In Focus
November 23, 1882 – John Rabe born in Hamburg
John Rabe (left) in front of the Siemens offices in Nanjing, ca. 1935
John Rabe was born in Hamburg on November 23, 1882. He completed his business apprenticeship there, then worked in Africa from 1903 to 1906 before moving to China in 1908. Around 1910/11, Rabe began working as a clerk for the Beijing office of Siemens China & Co., a Siemens distributor. Only three years later, he was named a company officer with greater responsibilities. In 1931, John Rabe was appointed Managing Director of the Siemens offices in the capital at the time, Nanjing (Nanking).
During the “Nanjing Massacre” in 1937, Rabe was elected chairman of an international committee that established a safe zone to protect the civilian population from the atrocities of the Japanese troops. The hope was that Rabe, as a German citizen and member of the Nazi party, could exert some influence on the murderous Japanese soldiers. For a period, Rabe even gave shelter to Chinese civilians in his home and on his property. It is estimated that up to 250,000 people were saved through his intervention, and the Chinese government conferred top honors on him for his humanitarian efforts.
In the spring of 1938, Rabe was recalled from Nanjing and returned to Berlin. In Berlin he tried repeatedly in vain to draw attention to the crimes against the Chinese civilian population until he was ultimately prohibited from further such activities. Following a temporary assignment in the Kabul sales office of Siemens-Schuckertwerke, Rabe worked in personnel for the international division of the Berlin headquarters, where he was responsible for the Siemens employees interned in foreign countries hostile to Germany. He won his appeal of a denazification trial thanks to his humanitarian deeds and was able to return to work for Siemens in 1946 as a low-level translator. Destitute and forgotten, he died in Berlin on January 5, 1950.
Today, Siemens AG donates resources and funds to honor the memory of John Rabe. Siemens supported the renovation of Rabe’s former home in Nanjing, the site of a research center and museum since 2006. A commemorative plaque will be unveiled on Rabe’s former home on Harriesstrasse in Berlin-Siemensstadt on November 23, 2012 – Rabe’s 130th birthday. The day before that – November 22, 2012 – will be the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the safe zone in Nanjing.
Dr. Frank Wittendorfer