Remembering history: Honoring international friends who stood up for Nanjing

Editor's note: China's national memorial day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre falls on December 13. CGTN presents a photo series that offers a comprehensive look at the crimes against humanity committed by the Japanese military during its war of aggression against China and the Pacific War in World War II. The series urges reflection on history, appreciation of the hard-won peace and vigilance against any return of Japanese militarism.

In late November, an international peace hike was organized by the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, China, to pay tribute to the foreigners who risked their lives to establish the Nanjing Safety Zone during the massacre.

This year's hike marked the ninth annual event since it was first organized in 2016, with participants continuing to express gratitude for the selfless acts of kindness by these foreigners, who sheltered over 250,000 Chinese refugees during Japanese aggression in Nanjing.

In November 1937, more than 20 foreign nationals, together with Chinese citizens, established the International Committee for the Nanjing Safety Zone.

Among them, German businessman John Rabe chaired the establishment of the Safety Zone, while American teacher Minnie Vautrin dedicated herself to the protection of women and children – often putting herself at great risk to help.

Outraged by the atrocities committed by the Japanese army, these foreigners felt a moral duty to protect the refugees, offer them care and expose the truth of the massacre.

Rabe wrote in his diary: "When the gates to my garden are opened to let my car leave the grounds where I have already taken in over a hundred of the poorest refugees, women and children on the street outside kneel and bang their heads against the ground, pleading to be allowed to camp on my garden grounds. You simply cannot conceive of the misery."

Titled "The Diaries of John Rabe: Unmasking the Atrocities," his diary remains one of the most direct and vital firsthand accounts of the immense bloodshed and suffering endured by Chinese civilians.

As it was winter at the time, Rabe set up tents and laid down straw at his residence in Nanjing, doing everything he could to make the refugees sleep warmly.

Vautrin, who protected tens of thousands of women and children, suffered severe psychological distress from her confrontations with Japanese soldiers. In her diary, she wrote: "I suddenly feel utterly drained. The tension and sorrow of these days have exhausted me."

However, before her death, she said: "If I had two lives, I would still be willing to serve the Chinese."

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