Chapter 18 January 38 Diary 5

Plumes of smoke were visible in all directions, and the fun continued. At 9:00 a.m., a meeting of all persons in charge of refugee shelters was held at our headquarters at No. 5 Ninghai Road.We were ready for the Japanese to disrupt or even ban the meeting.I posted a sentry outside the wall, and if our house was surrounded by Japanese military police like last time, he would immediately notify the German embassy.I am delighted that Dr. Rosen, Kroeger and Sperling were all in attendance.Everyone was a little nervous, wondering if the Japanese would intervene, so we waited in vain.Thankfully, the meeting went peacefully and normally.

In the afternoon, Dr. Smythe and Fitch brought word that our letter of January 17 had been rejected by the Japanese and was an oral reply from Tanaka.That is to say, we can neither transport rice nor other grains in the city; we can neither transport grain from warehouses in the city nor import it from Shanghai.The Japanese seem to be trying to starve the refugees to death.This attempt must be thwarted.We sent the following telegram to Shanghai: To Boynton, Shanghai National Church of Christ The problem of food has become more serious, because the common people do not have the normal food supply.Since December 13, only 2,200 bags of rice and 1,000 bags of flour have been sold to 250,000 refugees.Civilians still survive on the private food stocks they bring with them.This stockpile is now running out! 50,000 refugees now receive free rations of rice from us every day.We applied to import the rice and wheat purchased locally, and requested permission to ship 600 tons of grain from Shanghai to here, but were all rejected.Please strive to conduct the necessary negotiations in Shanghai.If broad beans can be purchased in Shanghai, please ship 100 tons here as soon as possible.And please continue to fundraise.We need relief money badly.

Signed: Fitch January 18, 1938 at 15:00 The U.S. embassy could then telegraph a "wonderful event" to the State Department in Washington.The American school here was robbed again today.Looters smashed a hole in the wall and removed a piano.It's a pity that the officials from the American embassy came a bit late and failed to catch the Japanese soldiers on the spot.After the American embassy officials returned here, one must think that the Japanese army would not commit such scandals. I was racking my brains on how I should close my business because I had received a telegram to "close business matters".Crates are out of reach now, and carpenters and transporters are nowhere to be found.How should I pack my things?Don't throw it here, it won't do - it's tantamount to a loss.If I leave, that is to say, go to Shanghai, what will happen to my whole yard?Still, there must be a way.The Japanese might issue me a pass, I even feel they might be happy to get rid of me, but what about the 650 refugees in my yard?What a bitter end after I have done so much work and achieved results for Nanjing!

The radio broadcast said that a Berlin newspaper warned Japan to give up its continued invasion of the Chinese interior and proposed that Japan make a decent peace proposal to China.The news was "too good to believe".Nobody here believes that the Japanese would take this good advice.A large-scale battle on the Longhai Railway line was imminent.The Chinese army, about 40,000 troops there, appears to have been reorganized -- at least that's what the radio reported.All incompetent officers were said to have been dismissed.Despite this, it is regrettable that we still dare not hold out hope that the Chinese military will be able to win these battles.During this period, Qingdao was also occupied by the Japanese, and the fate of Jinan was the same.The Chinese police in Yantai are said to have mutinied and looted (according to Japanese reports).Han Fuju, chairman of Shandong province, and two other generals were reportedly shot by the Chinese under the state of emergency law on Chiang Kai-shek's order, for their ineffective resistance to the enemy.Regarding Han Fuju, some people say that he deposited all his cash in Japanese banks. There is no need to doubt this, because the news probably came from Japan.News came again today that Zhang Xueliang had been shot.He was the son of Zhang Zuolin, the leader of the Xi'an Incident, where he had detained Chiang Kai-shek a year earlier.The purge that began in Hankou came too late, and it is doubtful that it will have any effect now.

Today I wrote dismissal notices to several employees here, because according to the instructions of the Shanghai headquarters, I should close the office here.It is impossible for me to explain otherwise the notice from Shanghai of "Closing Business Matters".I also want to pay these people their full monthly salary in January, but there is no New Year's bonus.Quite callous, of course, because the Chinese New Year (February 1, 1938) is approaching, the price of food (if it can still be bought) is already very high, and the living conditions of hundreds of thousands of people here are no better than It was good before.However, as long as I can stay here, all my staff will have housing; if the food money is not enough, it will rely on the porridge factory of the International Committee, anyway, most of the 650 refugees living in my yard eat The best is the porridge from this porridge factory (2 bags of rice per day).

