Posted on 12/17/2005 5:37:00 PM PST by blam
Chinese memorial to 'the good Nazi' opens war wounds
By Peter Goff in Beijing
(Filed: 18/12/2005)
A plan by China to honour "the good Nazi", a German who helped to save hundreds of thousands of civilians from Japanese troops, has reopened a dispute with Tokyo over its lack of atonement for the Second World War.
The Chinese authorities are drawing up plans for a museum dedicated to the memory of John Rabe, who defied the "Rape of Nanking" - a six-week massacre during which an estimated 300,000 Chinese were slaughtered by Japanese soldiers.
Honouring Mr Rabe gives China the chance to draw international attention to Japan's wartime atrocities at a point when relations between the two Asian giants are fraught.
A card-carrying Nazi, Rabe was a China-based Siemens employee in 1937 when the Japanese stormed Nanking, or Nanjing as it is now known. His superiors ordered him to return home, but instead he sent his family back and established a "safety zone" in the city where he offered shelter to terrified Chinese. Using his Nazi credentials, he and a small group of other foreigners kept the Japanese at bay, at considerable risk to themselves, and saved an estimated 250,000 lives.
Rabe wrote a 1,200-page diary that documented the killings and rapes in the city, information that was later used as evidence of war crimes.
The Japanese soldiers "went about raping the women and girls and killing everything and everyone that offered any resistance, attempted to run away from them, or simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," he wrote. "There were girls under the age of eight and women over the age of 70 who were raped and then, in the most brutal way possible, knocked down and beaten up. We found corpses of women on beer glasses and others who had been lanced by bamboo shoots."
Chinese historians estimate that 80,000 girls and women were raped at the time.
"One was powerless against these monsters who were armed to the teeth and who shot down anyone who tried to defend themselves," Rabe wrote. "They only had respect for us foreigners - but nearly every one of us was close to being killed dozens of times. We asked ourselves mutually, 'How much longer can we maintain this bluff?' "
Beijing believes that Japan has never properly atoned for its atrocities. Chinese anger is further fuelled by repeated visits by the Japanese prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, to the Yasukuni shrine, which honours Japan's war dead including some "Class A" war criminals held responsible for the massacre in Nanjing.
Last week, China's premier, Wen Jiabao, cancelled a summit with Mr Koizumi because "Japan won't own up correctly to its history". The shrine visits "seriously hurt the feelings of the Chinese people", he said.
When the pair did finally meet at a signing ceremony of a regional meeting on Wednesday, Mr Wen snubbed the Japanese leader by ignoring his request to borrow his pen.
Several awkward seconds elapsed in front of television cameras before the request was loudly repeated and the Chinese premier pasted on a smile and handed over the implement.
There were mass protests in March outside the Japanese embassy and consulates in China after Japan published a history textbook that glossed over the wartime atrocities. Tensions between the neighbours are exacerbated by other thorny issues, including a territorial dispute over resource-rich islands in the East China Sea and Japan's desire to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. China also fears what it sees as a growing nationalistic militarism in Japan.
"Part of the reason to honour John Rabe now is a response to Japan's bad attitude," Jiang Liangqin, a historian at Nanjing University, said. "For example, they honour the war criminals and have never properly said sorry. Some Japanese even deny the massacre took place. We know that Japanese often look down on Chinese and don't believe what we say. Well here is a European who told exactly what happened. We want to bring the world's attention to that."
While the killings were going on, Rabe wrote to Hitler several times begging him to intervene but never got a response. He said later that being based in China meant he was unaware of his leader's heinous plans in Europe.
After the massacre Rabe lectured in wartime Germany about what he had seen and submitted footage of the atrocities to Hitler, but the Fuhrer did not want to hear about Japan's actions. Rabe was detained by the Gestapo for a short period, denounced by the Nazis and barred from giving lectures.
