Chapter 5 October 37 Diary 2

Still a sunny day with not a single cloud in the sky. At 8:45, just after breakfast, the first and second sirens sounded at noon, but saw nothing and heard nothing. At 9:45 the alarm was canceled again. "Fake." The Chinese said.It is equivalent to the meaning of "liar", "disguise" or the like, and the translation is "false alarm" or "false alarm". It was quiet before noon, and Han (Xianglin) and I went to the Bank of China and the Ministry of Railways for business visits.After lunch, at 14:30, the alarm sounded again.This time we heard planes approaching, but they were still far away, under flak fire.They dropped a lot of bombs somewhere to the south (outside the walls, it seems) without diving down. The alarm was lifted at 1600 hours.Another hour and a half lost.Thank goodness we are still healthy.This is when we want to be quiet.

Mr. Ribe stood by his turbines in the power plant the entire time.The careless fool!He just restarted the repaired machine today, so he didn't want to stop the power plant immediately. "If the Japanese planes are really coming in swarms," ​​he said, "of course I'll hide too." Yes, dear, I hope you still have time to hide! Hmph, the Japanese really take care of us today! At 2 a.m., the sirens sounded, and I was putting on my second boot when the bombs fell, shaking the whole house.Only Ribe didn't move, still sleeping quietly, as if nothing happened.This guy doesn't take anything seriously!Just as I was yelling at him, "Hey, Ribe, second siren," there was a violent explosion of several bombs.My friend Ribe replied calmly: "Yes, yes, I heard it!" Tonight, we saw the searchlights that our Siemens Schucker factory was manufacturing were shining again.I went into the bomb shelter and had to maintain order again, because there was a telegraph operator for the ocean company, he was fat and potbellied, and he always took the good seats between the women and children.I adjusted my seat a little because I was too excited.Fell into a hole in the groundwater and got my butt wet too.In the early hours of this morning, a striking large poster in German, Chinese and English appeared at the entrance of the air-raid shelter:

The fat operator took it to heart!At 4 o'clock in the morning, the danger finally passed.None of us have much interest in it anymore. As soon as I went to bed, the alarm sounded again, at 4:30 in the morning.Keep calm this time.Wearily I put on my clothes again.When I finally got dressed and stood there, the alarm went off again, at 4:50.This is a false alarm.People mistook the Chinese fighter planes returning from patrolling for enemy planes.I was lying in bed long after the alarm had been canceled when suddenly the anti-aircraft squadron began firing again.Presumably those people are completely confused, I hope they don't hit their own countrymen.Later I tried to regain the lost sleep, but it was difficult to sleep in the wee hours of the morning.Then, I'll take a shower!

The moonlit night turned into a sunny day again.At 8:55, the first alarm came.If this continues.We probably can't do much today.Ribe scolded the Japanese who didn't let him work. The alarm was canceled at 9:55.We saw no enemy planes: another false alarm, or the Japanese flew over Nanking. The fourth siren of the day was sounded at 12.15pm.After the siren was sounded, we were not in such a hurry and we still had some time until the second signal.However, this time it started to fuck hard after a few minutes, and the sound of heavy bombing was very close.We all ran quickly towards the air-raid shelter.The sky was so bright and sunny that it was almost impossible to make out the enemy planes.The anti-aircraft squadron fired, but missed.Since there was a high risk of being hit by falling debris, I ordered everyone to go into the air-raid shelter.We waited for about 10 minutes. There were terrible bombs falling on the north and south of the city. A large smoke column rose from the south and spread slowly across the sky. There was no fire, only the smoke and dust from the explosion. At 13:10, the danger passed.Mr. Ribe was late for dinner, and he said that he had to go into the air-raid shelter today.The Japanese dropped a batch of bombs not far from the main computer room of the power plant, but the power plant was not damaged.Good luck again for Ribe!

