insulin he usually used, and he did not have food and clean water, which affected his health." But even in the face of these "life and death trials", my grandfather never thought of giving up on protecting the Chinese employees in the company and the ordinary people of Nanjing.

Thomas Rabe said that his grandfather once wrote in his diary, "If you have ever sat in a shelter at night, holding the hands of people around you when the Japanese bombs hit, and there are shivering Chinese children not far away, you will understand why I want to stay and help the people here."

Rabe's former residence in Xiaofenqiao, Nanjing. Photo by Yang Bo

In an effort to shelter the Chinese people and prevent the spread of the Japanese massacre, John Rabe, who remained in Nanjing, co-founded the International Committee for the Nanjing Security Zone with more than 20 foreigners and served as its chairman. Twenty-five refugee shelters have been set up in a security zone of less than 4 square kilometres, where more than 25,25 Chinese have taken refuge.

Not only that, but Johann Rabe also opened his private house and garden, which together with the German school and several smaller buildings in the back, form a complex called the "Siemens Conservation Area". "My grandfather had his employees, artisans, and their families take refuge here, and he had the doors open so that everyone could enter, and here he took in more than 650 civilians."

During the war years, it was an impossible "task" to protect thousands of people by himself, and "despite this, my grandfather continued to work to save the Chinese people in the midst of the war." Thomas Rabe said that for months, his grandfather used his foreign status to constantly protest against the Japanese army, and even sent a telegram to Hitler, the German Führer at the time, asking for help. It was not until February 1938 that Johann Rabe was repatriated under German pressure. When leaving, he did not forget to ask the responsible persons of the security zone to protect the Chinese victims, and to escort the Chinese pilot, who was recovering from his wounds, to Hong Kong safely.

At the John Rabe Beijing Exchange Center exhibition, a data map of John Rabe's office at the Nanjing Safety Committee. Photo by Yuan Li

More than 2000,<> pages of "Rabe's Diary" expose the brutal crimes of the Japanese army

John Rabe, who protected hundreds of thousands of Chinese, was a practitioner of humanitarianism, a "good man of Nanjing" in the hearts of the Chinese, and a "thorn in the side" of the Japanese invaders. In 1938, after returning to Germany, Johann Rabe still did not forget to uncover the bloody truth of the Nanjing Massacre, "In Berlin, my grandfather gave several speeches about the truth of the Nanjing Massacre, but for this reason he was convicted of destroying the relations between Germany and Japan and suffered from imprisonment. The premise of his release was that he had to promise not to talk about Nanking again. "After the war, my grandfather fell seriously ill, and he was unable to do heavy manual labor, so he could only earn a small income, so the family huddled into a rented house, exchanging antiques and household items brought back from China for potatoes for food, and barely making ends meet." ”

In 1948, when the news of John Rabe's difficult life in his later years and the lack of food for his family reached China, the people of Nanjing began to raise donations, "My grandfather received $2000,4 from Nanjing, which was a lot of money at that time, enough to solve the urgent need. Thomas Rabe said. Not only that, Shen Yi, who was the mayor of Nanjing at the time, immediately asked someone to buy 1950 packs of food in Switzerland to bring to his grandfather, who wrote in a subsequent letter to Shen Yi, "We adults all rely on dry bread and soup to get by, and it is difficult to even get bread recently, you must have imagined how much it means to me to get food parcels!" ”。 In <>, John Rabe died of illness, and the letter is still treasured in the Nanjing Municipal Archives.

In September 2019, Beijing, "Great Love for Life, Pursuit of Peace - John Rabe Thirty Years of Deeds in China Exhibition" was held at the Memorial Hall of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Photo by Tomita

Until 1996, Mrs. Reinhardt, the granddaughter of John Rabe, who was born in China, was still working hard to "seek justice" in Nanjing and bring justice to China. At the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Meeting held in New York, Mrs. Reinhardt made public for the first time more than 2000,1997 pages of "Rabe's Diary," and the atrocities of the Japanese invasion of China were finally presented to the world after being sealed for half a century, and the "good people of Nanjing" finally came out of the fog of history. In <>, the Chinese version of "Rabe's Diary" was published in Nanjing, revealing the bloody and brutal and extremely dark true history, which was hailed as the Chinese version of the "Schindler's List" and became a powerful evidence of the Japanese army's Nanjing crimes.

"Before my grandfather died, he handed over the Rabe Diary and all the historical documents to my father, Otto Rabe, who in turn gave them to me. In 2016, I donated the manuscripts of Rabe's Diary to the National Archives of China, where they are now inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. Thomas Rabe said that history exists objectively, and no one can erase historical facts, so we must face history squarely and understand history.