In post-war Germany he was again denounced - this time be being a Nazi Party member - and was arrested first by the Russians and then by the British, but was ultimately exonerated following an investigation. He and his family lived in abject poverty, surviving on occasional care packages posted to him by the grateful people of Nanjing. He died of a stroke in 1950 at the age of 68.
"The people of China will never forget the good German John Rabe, and the other foreigners who helped him," said Ma Guoliang, an 89-year-old woman whose parents were killed by the Japanese. "He saved so many people and yet at any time he could easily have been killed himself. He could have left, but he stayed with us. We called him the living Buddha of Nanking."
"The rape of maintaining was horrible,"
meant "the rape of Nanking was horrible"
Man you must be a fast typist to make that mistake. LOL
Disagree. China is a sham. It is NOT the 800-pound gorilla in the living room.
The "economic miracle" has not reached beyond the coastal cities. 99% of China lives in such reprehensible economic conditions that the addition of a vending machine automatically raises the "economic productivity" of those areas by 1,000%.
When it comes to military power, China can exert influence in it's direct enviorns, but not project power beyond it's borders. Doing such would require an industrial base and logistical capabilities far beyond their current levels.
Civil unrest in China is possible at any moment, and with the advent of the internet, cell phones, satellite phones, 24-hour cable news, cable and satellite TV, and other modern communications, would only be a more effective weapon against the Communist Party. Tianamen Square might actually have succeeded if it had the communications capability afforded by millions of cell phones able to transmit still and live video, e-mail, etc. An informed public, able to communicate, is the most dangerous thing in China.
China is dependant on the flow of Middle Eastern oil, just like we are. It is suceptible to interruptions of that supply, just as we are. We currently patrol the Persian Gulf, the Straits of Oman and the Indian Ocean, and have troops and bases in Iraq. We have the Gulf covered. If China should turn to Iran, however, that may be a problem, but it would be an interesting debate as to whether the Iranians would come to the aid of the (more) godless ex-communists.
China is dependant on the flow of Western, particularly American, investment money, which finances it's apparent economic growth, which is easily turned off at the source (just remove 'permanent' MFN status by act of Congress and tell the Wall Streeter's protecting their bad investments to pound sand). The resulting economic dislocation it would cause in this country would sort itself out in time, but totally destroy the Chinese economy.
China is surrounded by Western-style democracies (South Korea, Japan, India, Australia, The Phillipines) which in the event of war would serve as adversaries or bases for adversaries. China cannot depend on it's allies in the region (North Korea)for aid. The Russians still fear the Chinese more than they fear the West. China stands alone.
China, in other words, is f*cked. We cannot even call them "communists" anymore, since they hardly practice it. Where it not for the Chinese nuclear arsenal, we'd hardly consider them a threat at all.
"However, this doesn't alter the fact that there is an enormous need for a naval construction program here in the U.S."
In the long run, it will alter that fact. The Japanese will take on more of the burdent, reducing ours.
Presumably, they should shoulder some R&D (and provide us with new weapons), which they are at least as capable of as we are.
"Japanese are the de facto good guys now."
Japan is a democracy. They are committing no crimes against their own people or anyone else. They are excellent allies.
Most Japanese who fought in WWII are dead. To hold their children and grandchildren accountable for their actions would be akin to racism.
" if japan had maintained control over China and we had not liberated China millions less Chinese people would have died via murder and famine and torture and China would be a lot wealthier and modern today."
I think you gravely underestimate just how badly the Japanese treated subjected people.
You want to know what China would have looked like if Japan had maintained control over the ensuing fifty years? Think Olongapo, circa 1975.
"Construct all the ships you want, but where do you get the sailors for them afterwards?"
As I understand it, the next generation of Navy ships will require next to 0 sailors, proportionally compared to current ships.
Oskar Schindler was also a "card carrying" Nazi.
"Most Japanese who fought in WWII are dead. To hold their children and grandchildren accountable for their actions would be akin to racism."