At 8 o'clock in the morning, the sun came out, and there were some clouds in the sky.The Japanese will definitely visit today. The bombing of Pukou yesterday must have been serious.I heard that the office building of the Jinpu Railway Bureau and a nearby coal yard were bombed.Nine people are said to have been killed and 10 injured.Now the Japanese plane no longer dives downwards, but directly drops a series of bombs from high altitude.Because they took a lot of damage in their dives, many were shot down on re-ascension. Mr. Ribe has done a great job in restoring the power plant. Turbine No. 2 is running at full speed (5000 kW), and Turbine No. 3 is currently being repaired.Do the Chinese also recognize such achievements?I hope so!Another fact worth mentioning: at the moment only our old Bolzig boiler is running, which we supplied six years ago.It has been in operation since then, and the famous American boiler has never been fired at all.The quality of German products has once again proved to be excellent, but there are still people who find fault with us.

At 12:30, the alarm sounded!Airplanes appeared high in the north and south, and dropped many bombs in the south, probably again on the airfield.A huge cloud of dust appeared in the south direction, the result of the bombs.Three large bombers flew over us, and the anti-aircraft artillery squadron fired again in vain.We (Ribe and I) went back to the bomb shelter for a few minutes, wary of shell splinters, which was already crowded with Chinese.When we came out of the air-raid shelter again, the bombers were bombing in the north (in the direction of Pukou).We also heard the sound of many bombs falling there, and occasionally the sound of machine gun fire.Presumably there was also an air battle. At 13:30, everything was over again.

The Japanese were very cooperative: let's have a quiet lunch, and I was even able to take a 20-minute nap. At 14:30 the alarm sounded again.I continued to work in peace, waiting for the second alarm. At 15:40, a prolonged "woo--" sound was issued, and the alarm was lifted.This is a false alarm. News came from Guilin that Professor Dr. Krantz, a well-known ballistic scientist and privy adviser, had died there.May the dead rest in peace!He is an amiable old gentleman, 82 years old this year.The last time I saw him was early summer. He wanted to go to Qingdao, but he probably chose to go to Guilin.He mentioned in passing that this was presumably his last summer trip on earth.When I tried to dissuade him, he kindly waved his hand and refused.Presumably he knew better about this, and it was verified.

Mr. Holt of the German embassy was lying in the Gulou Hospital.Once in a sampan shooting competition on the Yangtze River, the person behind him hit him in the calf with a lead bullet.He gave first aid dressings on a British warship. (Everything happens to people in war!) But it hit the calf!It may be more enjoyable if it is higher.However, I'd rather not criticize.Didn't I do the same when I was in Africa, it's just that there was no war then.I'm going to ask if I should award him a Garter for Resistance to Shooting for his injured calf.I believe, I should do it! A newspaper reported that the German consulate in Shanghai protested the Japanese bombing of German territory in Shanghai.Both China and Japan have denied rumors of peace that emerged during this period.

An editor of "Mainland Daily" (Nanjing Edition) said that the people of Nanjing were used to the air raids by Japanese planes.This statement seems a bit exaggerated.He also said that air raid sirens had become a daily occurrence.But this situation is indeed true!At the first alarm, people didn't leave the office at all, at best they mechanically cleared their desks.At the second alarm, I ordered the handyman to take the handbag containing the most important medicine (insulin) and dressing materials, etc., to the air-raid shelter, and then opened all the doors in the house so that it could not be opened. The blast destroys.At the same time, I instructed the office boy to stand outside to observe the sky, and wait for the enemy's bombers to fly close before notifying me.When the roar of engines rings in the sky, of course it means hurry.Everyone immediately jumped out of the house and looked around. If there was danger and debris was flying all over the sky, they would rush into the air-raid shelter.However, once the enemy's large bombers flew to a certain distance, people would come out and look around again.This behavior is not always wise and safe.But squatting in the air-raid shelter is not a kind of happiness, not to mention, there are 30 people squatting in it together.If the all-alarm signal sounds, the danger is over, and everyone goes back to their work in peace, as if nothing had happened.Of course, there was sometimes heated discussion about the extent of the bombing and the possible damage, but it soon subsided.Everyone is busy with work and thinking of something else.