My landlord himself (Mr. Xie) and his representatives have fled.Even so, I have to write them a termination notice, because if the foreign company calls me back, I can return the house according to the contract. John Rabe, Nanjing, January 19, 1938, to Siemens Co., Ltd. (China) Manager Department, No. 985, No. 233 Nanjing Road, Shanghai, Volume 13 Reason: Nanjing Office closed Regarding your telegram asking me to close the office here at noon on the 10th of this month, I would like to report to you that I have sent a written notice to the Chinese employees here, and due to the war, their employment in our foreign firm will be terminated by the end of the month.

I ask you to tell me if it is possible to pay the clerk a new year bonus or an additional salary in addition to the January salary.Since the price of food here has risen considerably, none of our Chinese employees has a savings that can support themselves and their families for a long period of time. Therefore, I most sincerely recommend that this problem be resolved amicably and properly. Please reply as soon as possible (telegram if possible).thanks. most loyal Signed: John Rabe John Rabe Nanjing January 19, 1938 Document No. 980 / Volume 13 To Mr. Han Xianglin Nanjing Dear Mr. Han: As all commerce has ceased due to the war, we regret to inform you that, in accordance with instructions from our headquarters, our commercial office in Nanking must be closed.

With this regrettably your employment with us will come to an end.But we are also prepared to continue to employ you after the war as soon as conditions permit. Please tell us your future address so that we can contact you if possible. We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to you for your loyal service to us over the past 6 years. pay high tribute Signed: John Rabe Representative of Siemens Matheson (China) in Nanjing Similar letters were also sent to the following individuals: Tong Baiqing Cai Ziliang Zhang Fugen Sun Longsheng John H.D. Rabe Nanjing Document No. 986/Volume 13 19 January 1938 Acknowledgments (KS) Nanjing

Dear Mr. Xie: On the 10th of this month, I received a telegram from the headquarters of Shanghai Siemens (China) Co., Ltd. instructing me to close the office here and return to Shanghai with Mr. Han as soon as possible. According to the agreement we have reached, our rental contract will be automatically terminated in this case, so I ask you to take corresponding measures in advance. Your house is intact and in good condition, because I kicked out all the Japanese soldiers (there were a lot of them) who tried to break into our place, but for humanitarian reasons, I allowed a group of Chinese refugees (600+ people) to live in my yard.Some of the refugees came to hide in the bomb shelter in my yard during the night of December 12th when the city was bombed, others came later so as to be protected from Japanese soldiers under my protection.After the fall of Nanjing, Japanese soldiers ran amok throughout the city, looting, setting fire to and raping women with impunity for weeks.

with kind regards you are very faithful Signed: John Rabe Nanjing January 19, 1938 to Mr. Allison, Mr. Prideaux-Bron, American Embassy, ​​Mr. Dr. Rosen, British Embassy, ​​German Embassy Nanjing Dear Sirs: Each of you has kindly given attention to how to feed the city's 250,000 civilians.As expressed in Mr. Dr. Smythe's letter to Mr. Allison of January 17th (a copy was sent to you), we have emphatically made three recommendations to the Japanese, namely: 1. Realize as soon as possible the distribution of rice, flour and coal by the Autonomous Council through commercial channels;