In the introduction to the 2002 book Witnesses of the Nanjing Massacre: A Biography of Rabe, he wrote, "Give the world back to man, and man back to himself." This essence of humanitarianism, like a crescent moon that never sets, bathes and purifies countless souls, and also forges Rabe's outlook on life". In Rabe's cemetery in the western suburbs of Berlin, the monument in front of the black-and-white tombstone is inscribed in Chinese and German characters with the words "Thanksgiving - always remember Mr. Rabe's international humanitarian deeds!" Nanjing, China".

In December 2020, Nanjing, the exhibition "Shared Destiny - John Rabe and His Family and China's Friendship" was held at the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre Victims of the Japanese Invasion of China. Photo by Yang Bo

A letter asking for help touched China, and tens of thousands of masks rushed to help

In 2020, when the new crown epidemic was raging around the world, Thomas Rabe wrote to the Chinese Embassy in Germany for help, hoping that China could provide a batch of drugs to Heidelberg Hospital in Germany to relieve the local medical pressure. He said, "I believe that the Chinese will definitely help us." ”

After receiving the letter, the Chinese Embassy in Germany urgently mobilized supplies, and all walks of life in China reached out to help - a pharmaceutical company in Zhejiang immediately decided to give away free medicine, and the Nanjing municipal government raised tens of thousands of masks and hundreds of sets of protective clothing at the same time, which were shipped to Germany through a special Chinese plane. On April 2020, 4, staff from the Chinese Embassy in Germany drove 21 kilometers from Berlin to deliver supplies to the Heidelberg City Government and Thomas Rabe.

83 years ago, 83 years ago, <> years later, watch and help each other. Boxes of anti-epidemic materials bear witness to the immortal friendship between the Chinese people and the Rabe family.

On April 2020, 4, Thomas Rabe and representatives of the Heidelberg City Government received donations from China. Courtesy of Heidelberg, Germany

In addition, as an obstetrician and gynaecologist, Thomas Rabe also cooperates with Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University to contribute wisdom and strength to the development of medicine in China and Germany. "Together with Professor Ruan Xiangyan, Director of Gynecological Endocrinology at Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, and her team, we have collaborated on a number of international projects, established the Sino-German Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and helped Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital to establish China's first ovarian tissue cryobank, the International Fertility Conservation Center, and Asia's first European-certified international interdisciplinary endometriosis center." Thomas Rabe said.

In his opinion, being able to do his part to promote the development of medicine in China and Germany is the best commemoration of his grandfather. "If you compare my hairstyles with my grandfather's, you can see that they are very similar, and as an obstetrician and gynecologist, I may also need to study how to make my hair thicker in the future." Thomas Rabe said, his grandfather was faintly visible from his eyebrows, and in just a few words, John Rabe's voice seemed to travel through history and linger in front of his eyes and ears.

In Thomas Rabe's view, his grandfather's humanitarianism set an example for him. Next to his residence in Heidelberg, Thomas Rabe and his wife founded the first Johann Rabe Exchange Center. Up to now, there are 6 schools around the world, and Thomas Rabe will give special lectures at various exchange centers every year, in order to promote John Rabe's humanitarian spirit and convey the friendship of the Chinese people.

In December 2020, the exhibition "Shared Destiny: John Rabe and His Family's Friendship with China" was exhibited at the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre of the Japanese Invasion of China. Photo by Yang Bo

"Unfortunately, my grandfather died a year before I was born, and I didn't get to see him. But my father often told us about his childhood experiences in China and the story of my grandfather. Thomas Rabe said.

"Although my Chinese is not very good, my father Otto Rabe is very good at Chinese, he was born in Beijing and learned Chinese from a nanny. When I asked my father how your Chinese was, he said that he could explain to others why the earth was round in Chinese. I can't do that. Thomas Rabe said.

Beginning with John Rabe, the Rabe family's relationship with China has lasted for four generations. "My 25-year-old son, a student majoring in business economics, is studying hard to XiChinese, and in 2025, he will come to China for a year to study Xi, and he will continue the humanitarian spirit and the bridge of friendship that my grandfather once built." Thomas Rabe said. (ENDS)

Interviewee Profile:

Thomas Rabe, grandson of John Rabe, author of "Rabe's Diary", chairman of the John Rabe Exchange Center, professor at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, president of the German Association for Gynecological Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine, visiting professor of the Department of Endocrinology of Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, winner of the Chinese Government Friendship Award.

Since 2001, he has devoted himself to promoting the cause of peace between China and Germany and the cooperation between the two countries in obstetrics and gynecology, gynecological endocrinology, reproductive medicine and family planning. At the same time, it has cooperated with Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, and has participated in the establishment of a number of medical centers, making outstanding contributions to medical exchanges between China and Germany.