This "Rabe's Door" was once the "Gate of Life"

Citizens are visiting the exhibition "Destiny and Commonality: John Rabe and His Family's Friendship with China". Cui Xiao, a reporter from the South China News Rong Media

On the seventh National Day of Commemoration for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre, the exhibition "Fate and Commonality: John Rabe and His Family and China's Friendship" was held at the Memorial Hall of the Compatriots Killed in the Nanjing Massacre of the Japanese Invasion of China. The exhibition reproduces the "Gate of Rabe" located in the former residence of Rabe, No. 1 Xiaofanqiao, Guangzhou Road, as the entrance to the exhibition. Here, 83 years ago, Rabe wore a helmet, listened to the phone, risked his life to take in many Chinese refugees who came to take refuge, and left behind his world-famous "Rabe's Diary". This gate thus became the door of hope and the door of life in the event of disaster.

A complete picture of Rabe's experience from Germany to China

Entering the "Gate of Rabe" is the preface and three main parts of the exhibition, namely "Son of Hamburg , The Edge of China", "Stay in Nanjing , Reach out" and "Don't forget Rabe 's Great Love eternity". With more than 70 pictures and more than 40 exhibits, the exhibition tells the story of the life of John Rabe.

Nearly half of John Rabe's 68 years of life have been spent in China or related to China. In the section "Son of Hamburg: The Edge of China", the timeline is used to present, interspersed with representative pictures, and the 56 years between Rabe's birth in Hamburg, Germany in 1882 and Rabe's departure from Nanjing in 1938 are condensed, including the story of Rabe's birth family, adolescence, African experience, and work and life in Beijing, Tianjin and Nanjing, China. This part has been less covered in previous related exhibitions, and many of the photographs are exhibited for the first time in the memorial hall, showing the audience The Rabe from Germany to China, from young to middle-aged.

In the section "Stay in Nanjing, Reach out", Rabe's appointment as Chairman of the International Committee for the Nanjing Safety Zone, the opening of homes to help refugees, the mutual gratitude between Rabe and the refugees, and the publication and publication of the important historical material, the Diary of Rabe, are shown. The exhibition excerpts a passage from Rabe's diary: "Shouldn't we try to help them?" At least save some people, right? What if these were our own compatriots? This series of questions expressed Rabe's sympathy for the people of Nanjing, and in his heart, he had treated the Nanjing people who had been living together day and night for more than 6 years as his own compatriots, so he decided to stay and help the citizens of Nanjing tide over the difficulties. Because of his German status, Rabe was unanimously elected by his colleagues as chairman of the International Committee of the Nanjing Safety Zone, a humanitarian relief agency.

Rabe rescued the refugees in Nanjing, and the people of Nanjing were grateful for his assistance

In the section "Don't Forget Rabe's Great Love Forever", the situation of Rabe after the return to Germany after the war, the friendship between the Raabe family and China, and the significance of the Raabe spirit in the contemporary era are introduced. Among them, the exhibition also introduces Nanjing's assistance to the Rabe family.

When the news of the poor life of Rabe's family reached Nanjing after the war, the Nanjing Municipality set up a donation committee, and the Nanjing people who were not yet wealthy at that time used donations to buy milk powder, sausages, coffee, butter and jam and other foods, and sent them to Rabe. The exhibition shows the letters provided by the Nanjing Municipal Archives to assist Rabe in that year, and these archives vividly tell the gratitude of nanjing citizens for not forgetting Rabe.

In the exhibition, the audience will also see many examples of the long-lasting friendship between Rabe and China, such as the Rabe family donating Rabe's tombstone to Nanjing for preservation, the Nanjing Municipal Government funded the repair and renewal of the Rabe cemetery in Berlin, Rabe's former residence became the Rabe Memorial Hall, Rabe's descendants visited Rabe's former residence and the memorial hall of the compatriots killed in the Nanjing Massacre of the Japanese army invading China, the opera "Rabe's Diary" arranged according to "Rabe's Diary" was performed in Rabe's hometown, and every November Nanjing will hold the "Gratitude Nanjing Safety Zone" international peace hike. People express their gratitude and respect for the international friends represented by Rabe in various ways.

In addition, the exhibition presents the discovery and publication of Rabe's Diary in the form of a thematic presentation. Viewers can see that Rabe's granddaughter Reinhardt published a photo of Rabe's diary in New York in 1996, and the dusty "Rabe's Diary" that had been sealed for more than half a century caused a sensation at the time. In recent years, Rabe's Diary has been translated into Chinese, English, japanese, and other versions. In 2017, Rabe's grandson Thomas Rabe donated the Nanjing volume of Rabe's Diary, "Enemy Planes Flying to Nanjing", to the Central Archives and published a photocopy in Nanjing, which became an important document for people to understand and study the history of the Nanjing Massacre.

I have more understanding of "don't forget the national shame, my generation is self-reliant"

During the Nanjing Massacre, Chen was invited by pastor John Magee to serve as an assistant to Mr. John Rabe, helping Rabe to understand the real-time situation in refugee shelters and to transport food for the safe zone with Hubert Thorne, deputy director of the Food Commission. On the opening day of the exhibition, Chen Shihao, the grandson of Chen Wenwen, also came to the scene, and he told reporters that when he was a child, he listened to his parents tell the story of his grandparents during the Nanjing Massacre, so he had more understanding of "don't forget the national shame, my generation is self-reliant". "I hope that every Chinese can remember the international friends who helped us in the darkest hours; I also hope that every Chinese can remember the compatriots who left the dangerous city in the catastrophe." They are patriotic people who have fought hard to help others. ”

Liu Tong, a citizen of Nanjing, told reporters that after watching this exhibition, he had many feelings, not only detailed mr. Rabe's selfless help to Chinese refugees during the massacre, but also once again deeply experienced the cruelty of war and the truth that "backwardness will be beaten". "As contemporary young people, we should work harder, live well, cherish peace, not forget history, and contribute more to the prosperity and strength of the country." Liu Tong said.

Source: Nanjing Daily