Based on:  Hua-ling Hu and Lian-hong Zhang, The Undaunted Women of Nanking: The Wartime Diaries of Minnie Vautrin and Tsen Shui-fang. Carbondale, 2010
Thomas Rabe, John Rabe. Sein Leben, seine Zeit. Heidelberg 2009

John Detlef Heinrich Rabe was born on 23 November 1882 in the harbour area of Hamburg. His father, Marcus Rabe (1846-98), went to sea and later became a naval captain for the Hamburg South American Line. He died of cancer when John was just 15 years old. John’s mother, Anna (1849-1916), like Marcus, was originally from Uetersen, a city in Holstein, 30km northwest of Hamburg. In his biography, John Rabe writes that he owes his English first name to his great-uncle John George Rabe (1840-1913) who had emigrated to Australia in his teens. Continue reading John Rabe’s birthday →