2. Allow the International Committee to bring in the 3,000 bags of rice and 9,000 bags of wheat we purchased from the Shanghai Commercial Savings Bank for relief (these grains are currently stored in Xiaguan, Sanhanhe and outside Hanximen); 3. Allow the International Committee to ship 600 tons of supplementary food from Shanghai to here. When Mr. Dr. Smythe asked for an answer to these suggestions for the third time yesterday, Mr. Fukui sent him to Mr. Tanaka.Mr. Smythe and Mr. Fitch then approached Mr. Tanaka, who told them that the Japanese had confiscated the rice and wheat in the warehouse mentioned above.When they reminded him that it was private property and not the property of the Chinese army, he thought that the grain stockpiles might be used by the Japanese army for Chinese civilians.The two gentlemen mentioned above repeatedly asked the Japanese authorities for permission to ship 3,000 bags of rice from Shanghai, but each request was rejected with a simple "No".He told them that there would be no ships to carry the 3,000 meters and another 600 tons of supplementary grain.When Mr. Smythe and Mr. Fitch mentioned the Japanese ships, Tanaka explained that "both were used for military purposes".When the two gentlemen proposed to use British ships again, Mr. Tanaka did not answer them.They had no choice but to ask the Japanese what plans they had now, and Mr. Tanaka replied that the Japanese army would take responsibility for solving the food problem for Chinese civilians. Mr. Smythe and Mr. Fitch then explained to him that since December 13th the Japanese army had provided only 2,200 bags of rice and 1,000 bags of flour for sale to Chinese civilians.Tanaka believed that the supply was more than that, but had no numerical materials at hand (the Japanese army handed over 1,200 bags of rice to the Self-Government Committee on January 10, 1,000 bags of rice and 1,000 bags of flour on January 17, and the second batch of grain should be sold in the south of the city. The International Committee helped to transport the food, since the Japanese Army did not provide transport). At the end of the conversation, Mr. Smythe asked Mr. Tanaka whether he should tell me that our request for permission to import the rice purchased at Shimonoseki and to ship grain from Shanghai had now been refused by the Japanese authorities.The answer to this is: yes! A telegram signed by Mr. Fitch to Mr. Boynton of the National Church of Shanghai (with whom we have been in correspondence on this matter) was immediately followed, and it remains to be seen what Shanghai can do about it. My gentlemen, I do not know what you intend to do in this matter, but I will try to keep you informed of further developments and to inform you of our proposals in this regard.We do not think it is advisable to further emphasize our demands at this time, since Mr. Tanaka has already claimed that the Japanese army will be responsible for the food problem of the Chinese civilian population.If you get the chance, it may be appropriate to informally ask the Japanese to tell you what they did. The only way to solve the problem is to restore order and traffic, and redistribute rice through commercial channels.The International Committee was concerned only with urging the Japanese army to notice the seriousness of the food problem and to take remedial measures during this period so that the poor who could not afford to buy food could get free rice. It is absolutely necessary for the Japanese army to understand what it means to take responsibility for the food of Chinese civilians.So far they have only treated this issue as a child's play, and it is rare for them to take out 1,000 bags of rice for sale by the self-governing committee. The essential needs of citizens are as follows: 1. Normal daily supply of 2000 dan (equivalent to 1600 bags) of rice or about the same weight of flour (based on the normal consumption of 1 dan for 100 adults in a day, 250,000 people need 2500 dan per day; the ration for smaller children must of course be decrease accordingly). 2. At least 40 to 50 tons of coal or other fuels are needed every day. 3. Since the Self-Government Committee did not have enough means of transportation to bring in this amount of rice, flour, and fuel, and the Japanese army's trucks were all over the city, the Japanese army should be responsible for transporting them to the Self-Government Committee's shop. (When we discussed with Major Ishida about the supply of food, he indicated that he was ready to take care of the transportation. Unfortunately, these agreements were annulled by orders from the Japanese higher authorities.) In addition to the supply of rice and flour, additional measures should be taken to ensure a certain amount of other food supplies to prevent various diseases and plagues.We also plan to import this type of food from Shanghai.Transportation must also be undertaken by the Japanese Army. If the necessary food can be provided to the self-government committee, the self-government committee will have no difficulty in distributing it. Of course, for those citizens who returned to their original residences, the Japanese must guarantee the protection that any decent government would provide its own citizens.The Japanese should likewise protect the normal distribution and sale of food and fuel. Thank you for your interest in our business. you are very faithful Signed: John Rabe Chairman