In 2020, the new crown epidemic in Germany spread rapidly, and the epidemic situation in Germany was very severe at this time, and medical supplies were in short supply. At this time an ordinary doctor Thomas. Rabe turned to the Chinese government for help, and received a positive response from people from all walks of life in China, who have extended a helping hand.
Who is this doctor? Why did you get Aid from China?
John Rabe
In fact, this is all due to his grandfather, whose name is John. Rabe, a hero who saved 250,000 Nanjing people during the Japanese invasion of China.
John. Rabe was born on 23 November 1882 in Hamburg, Germany, the son of a well-known captain. John as a child. Rabe's life was relatively happy, but since the death of his father, he has also begun his own working life.
After graduating from junior high school, he came to an export company as a partner, and after a few years of work, he went to work for a British company in Mozambique, Africa, and his life was very stable.
In 1908, John F. Kennedy. Rabe received an invitation from Siemens China to come to China and started a life in China, having lived in Shenyang, Tianjin, Nanjing and other places for a long time.
In 1931, John. Raabe became deputy director of the Nanjing branch of the Nazi Party in Germany and began his most famous work of his life, The Diary of Raabe.
In November 1937, the Japanese army attacked Nanjing, and millions of Chinese soldiers and civilians began to be displaced. John at this time. Rabe lives in the International Safety Zone and single-handedly protects more than 600 people fleeing.
Not only that, but for a long time after that, he has been fighting the Japanese army, and together with some other caring international friends to participate in the protection of the Chinese people, in a small safe zone, to protect the safety of more than 200,000 people.
Just after the New Year of 1938, tens of thousands of Nanjing people crowded to John. In Rabe's courtyard, he was given a large piece of red cloth, and every word on it expressed the gratitude of these people at this time: You are the living bodhisattva of our hundreds of thousands of people! Then they bowed together to thank him.
In February of the same year, John. Before Rabe was about to return to China, the head of the Nanjing Safety Zone highly affirmed his deeds, and the Chinese Nationalist Government also awarded him the Three Colored Jade Medal.
Returning to Germany, Johann Rabe, still thinking of the people of Nanjing, began to write to Hitler to describe the tragic situation of the Nanjing Massacre, but at that time Germany and Japan were allies, naturally his proposal was not adopted, and he was even arrested by the government for no reason.
In 1945, after the end of World War II, John Rabe was arrested by the Soviet Union and then by the British for being an officer in the Nazi Party.
After a year of interrogation and investigation, it was confirmed that he had not made a mistake, and that he had actively resisted nazi inhuman acts in China, protecting hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians, so he was released and could receive government relief money on a regular basis.
In 1950, John Rabe died, and his work "Rabe's Diary" was entrusted to his grandson for safekeeping and sorting.
In 1997, the tombstone of Johann Rabe in Berlin was over and the municipal authorities wanted to clear his grave. At this time, his family applied to send his tombstone to Nanjing, and because of his great contribution to the people of Nanjing, the Nanjing Municipal Government also applied for his cemetery to be listed as a historical celebrity on many occasions, but did not get the consent of the Berlin Municipal Government in Germany.
In 2006, the Nanjing Municipal Government proposed raabe and the International Safety Zone Memorial hall next to John Rabe's former residence, which will be open to the public free of charge.
In 2013, the Nanjing Municipal Government funded the renovation of the John Rabe Cemetery.