John Rabe
| John Rabe | |
|---|---|
John Rabe
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| Born |
November 23, 1882 Hamburg, German Empire |
| Died | January 5, 1950 (aged 67) |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Employer | Siemens AG |
| Known for | Saving civilian lives during the Nanking Massacre |
| Political party | Nazi Party |
| Spouse(s) | Dora Rabe |
| Relatives | Grandfather of Dr. Thomas Rabe |
John Heinrich Detlev Rabe (November 23, 1882 – January 5, 1950) was a German businessman and Nazi Party member who is best known for his efforts to stop the atrocities of the Japanese army during the Nanking Occupation and his work to protect and help the Chinese civilians during the event. The Nanking Safety Zone, which he helped to establish, sheltered approximately 200,000 Chinese people from slaughter during the massacre. He officially represented Germany and acted as senior chief of the European–American establishment that remained in Nanjing, the Chinese capital at the time, when the city fell to the Japanese troops.
Born in Hamburg on November 23, 1882, Rabe pursued a career in business and went to Africa for several years. In 1908 he left for China, and between 1910 and 1938, he worked for the Siemens AG China Corporation in Mukden, Peking, Tientsin, Shanghai and later Nanjing. Rabe suffered from diabetes by the time he was working in Nanjing, which required him to have his regular dose of insulin.
Many Westerners were living in the Chinese capital city of the time, as Nanking was until December 1937, conducting trade or on missionary trips. As the Japanese army approached Nanking (now Nanjing) and initiated bombing raids on the city, all but 22 foreigners fled the city, with 15 American and European missionaries and businessmen forming part of the remaining group. On November 22, 1937, as the Japanese Army advanced on Nanking, Rabe, along with other foreign nationals, organized the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone and created the Nanking Safety Zone to provide Chinese refugees with food and shelter from the impending Japanese slaughter. He explained his reasons thus: "... there is a question of morality here...I cannot bring myself for now to betray the trust these people have put in me, and it is touching to see how they believe in me." The zones were located in all of the foreign embassies and at Nanking University.
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Wikipedia