The gunfire of the July 7th Incident in Rabe in World War II 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 members to seek international assistance, raise funds, buy food and * *, 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 pay tribute to Rabe, Pastor mccallum specially composed a "Nanjing Refugee Chorus". Humorous lyrics contain bitterness: we want broad beans for breakfast and broad beans for lunch ... 1938 In 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.