A telegram was received at 3 o'clock this night to say that Mr. Walter Mudd arrived by motor car this afternoon.Good luck to him, and we wish him a safe journey, a stretch of the road that has been heavily gunned down by the Japanese for days. At 8 am, the sky was cloudless, an excellent aviation weather. The alarm sounded at 9:15; it was lifted again at 9:55.We didn't see the planes, they may have changed course in front of Nanking.Recently, if the Japanese aircraft's flight target is north of Pukou, they will bypass Nanjing. On my way to Shimonoseki Power Plant, I visited Dr. Schroeder.His wife was still in Hankou and wanted to come here very much, but she was not allowed to come.Dr. Schroeder considered whether she could be sent aboard the Kutwo.I dissuaded him!Dr. Schroeder did not quite believe the news of Professor Kranz's death.As far as he knew, Krantz and his wife had already been on their way home several months ago.It seems that they are not very clear about the situation going up the river.Dr. Schroeder was unaware that Stretius's wife had died not long ago.I found Mr. Rierz's last lost trunk in Schroeder's house, and I shall take it back and put together all his belongings.I was on my way to the power plant when the alarm sounded at 12:30.I was just in time to catch the car home.Everyone was very excited there.The German-speaking staff of the Shanghai Commercial Savings Bank who took refuge in my air-raid shelter said that they had received telephone reports from various branches between Shanghai and Nanjing that Japanese planes had dropped gas bombs on their way to Nanjing.We had no gas masks, just simple masks made of bleached gauze soaked in hexamine or vinegar.I check to see if all the people hiding with me have these masks, which I always have in my suitcase.The women had only a handkerchief or towel.I had them be given the last masks I had left, which I had intended to cut up for bandages.The moment the door was closing, three poor children came to the yard looking for an air-raid shelter.They ran when they caught sight of me, but I called them in again and put them in seats in the middle of the dugout.My purpose is to lead my guests to be an example of how everyone counts equally in times of crisis, rich or poor.