I would apply the same argument to those screaming for reparations for slavery in this country. Doesn't seem to work here, I doubt it would work there.
"Japan is a democracy."
Japan is a mercantilist bribe-ocracy.
"Man you must be a fast typist to make that mistake. LOL"
Spoken input, not typed.
"We hardly "liberated" China."
Sure we did. When Japan lost, they had to withdraw their troops from China.
"left completely unfought"
I think those who fought and died with Chiang and Claire Chennault would take strong exception to that.
Spent 11 years in the US Navy. Any job the needs to be done typically requires at least four more sailors than actually necessary because of the paperwork and safety concerns, never mind actually doing the job at hand.
Automation is a wondeful thing (I'm an automation programmer) but occasionally, it fails. The systems that run the automation fails, software upgrades don't work as planned, etc. Of course, you still need people to plug the holes and repair combat damage on this "next generation" of ships, don't you? Who feeds those sailors? Who sees to their medical needs? Who makes sure the machinery is maintained? Who manually operates the ship when the systems fail?
You still need people standing on the deck.
"99% of China lives in such reprehensible economic conditions that the addition of a vending machine automatically raises the "economic productivity" of those areas by 1,000%..."
LOL!
"China is dependant on the flow of Western, particularly American, investment money, which finances it's apparent economic growth, which is easily turned off at the source (just remove 'permanent' MFN status by act of Congress and tell the Wall Streeter's protecting their bad investments to pound sand). The resulting economic dislocation it would cause in this country would sort itself out in time, but totally destroy the Chinese economy."
I completely agree. I am surprised how many "experts" can't get this fact that is so obvious to you and me. I really consider it a byproduct of the tremendous disinformation campaign our society is subjected to by the Hard Left (on a worldwide basis.)
"I would apply the same argument to those screaming for reparations for slavery in this country"
agreed.
Not ALL of any group are bad, and not all of any group are good.
It's harder to be good when you're pressured to be bad: This seems to have been a very good man.
I'm sure they would. Perhaps that was a bit literal.
However, Stillwell constantly complained that he couldn't get the Chinese to fight the Japanese rather than each other. When Chinese troops did go into combat, very few units acquitted themselves well.
China stands as the only Ally of World War Two that ended the war with enemy troops still on it's native soil.
"Spent 11 years in the US Navy."
OK. I just read an article somewhere, you actually know something about it.
All I am saying is, the Navy is projecting unbelievable reductions, percentage-wise in the next generation of sailors needed to man the next generation of ships. Repair may be just as labor-intensive, but it seems to me if you cut down the number of sailors on board---the "tail" gets smaller too.
I believe, in fact, the current generation of ships was designed under the philosophy, "Why have a machine do it when sailors are so cheap?" No?
Here's another one:
In the event of war, China's "One Child" Policy would really screw the country up. In Chinese society, the eldest son is responsible for taking care of the parents intheir old age. If enough young men die (i.e. each family's "Little Emperor"), how long do you think it would take for the older generation to take to the streets demanding the end of hostilities?
If I recall properly, China comitted over 1 million men against the UN in Korea and wound up losing 400,000. By my math, that's a 40% casualty rate. With the lethality of modern warfare, I think it would be possible to achieve 60% or greater casualties on any Chinese force with not much effort.
Sailors are not exactly cheap. Good ones require a huge investment in time, money and education to produce. An experienced sailor, regardless of rating or MOS, is a valuable commodity.
It also does not automatically follow that if you reduce the number of men per ship, but then increase the number of ships available (this is one of the selling points of Streetfighter, for example, cheap surge production), you do not necessarily reduce the tail. Particularly if you have to stage them out of overseas bases, which we might have to do in the event of war against China. We wouldn't ncessarily just operate out of Japan, Okinawa and South Korea.
"Sailors are not exactly cheap."
You misunderstood my intent there. I am saying they made a mistake in this regard and now realize it.
The rest of your post is well-taken.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.