Tuesday, January 29, 2008

THE GOOD NAZI ( John Rabe )



John Rabe - A Lion among Sheep,
His name was as innocuous as the man - John Rabe. Just another German, Just another "Nazi" with his Swastika armband (Gasp!) and his typically correct German manner.Rabe uses his Nazi credentials to prevent the atrocities wherever possible. He writes repeatedly to Hitler asking that something be done to stop the killing
It is estimated that more than 250,000 are saved by the actions of Rabe and the other zone administrators, who are subjected to constant threats and intimidation, including violence, from the Japanese.
He was ordered to return to serve in his homeland, however he sent his family and himself stayed behind to do what he could for the chinese.Rabe and his fellow zone administrators attempted to stop the atrocities occurring in the city while working to ensure that the refugees within the safety zone are fed and nursed.
Wherever he appeared, the raping stopped, the plunder stopped and Rabe had the opportunity to have the badly mutilated women transported to the hospital, where Dr. Robert Wilson, as the only surgeon in town performed medical miracles saving the lives of these unfortunates. Dr. Wilson worked tirelessly patching up seemingly hopelessly mutilated women, repairing their bodies as well as he could. Another angel, this American.

In 1947, someone in Nanking found out that "Their Angel" was suffering from starvation under the benign American occupation ( sorry "Liberation") forces and sent him food parcels.

When the Red Chinese, many years later built a memorial to the Chinese men and women who had been murdered wholesale by the Japanese, the name John Rabe, a hero by any standard, wasn't even mentioned.

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