The Japanese plane came, but it was so high in the blue sky that it was almost unrecognizable.Anti-aircraft artillery squadrons opened fire in all directions, and the sky was filled with a thin cloud of shrapnel.I ordered everyone to hide in the bomb shelter, and I stayed there for a few minutes.To the south (probably again the airfield outside the city, which the Japanese were trying to destroy), bomb after bomb fell.There was deathly silence again.I heard enemy planes bombing north and south at the same time, must have dropped a lot of bombs.We waited patiently for the demons to leave, we couldn't be sure if they had dropped gas bombs.Thankfully, our health has not been compromised.At 2 p.m. (an hour and a half later), the danger passed.I sent someone to pick up Ribe in a car and come back for dinner. During this time, he hid in the Yangtze River Hotel.The cook with a burnt lunch is cursing.Everyone, it seems, has a little trouble of their own. Newspapers reported that the Japanese had breached the Chinese defenses near Shanghai, and that two more cars carrying foreigners had been attacked by Japanese planes near Suzhou. At eight o'clock in the morning, Walter Mudd arrived.He arrived in Nanjing at 1 o'clock this night, but in order not to disturb me, he stayed at the Capital Hotel.It took 18 hours from Shanghai to Nanjing.He once believed that China Express would send him here within 8 hours. However, the so-called German drivers of this company were actually some unemployed Jews who were not very good at driving cars. money.The fare is 75 yuan per person.One of these Jewish drivers behaved so obnoxiously that the embassy wanted to confiscate his German swastika flag, arguing that as a Jew he was not entitled to one. Although the sun was shining brightly, the morning was calm."Mr. Fuel Gauge" and I went to visit Hapro, and at 15:20 the alarm went off.A batch of bombs was dropped in the south of the city (Dajiaochang).We saw no aircraft, although Mr. Walter Mudd brought me an excellent Zeiss telescope from Shanghai. At 16:15 the alarm was lifted. Beautiful autumn weather with bright sunshine. The alarm was raised at 8:45 and lifted at 10:15.We didn't see the plane. At 11 o'clock the alarm sounded again.The plane was flying so high that I didn't even see it with my binoculars. At 12 o'clock the alarm was lifted.We were on our way to lunch when the alarm signal sounded again at 12:20.This time shrapnel clouds filled the sky.Judging by the heavy flak fire, there must have been Japanese planes out of sight. I used binoculars to spot 3 Japanese bombers flying high above our house, and there was another Japanese plane above them. Flying across it, it appeared to be burning, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.The situation looks dangerous, and it's better to go to the "hero basement".The south and north of the city were bombarded continuously and indiscriminately, and it is estimated that nearly 30 bombs were dropped.A cloud of dust rose into the sky. At 13:15, everything passed.I tried to drive out many times, to the Ministry of Railways, to the Bank of China, but was driven back by soldiers and police on the street.It didn't calm down until the afternoon.It's Saturday afternoon, and now I can go to work that has been delayed.In the evening, I was writing a letter, and the lights went out, so I lit a candle and continued writing.I dined with 3 guests, Mr Walter Mudd, Ribe and Aman.We then spent a peaceful and comfortable evening wiping out the last 3 bottles of beer that the servants had confiscated somewhere.Now it's just bitter gin and whiskey, and the soda is gone, forget it!Let's just drink tea, tea is plentiful. Tomorrow is Sunday, and the Chinese say: The Japanese never attack on Sunday, with only two exceptions so far.Oh, you can't be mistaken! ! In the evening I received a second pair of binoculars from Shanghai—a pair of 18 power binoculars, which Mr. Drenkhath got for me.Now I'm equipped with binoculars, like a chief of staff.As long as the greengrocer who lives opposite has butter for sale, I can even see his latest butter price clearly with this pair of binoculars!It's incredible!Otto, this pair of binoculars must be given to you in the future. You can use them in the Bavarian mountains. Of course, I hope I can go up the mountains with you in the future, but is it possible? Sunday, a blue sky.Mr. Han (Xianglin) and his friends really got it wrong, and the alarm sounded at 10:30.In the south and north of the city, bombs and shrapnel were once again raining heavily.As advisers told me afterwards, we experienced a form of anniversary: ​​the 700th bomb was dropped on Nanking yesterday.The vast majority of bombs fell on the airfield south of the city. At 11:55, the danger passed, and the rest of the time was calm.I went for a walk with Walter Mudd for a while.We found that there was Aife beer in the window of the so-called German butcher shop opened by the Chinese boss, and we quickly bought all 9 bottles in stock.Erika Busser's happy fiancé, Kroeger, came to visit us, and we had coffee and a few pleasant hours together.Whenever the driver Liu encounters an alarm, in order to go home as soon as possible, he will drive the "panic express".The car's shock spring finally snapped while driving Panic Express, and the car had to be sent in for repairs.We have also heard that the Wing Lee factory was badly damaged during the last bombing and that the electricity from the power plant is no longer needed because the factory has had to stop production.It appears that they also want