John Rabe's grandson Thomas Rabe (Front) lays a wreath during the inauguration ceremony of the Monument of John Rabe in Berlin, Germany, on Dec. 11, 2013. Opening ceremony of the memorial cemetery dedicated to Siemens businessman John Rabe, who saved lives of hundreds of thousands of Chinese in Nanjing during World War II, was held in Berlin on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

Sunday marks China's seventh National Memorial Day for the Nanjing Massacre Victims, and people across the country, especially those who lived in the city when it witnessed the pain and inhumanity of the killings, commemorated the day by reflecting on history and remembering international friends who offered help, including German John Rabe. 

The people of Nanjing observed a minute of silence and sirens were heard across the city. More than 80 teenagers read out a declaration of peace while residents struck the Bell of Peace. People also walked past Rabe's former residence to learn how his kindness and bravery brought hope during World War II and was passed on for generations. 

The hero of Nanjing, who has also been dubbed the "Oskar Schindler of China," was a business representative of Siemens at the time. He and a dozen other foreigners set up a safety zone, sheltering and saving about 250,000 Chinese civilians during the heinous massacre by the invading Japanese troops in the late 1930s. 

The Hamburg-born businessman may never have imagined that his brave actions would inspire people more than eight decades later or that he would become a symbol of friendship between the two countries.

When COVID-19 swept Europe earlier this year, the Chinese Embassy in Germany received a message asking for help from Thomas Rabe, the grandson of John Rabe who is  a doctor at the hospital of Heidelberg University. 

The embassy managed to send some medicine donated by a Chinese company to Thomas. After learning about the difficult situation, the Nanjing government collected masks, protective outfits and anti-virus medicines, and entrusted the embassy to send the supplies to Heidelberg in April. 

Thomas said the help that China gave during the raging pandemic made him realize that "China will never forget to give friends a helping hand," according to the embassy. 

"The national memorial day is a time for us to reflect on history. Neither the painful past nor people who helped soothe the pain should be forgotten," a Weibo user posted. 

China formally set a national memorial day for massacre victims in 2014 as each December 13, the date Japanese troops captured the city of Nanjing, and Rabe was one of many that Chinese expressed deep appreciation to. Before that, he was already a household name in Nanjing. 

Global Times