The gunfire of the July 7th Incident broke Rabe's quiet life. 1in August, 937, the Japanese army began to shell Nanjing. Rabe was on holiday in Beidaihe, and he didn't come home all night. He built a bomb shelter in the yard for servants and nearby residents. 165438+ 10, he and some westerners set up a safe area, hoping to provide a shelter for refugees at the most dangerous moment of Nanjing's fall. He was promoted to the chairman of the safe area, and Rabe knew how heavy the burden was. He said: "With me as chairman, I should not hesitate any longer. The best youth in my life was spent happily in this country. My children and grandchildren were born here, and my career has been successful here. I have always been treated kindly by the people of China. "
Rabe's list of asylum seekers, signed handprints. There are 25 refugee shelters in the safe zone, and nearly 300,000 refugees have gathered. As the "executive mayor" in an extraordinary period, Rabe faced the same difficulties as Qian Shan. He used his Nazi identity to fight against the Japanese army, and repeatedly negotiated and protested with the Japanese consulate to prevent the Japanese army from wantonly invading and slaughtering; He designated his rented yard as a "Siemens" refugee shelter, and took in more than 600 residents nearby, including Ding Yongqing, Zong Youqin and Li Shizhen, all of whom were protected by Rabe. He wrote the famous Rabe Diary here, which recorded more than 500 tragedies of Japanese atrocities. He led his committee members to seek international assistance, raise funds and buy food and medicine. Especially after going through hardships, he got broad beans from Shanghai to prevent the spread of beriberi. The refugees worshipped him and called him a living Buddha. In order to show respect for Rabe, Pastor mccallum specially composed a song "Nanjing Refugee Chorus". The lyrics are bitter and humorous: we want broad beans for breakfast and broad beans for lunch. ...
1938 February, Rabe returned to Germany at the request of Siemens headquarters. He took China pilot Wang Guanghan, who was recuperating at home, as a servant, and took him safely to Shanghai, and then escorted him to Hongkong. After Rabe returned to Germany, he made five non-stop reports in Berlin, exposing Japanese atrocities in Nanjing with indignation. He showed the film of Japanese atrocities shot by Reverend John Magee, president of Nanjing Red Cross Society. He also sent an atrocity report to Adolf Hitler himself and Hermann G?ring, hoping that Germany would quickly come forward to stop its allies' inhuman atrocities. Therefore, he was persecuted by the Gestapo. After World War II, Rabe was treated unfairly because of his Nazi identity. In his most depressed days, in his desperate situation of starving to death, the villagers in Nanjing did not abandon him! Donations from Nanjing and food parcels seemed to fall from the sky, which rekindled his courage in life. In his later years, Rabe was troubled by the homesickness of Nanjing. 1950, Rabe died of a stroke in Berlin.
After World War II, Rabein was arrested by the Soviet Union and Britain as a member of the Nazi Party. After meeting with Marshal zhukov and confirming that he didn't make any mistakes, he was released by the allied forces in June of 1946 and lived in poverty. Song Meiling soon found the whereabouts of the Rabe family, hoping that Rabe could attend the trial in Tokyo as a witness of the Nanjing Massacre, but Rabe politely refused. In view of his achievements in Nanjing, he accepted donations from Nanjing citizens and monthly money and food aid from the National Government, which helped his family tide over the difficulties of post-war material shortage, including the difficult days when the Soviet Union blocked West Berlin. This assistance continued until the National Government withdrew from Nanjing. 1950 1.5 Rabe died of a stroke in West Berlin, and the diary information was kept by his family. At the end of 1996, Rabe's diary was rediscovered and Rabe was once again known to the world. 1997 His tombstone was moved from Berlin to the Memorial Hall for Victims of the Nanjing Massacre for preservation.
Rabe is one of the most important figures in the history of Sino-German relations for more than 0/00 years. On June 365438+1October 3 1 day, 2006, the German Consul General in Shanghai, Dr. Roehr (Chinese name "Rui Wufeng"), said in his speech at the inauguration ceremony of Nanjing Rabe's former residence, "Who can better represent the German-Chinese friendship?"
On Rabe's tombstone, a picture of eight diagrams with the traditional cultural connotation of China is depicted. In a cemetery far away in the United States, a tombstone is also engraved with the architectural design of China and the characters "Jinling Eternal Life", where Ms. vautrin of Jinling Women's University is buried. The American who saved countless women and children in China said at the last moment of her life, "If there is an afterlife, she will still serve China."
Rabe's Chinese name is "Elape", which is the name used in the thank-you letter written to him by Nanjing people.