to shut down the power plants that have not yet been restored. In the evening, sad news came from the radio that the Japanese had captured Taicang City on the front line of Shanghai.If this news is accurate (and this is not what we hope), we may soon cut ties with Shanghai completely. Beautiful autumn weather, very calm. I believe that the Japanese know that I am celebrating my 28th wedding anniversary today, so they take special care of it.My wife may have gone to Beijing after sending the last telegram (that is, the Japanese changed the name of "Peking" to "Beijing" again, and now they only need to change the name of "Nanjing" to "Nanping" That is, "Southern Peace" - how it fits with the indiscriminate bombing!).However, just to be on the safe side, I sent a telegram to my old address in Tianjin, and I really sweated a lot, because writing things in English is not so easy.Do not believe you try it!In the merriment of the pre-holiday atmosphere, the wounded Mr. Holt was awarded the Garter for Resistance to Shooting, that is to say, a medal attached to a white garter bearing the words "Honey may have been wrong" (taken from Medal Box of Me), with the pattern of two crossed muskets, and the packaging is a cigar case with a blue silk face and white silk lining.The effect is quite good!Holt almost healed his wounds with laughter, and completely unexpected, the whole world is saying: This can only be a good thing done by Rabe! My wife asked Mr. Han (Xianglin) to bring me 4 large pots of purple Guanhua (pronounced as: chrysanthemum). In addition, I also received two poems from her (one written by herself, the other One can only be written by Zahn), and she also included a photo of Otto, which is the photo that the child gave me before, and she stole it from me. She may have forgotten about it.Many, many, many thanks, wife! !I am so happy! !In addition, I have received two more letters from my wife (October 15th and 16th), one of which was transmitted through the German embassy and must have been brought by Mrs. Trautman, who is currently in Shanghai, the ambassador been to her. Aero Weather!But the morning was still calm and we could go about our work with peace of mind. The alarm was raised at 14:30 and lifted at 15:15.We saw no planes, but it is said that there was heavy air fighting and bombing en route to Nanking. At 16:00 the alarm sounded again.Using my new 18x binoculars, I saw seven bombers overhead for the first time, and quickly stepped back.As soon as I lowered the binoculars, I could barely see the plane.Due to the high magnification of the telescope, I got the distance of the enemy plane wrong.I have to get used to this first.The Japanese plane dropped another batch of bombs in the south of the city. At 16:15, the danger passed. Mr. Ribet finished his work in the power plant and he can go to Changsha, but Shanghai sent a telegram: "Wait for the signal. Don't rush to finish the work!" I have worked in Siemens for 27 years, and I have never received such a telegram. Good telegram, I really want to be a turbine assembler too.For this reason, I bought a Chinese steel helmet in the afternoon, on the one hand to keep it as a souvenir, and on the other hand to prevent the telecommunications department of the Shanghai headquarters from calling and beating me on the head, because my progress in collecting the past foreign debts of the Artillery School was too slow.The newspapers reported that Taicang was still in Chinese hands.But from the faces of the people here, it can be seen that the situation is a bit unreal, and it must have been captured.In any case, it is indeed a relief that we Germans still have the steamer Kutwo as our last refuge on the Yangtze.I've seen the government slip through here once.This kind of thing will be repeated again and again.Whether order can be maintained in the city in the future is a big question. A newspaper said: In the 65 air raids on Nanjing from August 15 to October 15, 1937, 200 people were killed and 300 were injured.In addition, the Japanese admit that they have been beaten to death 10,000 people in Shanghai so far. The news of the Japanese capture of Taicang has now been confirmed by the Chinese, who have now withdrawn to what they call the "Hindenburg Line".Mail and telegrams from Shanghai can still be received.It is said that you can even reach Shanghai West Railway Station by train.Shanghai is chaos!The battle must have been fierce.Europeans were also strafed by Japanese planes during the fighting at the border of the International Concession.Two Germans were wounded and a British soldier was killed.British soldiers were then ordered to guard this section of the International Settlement and shoot any Japanese aircraft that flew over the International Settlement border. Today, here in Nanjing, it is very calm, although the aviation weather is very good, there are no air raids or sirens at all.I keep hearing stories about the Japanese using gas bombs.It is said that 200 boxes of Japanese ammunition marked with the red cross have been shipped to Shanghai.The following experience of Shi's father's family life shows that the current situation in Shanghai is not "completely without" problems. Here, I would like to thank me, and I will repeat it.If something is wrong, I reserve my opinion and shall not be held responsible.Several large bombs fell near Mr. Shi's house, blowing up many houses to pieces, and it was even reported in the newspapers later.Papa Shi then called to ask his wife and children to come to his office, which he thought would be