Germany has reported 73,522 confirmed coronavirus cases and 872 deaths so far, Reuters said on Thursday citing statistics from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases.
全球疫情蔓延的当下，中德友人之间的这段历史故事，让两国守望相助的传统在80多年后的今天被延续。 The Chinese Ambassador to Germany Wu Ken offered some safety advice to Chinese students studying in Germany on Wednesday during a live online broadcast as the numbers of coronavirus cases in the European country continue to increase. During the livestream, the Chinese ambassador shared a story which not only touched the hearts of the students he was conversing with, but also a large number of Chinese netizens who later made the story a trending topic on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. The story is about John Rabe. “中国的辛德勒” 1937年12月，侵华日军制造了惨绝人寰的南京大屠杀。 在那场长达6周的浩劫中，侵华日军奸淫、放火、抢劫，罪行累累。大量平民被日军杀害，无数家庭支离破碎。如果以秒来计算，每隔12秒就有一个生命消逝。 彼时，在中国生活了30年的约翰·拉贝对这片土地和人民早已有了特殊的感情。 约翰·拉贝 出于高尚的正义感和同情心，他召集了其他十几位在华国际友人，共同建立起“南京安全区”，为中国平民提供临时栖身之所。 在这片不足4平方公里的安全区内，他利用自己特殊的身份，领导十多位国际友人冒着生命危险与日军斗智斗勇，与日本领事馆反复交涉、抗议，阻止日军的恣意侵犯和屠杀。 他甚至将自己家的院子改造成“难民收容所”，以致于小小的院子也挤进了600多位难民。 修缮后的约翰·拉贝故居 据统计，在那个无数人在枪林弹雨中流离失所的年代，约翰·拉贝和他闪烁着人性光辉的安全区拯救了超过20万中国人的生命。
John Rabe is known as the "Oskar Schindler of China." Rabe is a Hamburg-born business representative of Siemens who came to China in 1908 at the age of 26 and set up a security zone in Nanjing with a few other foreigners there in 1937. It was during the time of Nanjing Massacre, one of the darkest days in modern Chinese history. His security zone, which stretched less than four square kilometers, provided Chinese refugees with food and shelter from the impending Japanese slaughter, saving more than 200,000 Chinese civilians in total. He also opened up his properties to help 600 more refugees. 《拉贝日记》 不仅如此，他还以战争亲历者的身份写下20卷《拉贝日记》，其中的10卷一字一句记录了他亲眼目睹的侵华日军暴行。这10卷长达2000多页的日记如今被公认是保存得最为完整的南京大屠杀的史实证据，拉贝也从此被后世誉为“中国的辛德勒”。 二战结束后，身为前纳粹党员的拉贝衣食无着。在他最艰难的日子里，南京人民为他募捐筹款、寄赠食物，直到他1950年在柏林去世。 When he returned to Germany the following year, he took with him a 20-volume diary, of which 10 volumes recorded the atrocities committed by Japanese invaders which are now regarded as one of the most powerful historic accounts of the massacre. 南京捐资在柏林重修的拉贝墓地 拉贝生前曾说——
More than 80 years have passed, Rabe's favor is finally returned. Thomas Rabe, the grandson of John Rabe and also a gynecology and obstetrics specialist at the University Hospital Heidelberg, has recently written to Ambassador Wu and asked if China could help him with a special anti-viral drug which is manufactured in China to treat coronavirus. Upon learning about his difficulties, the Chinese ambassador got in touch with the drug's manufacturer, a Zhejiang-based pharmaceutical company which then sent 40 boxes of the drug to Thomas Rabe for free. 跨越80多年的互助：“山和山不相遇，人和人要相逢” 令人欣慰的是，拉贝与中国的这段情谊被他的子孙后代所传承。 约翰·拉贝病故后的第二年，他的孙子托马斯·拉贝出生。 托马斯·拉贝与祖父雕像合影
"Grandpa died before I was born, but his stories have a great impact on me," Thomas Rabe has said, adding that his family has formed "a special bond with China all along." 2020年，疫情风暴席卷全球。 在德国疫情加剧之际，已成为海德堡大学妇产医院著名医生的托马斯·拉贝向在战疫过程中积累了成功经验的中国发来求援信。跨越80多年，中国人谨记“滴水之恩，涌泉相报”。 In 2002, Thomas Rabe and his wife established the first John Rabe Communication Center in Heidelberg, and he donated all the original manuscripts of his grandfather's diary, some 2,000 pages, to China's National Archives Administration in 2016. "I hope that future members of the Rabe family will love China and love peace, just like my grandfather," he said. 在与留学生连线对话时，吴恳表示，疫情发生以来，中德守望相助、携手战疫的故事还有很多——“这些故事每天都在感动着我和我的同事们”。