John Rbe The Importance Of Being A Hero

John Rabe died without the intention of becoming a hero. However, even without the goal of being a hero, many people remember him as one due to his actions of bravery during the Nanjing massacre. He helped defend China's land and those who fought for and live in china. What happened in Nanking was a massacre due to the unsettling amounts of Chinese killed. John Rabe should be remembered as a hero because of his major contributions during the fights. From 1937 through 1938, China had been a victim of not only many deaths, but rape and brutal torture as well. In the midst of heavy fighting, Japanese would still find time to, once a city was captured, take advantage of all that came with it. For example, Chiang was captured mid December and is known for being witness to the worst barbarity of the war. Japanese soldiers were turned loose to murder, rape, steal goods, and burn at will. It is one things to hear about horror going on, but it does not compare to seeing up close and personal as to what happened. When rabe was writing about his travel around the city he says, “It is not until we tour the city that we learn the extent of destruction. We come across corpses
every 100 to 200 yards. The bodies of civilians that I examined had bullet holes in their backs. These people had been presumably fleeing and were shot from behind” (Rabe 67). No one is safe not even innocent civilians many were lied along with soldiers. Those lucky few who survived would often try to hide amongst the dead hoping to stay alive. In the beginning of the war, soldiers would use the heads of their victims to keep score, but this then changed later on in order to save time. Instead the soldiers would just slit their throats. This is how some would survive by hiding under those whose throat was already slit. (Beasley and Chang) Finding solid facts to support either sides accusations is very hard because those from either Japan or China often have some sort of bias opinion. However, the facts we do have help support the Chineses story of a massacre. Japan deny a massacre had ever happened saying that only 30,000 Chinese were killed and China is on a whole other spectrum saying 300,000 were killed. In media both countries exaggerate or embellish what had happened. For example Iris Chang the wrote a pro Chinese book explaining how the Chinese were completely innocent and the Japanese were savage animals killing and raping. Though this did happen it was amplified to a new extent. A Japanese Christian pastor, Armasa Kubo accused Chinese for falsely reporting atrocities in China. In order to find reliable facts you must compare many sources and find a happy medium. As a result of careful examination I believe that neither Japan or China’s estimated number of Chinese killed is correct. However, I lean more to China's number due to my approximated number is between 190,000 and 230,000 Chinese killed. (Chang, Kubo, and Akira) During war many look for someone to guide them either into battle or just for overall protection.
Most often it is a person similar to you and your kind. When someone first looks at John Rabe they cannot look past the fact that he is a German nazi and is not seen as someone who can help, a foreign country. However, Rabe was one of them. He had lived in China for a few years and it was what he could call home. When China was in need he had filled the role of a savior. When writing about seeing the terror in the eyes of innocent women and children Rabe says, “Their one hope is that I, the ‘foreign devil’ will drive these evil spirits away” (Rabe 77). To them Rabe is the last hope of peace among their country. He being just a normal man had to help the lives of all that he
could. Rabe did everything he could given the circumstances. He did his best to help and protect civilians during the massacre. He established a safety zone in order to do so, helping around 250,000 Chinese escape their fate. He also used the fact that he was a nazi along with the administration to try and stop the war. This delayed much fighting allowing many Chinese to flee. Rabe did this out of the kindness in his heart and at no point wanted fame, or money. After the war john rabe moved back to Germany. He lived in poverty, making it day by day. The Chinese offered him a home back and China and all the food he could eat, but he declined their generosity. He spent his last days working part time and in 1949 at age sixty three. At his funeral only his wife, kids, and a few friends went. He was seen s just a regular man. It was not until his diaries were discovered that he gained fame for all that he did. Personally I had never heard of him before reading his diaries, and I think he should be more we'll know considering he had saved hundreds of thousands of people lives. However, those who do know of him know a hero with pure intentions