safer.When the family finally got to him, he was waiting rather impatiently.He opened his mouth and said to them, "Where have you been staying so long?" "We didn't find mother soon enough," replied the little girl. "Oh, oh, where did she hide? She couldn't have gotten lost at home," interjected the youngest child (in the voice of Gretel Garbo): "She's hiding in the closet! Daddy, Can you guess it??" The sky was a bit cloudy, but there was an alert at 09:10 nonetheless.But it was just a false alarm, and it was canceled at 9:40.Other than that, the day was peaceful, a busy day at work.A little incident happened at night. It is said that the mischievous chef Cai prepared cheese for dinner, but there was no cheese in the meal.I got angry, scolded him, and said I would fire him on the 1st of next month.He couldn't beat me, so he turned and walked away.Just go, as far as I'm concerned, I won't budge, I want my cheese! On a rainy day, it is estimated that the Japanese plane will not come.I'm ashamed to admit that both the cook and the cheese became completely secondary things.The battle on the Shanghai Line had an effect on the spirits of us all, and in this battle, apart from the enormous losses on both sides, everything must have been greater than hitherto.In this way, the Japanese may have actually achieved or come close to achieving their goal in Shanghai.We don't believe that they will launch a charge against China's "Hindenburg Line", although no one knows what their plans are now.It is not that the Chinese did not have a heroic defense, and what we have seen now is enough to prove that they have maintained the reputation of the Chinese army.We have made many estimates and discussions here about whether the Japanese will be able to break through the mine blockade on the Yangzi River and capture the Yangzi River's fortifications.If this were to happen, Nanking would face the Japanese fleet, and that would be a sad end, but we are not there yet, and some think that is impossible. Walter Mudd continued his journey yesterday to Hankow.Ribe is still here, and he plans to leave after completing the repair work on the No. 2 and No. 3 turbines of the power plant. Besides, the power plant has shut down the turbines recently, because the Yongli Power Plant, a major power consumer, is still not in operation.Now suddenly came an instruction (possibly from Commander Chiang Kai-shek), requesting that all machines should be turned on immediately.Chinese newspapers reported that the Japanese had shipped to Shanghai 350 crates of poison gas ammunition marked with a yellow cross. (Are they trying to use it to poison gas the Yangtse fortifications?) Major Pirna brought bad news that the Shanghai Commercial Savings Bank was in jeopardy, having suffered heavy losses from the war in Shanghai.Some of the larger concerns that provided the bank's funds are said to have been destroyed by the Japanese.I have not yet been able to confirm this news.Spengler told me that he had withdrawn his deposits from the Shanghai Commercial Savings Bank after hearing from Pirner that the Ministry of Railways did not want to issue promissory notes in pounds sterling.I feel so funny!Is the situation in Europe acute?An article published in today's newspaper is "cloudy" and not suitable for calming emotions.But this bad luck happened again! It is said that Madame Chiang Kai-shek was on her way to Shanghai when the car drove into a ditch, and she was thrown out of the car, breaking several ribs.It is said that near Taibaiyan (on the way to Wuhu) a Chinese gunboat with 3 million yuan of ammunition was blown to pieces by Japanese bombers.Pirna claimed to have seen this and said he knew it was due to espionage? !Laugenschlager came back here from Beidaihe via Shanghai and brought me the insulin my wife bought for me in Tianjin.I now have a 3 month stockpile of this stuff. I received 100 copies of the 1938 German calendar from Siemens Electric as a Christmas present to a customer.The Zinsch Brothers sent their annual request from Hamburg to send Christmas parcels.The people from Schinsch have also included a very beautiful postcard of winter scenery in Hamburg, which made us "completely soften our hearts"!Holy crap, Christmas - we haven't even thought of that yet!Where will we spend Christmas this year? ? —Hey, don't you cry, Rabe.You were not like this in the past! ! The following verses were written while my mind was clear: What a rainy day, what a beautiful rainy day. The "Kutwo" has decided to sail to Wuhu to load the newly dug coal.The ladies all left the ship and remained in "dangerous" Nanking during this time. Received emails from wife on October 17th and 20th.Ulla!My wife regained her courage when she read my article about celebrating the Harvest Thanksgiving in Nanjing in Tianjin's Hua De Bao.now it's right.wife!This article was first written for you.You understood immediately, which made me very happy. The rain is still falling quietly, which is great.We simply don't want better weather than this. The fighting in Shanghai continued in the immediate vicinity of the foreign concessions.Another group of people were killed in the battle, including 3 British soldiers.Another group of passers-by was injured.All foreigners, and of course the entire Chinese population, praised the 500 or 800 Chinese who, despite being cut off, fought heroically against the Japanese in a warehouse and behaved like death.I read about the first peace overtures in the papers, but that only seemed to be the case!A dove of peace without an olive branch is useless.