Beijing, 14th November 2024 (BISTU)--- Thomas Rabe, professor of Heidelberg University, winner of Chinese Government Friendship Award, and author of Rabe and China, visited BISTU and delivered a keynote speech on Stories between Rabe Families and China on 13th November 2024. Chairman Xie Jiangling met with Prof. Thomas Rabe. Vice President Xiao Zhisong chaired the meeting.

On behalf of the University, Xie Jiangling extended warm welcome to Thomas Rabe and paid tribute to Rabe families for their humanitarian spirit and brave and righteous acts. He pointed out that the long-lasting friendship between Rabe families and China is the best footnote for “greater love for life and peace”. Love is boundless and the benevolent love others. Experiences of Rabe families have become “vivid examples of Sino-German friendship and a torch for BISTU students in loving our nation, our families, and ourselves”.

Thomas Rabe donated to BISTU his Rabe and China.

The report was delivered after the meeting. Thomas Rabe told the undying story of how John Rabe--- his grandfather, and a dozen of other foreigners had set up the Nanjing Safety Zone, taking in and saving more than 200,000 Chinese during the heinous massacre by the invading Japanese troops in the late 1930s. As a gynecologist, he carried forward the family tradition and contributed to Sino-German friendship and cooperation in health care, Thomas Rabe said. He mentioned that pursuit of peace by his grandfather will continue and his families believe the pursuit of peace and love should always be inherited by future generations。

The report, chaired by Director Li Zhuo of International Cooperation Department, was joined by directors and deans of General Administration Office, International Cooperation Department, School of Business as well as over 160 faculty and students.

“A mountain doesn’t meet a mountain, but a man meets a man.” In 1937, on the eve of the Japanese siege of Nanjing city, John Rabe was elected Chairman of the International Committee for the Nanjing Safety Zone. Rabe, together with a dozen of other international committee members, saved the lives of more than 250,000 Chinese people within the Safety Zone, an area that was in his charge and was no larger than 4 square kilometers. It was in this two-storey brick building he rented that Rabe wrote down what later became known as The Diaries of John Rabe. Thomas carried forward his family legacy and endeavored to promote Sino-German medical care cooperation. He joined Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital as an expert and contributed to the first case of frozen embryo transfer, ushering in a new epoch for Sino-German medical care cooperation.