John Rabe

History is full of untold stories. Some fall into obscurity because the witnesses are no longer vocal, and some are repressed for political reasons. These events are filed away in government documents, journals, and family histories waiting to be re-discovered. One such tale is the accomplishment of John Rabe.

John Rabe was a German businessman who worked for the Siemens Corporation based in Berlin. He was sent to China in 1908 and was eventually placed to run an electro engineering plant in Nanking. He was also tasked with finishing a dam that would bring electricity to millions of Chinese people. Based in Nanking he was present during the Japanese invasion and due to his affiliations with the Nazi Party, he was nominated to head a committee providing a civilian safety zone. Set to leave China and return to Berlin, John Rabe made the decision to stay behind to protect his company’s Chinese workers. Due to his leadership abilities and his humanitarian efforts, John Rabe and his committee were able to save the lives of 200,000 people; the Japanese murdered another 300,000, much to their shame.

John Rabe along with an American doctor, a French educator and a German-Jewish diplomat, worked tirelessly along with others to save as many lives as they could. John Rabe housed refugees in his own home, as well as at the Siemens plant. He even forfeited his life savings to feed the thousands that were quickly running out of food.

The atrocities that were being carried out by the Japanese army were inconceivable to John Rabe. He wrote endlessly to Adolf Hitler asking him to intervene, documenting his experience with photos, film and his own personal journals. These very documents got him arrested by the SS and interrogated. He was then denounced by the Allies for being a member of the Nazi Party, but later was de-Nazified by Russia and Great Britain in 1946 after investigations exonerated him of any wrongdoing. In China he is remembered as a National hero.

In the film, Steve Buscemi (Con Air) portrays the American doctor Dr. Robert Wilson, Daniel Bruhl (Inglorious Basterds) plays Dr. Georg Rosen, the German- Jewish diplomat and German actor Ulrich Tukur plays the heroic John Rabe. The film was written and directed by Florian Gallenberger and is multi-lingual. English subtitles are available for non-English parts.
 
Rating: First Run A little known hero of world history