John Rabe — The “Good Nazi” Who Saved Nanking
John Rabe — The “Good Nazi” Who Saved Nanking History rarely gives us heroes in unexpected uniforms, but John Rabe’s story defies easy labels. A German businessman living in China in the 1930s, Rabe was also a member of the Nazi Party. Yet during one of the most brutal massacres of the 20th century — the Nanking Massacre — he became a beacon of hope for hundreds of thousands. In December 1937, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded the Chinese capital of Nanking. Over the next six weeks, Japanese troops committed atrocities on a massive scale — mass executions, widespread sexual violence, and looting. Civilians fled in terror, with nowhere to hide. Rabe, serving as the head of Siemens’ operations in China, used his political connections to negotiate with the Japanese authorities. Leveraging Germany’s alliance with Japan, he and a group of Westerners established the Nanking Safety Zone — a small, neutral area where civilians could seek refuge. Using his Nazi Party badge as ...