John Heinrich Detlef Rabe ( November 23 , 1882 – January 5 , 1950 ) was a German businessman and Nazi Party member who is best known for his efforts to stop the atrocities of the Japanese army during the Nanking Occupation and his work to protect and help the Chinese civilians during the event . The Nanking Safety Zone , which he helped to establish , sheltered approximately 200,000 Chinese people from slaughter during the massacre . He officially represented Germany and acted as senior chief of the European – American establishment that remained in Nanjing , the Chinese capital at the time , when the city fell to the Japanese troops
atrocities of the Japanese army
Japanese war crimes
John Rabe