of Nanjing Safety Zone International Committee snowstorm!The plight of the refugees is so sympathetic that even a hard-hearted person would be moved by it.The refugee shelter in my yard has turned into a big quagmire, and ditches have been dug around every tent and hut to drain snow water.Now, when I see an open fire under the roof of a low straw hut, I often turn a blind eye and close it.It was snowing heavily outside, and the fire would not last long if it started.If you want to warm up, you have to take risks.Whenever I see the deplorable conditions of the refugee shelter in my yard, I can't help but think of De Wenger's books "Army Behind the Barbed Wire" and "Between White and Red". We recently stole a few thousand bricks from a new half-constructed house nearby to create a narrow walkway between our tents and haylofts to keep us from getting bogged down in the mud.We also built a brick wall around the latrine pit to make the camp a bit more "elegant".The benefits of these improvements are of course not much, and the whole yard is still an unimaginable swamp, and it's no surprise that everyone is coughing and spitting.My biggest worry is the fear of contagion.Once this happens, there is absolutely nothing we can do!Pastor John Magee, the president of our Red Cross, brought a report from a Chinese female nurse.She came from the Red Cross hospital (specially for wounded soldiers) set up in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where we foreigners were forbidden to enter, and only the nursing staff were occasionally allowed to go out to buy things.They took this opportunity to find us and report to us.She reported that the daily ration of wounded soldiers was only three small bowls of porridge. A Chinese wounded soldier complained that he was not full and was beaten severely. Afterwards, he asked the Japanese: "The reason why you beat me is because Am I hungry?" The Japanese took him to the yard and stabbed him to death with a bayonet.Nurses watched the execution in the courtyard from their windows. Many returned to their original homes, only to be stoned or worse mistreated by Japanese soldiers.After they return to safety, no refugee wants to leave.At the same time, large Japanese notices could be seen in the city: "Come back to your hometown! Food for you! Trust the Japanese army! Help!" Report by Mr. Christian Kroeger (Engineer of Lihe International Co., Ltd.), Treasurer of Nanjing Safety Zone International Committee: Days and Nights of Suffering in Nanjing Nanjing, January 13, 1938 Today, Nanjing City has been in the hands of the Japanese for a full month.At such a moment, it is necessary to look back on the past days and everything that has happened in the past, because in this Asian cruel war between two yellow races for freedom or domination, it is very important for us personally To the person who experienced it, the past days and everything that happened in these days are unique and very important. On November 21, most of the German nationals boarded the ship "Kutwo" and left us, along with the valuables we had stored on board. On December 8, the last batch of foreigners boarded the three-masted sailing ship of Chahe Yangxing and left Nanjing.But the people on board absolutely did not expect that this trip would be a disaster, and what awaited them was the bombing of Japanese planes.In contrast, those of us who stayed behind were not in such great danger.On this day, the Japanese had advanced to the Qilin Gate, and were actually approaching the city.For the first time, the dull sound of cannons rumbled across the sky over Nanjing City from a distance. On December 9, Japanese bombers conducted a fierce dive bombing of Nanjing, but the targets of the bombing were only the positions outside the city, the gates of Nanjing and the troops deployed on the streets in the south of the city.The South City Gate was closed early in the morning.We only heard afterwards that the Japanese almost took down Zhonghuamen and entered the city.It was purely accidental that the gates were then closed at the last moment.The city of Nanjing has been surrounded by fire, billowing thick smoke stretches along the horizon like a ribbon.The air was filled with gunpowder smoke, and a large amount of ash was scattered down one after another. On December 10, the Japanese continued to advance and were already at the foot of the city gate.Machine gun bullets swished across Zhongshan East Road continuously.The streets and South City Gate were severely damaged by the indiscriminate bombing of Japanese bombers.General Tang Shengzhi must have realized that the position cannot be defended. Under his proposal, the International Committee started a ceasefire mediation on the same day.The content of the mediation includes: a 3-day ceasefire, during which the Chinese army will use this time to withdraw from the city without hindrance and surrender the city peacefully.Although the Japanese would most likely reject these terms, we sent a telegram to Hankow the next day by American gunboat.However, the rapid development of the situation made this ceasefire mediation had to be terminated early.That same night, the Purple Mountain burned, which, according to a Chinese proverb, was a sign of the fall of Nanking. On December 11, the urban area of ​​Nanjing and the positions of the Chinese army were bombarded for the first time. The remaining 22 Europeans established the "Nanjing Safety Zone International Committee" in mid-November.Although the safe zone was never declared "established", meaning it was never seen as a refugee-only zone without any military personnel, it nevertheless served a great deal of protection.Although the Japanese did not recognize this safe area, they noticed the existence of this area, so the safe area was only bombarded with a small number, and the number of deaths during the battle was very small.By the day of December 12, it can be said that all the residents stranded in the city had fled into the safe zone, with a total of about 200,000 to 250,000 people.Sufficient preparations had been made at that time, such as setting up large-scale refugee shelters to resettle refugees, bringing in rice reserves to last for two months, providing a considerable amount of funds, etc., so there is no need to detail them here.In short, the administration of the city has practically fallen into our hands.If these few Europeans hadn't stayed here, what the Japanese did after occupying Nanjing would have been even more vicious. Sunday, December 12, began the day very peacefully, almost peacefully.The Japanese artillery units stopped bombarding the city, and only a few planes rumbled over the battlefield.China's air defense forces only fired when the plane passed through the sky.In the afternoon, the battle situation changed, and the Japanese army had pushed to the water west gate in the west.But details are unknown.I only know that the day and night on the 11th were very restless, the sky was fiery red, thick smoke was billowing everywhere, and the rumble of cannons, mortars and machine guns in the distance could be heard endlessly. The Chinese army began to retreat one after another. The retreat first started from the south of the city, and the last retreat was the defenders in the west of the city.The defensive battle around the periphery of Nanjing was improperly deployed, so it was decided from the very beginning that this retreat must be an unprecedented tragedy.To this day, whenever I think of these things, especially when I think of the sad situation of Supreme Commander Tang Shengzhi, I am greatly shocked.He and how many people claimed to live and die with the Nanjing City Wall, but at the critical moment, he crossed the river and escaped first.According to reports from Chinese military officers, the situation had been deplorable some time ago.The various positions on the front line fought independently, and had no contact with the two wing positions at all, and there was no unified supreme combat command among the various troops.The heavy weapons positions had been prepared before the battle, but the scheduled heavy weapons did not enter the positions. Therefore, the infantry who had just been defeated in Shanghai and had not yet received enough combat power had to bear all the pressure.Seeing that the situation had changed, an officer rushed from the south of the city, hoping to get instructions. At this time, he found that the general headquarters had been completely evacuated.The retreat then began like a flood without an order.At nearly 5 o'clock in the afternoon, at the beginning of the retreat, only sporadic troops retreated, and they lined up and marched in an orderly manner.After that, other troops began to retreat, and the action became chaotic, with personnel jostling each other and fighting for the way, and the order was chaotic.By midnight, the retreat turned into a flight.The Yijiang Gate leading to Xiaguan had been half closed a few days ago, and it was completely closed on Saturday, and the gate was completely blocked by sandbag barricades.In addition, a barricade was built on the street not far in front of the Ministry of Railways, blocking half of the street.The turbulent flow of retreating people crowded the narrow streets, and the road became narrower and narrower as it went down. Finally, the flow of people was suffocated, and the disaster of the Chinese army also followed.How many of China's best troops were killed in this retreat can never be counted.The Yangtze River is flowing silently, patiently containing everything, and flowing towards the sea.The army was not ready for the ferry crossing at all, and there were only a few tugboats, small boats, sailboats, and small sampans left in Xiaguan Port. Thousands of people used these things to cross the river, and it was still at night.Many made their own rafts, but there were still not enough.Because of this, how many people died in the bombing of the chasing Japanese planes the next morning. The Japanese planes had already bombed the river violently on December 12.The scene of this night is unforgettable.Excellent troops can still march in formation, some troops even bring the wounded and all the ordnance, but more troops are in a mess, pushing and flocking forward, some of them have no weapons and only carry dry food, Most people bring rice.The streets are littered with abandoned ordnance of all kinds: rice, military equipment, bicycles, ammunition boxes, rifles, machine guns, grenades, shell boxes with German labels, military uniforms, tents, loads thrown on the road Trucks with gasoline, mules and horses driven to the side of the road or lying down or grazing quietly, everything imaginable, and of course the wounded.Under the moonlight at night, all of these are like teams of death jumping out of the dance of skeletons.The Ministry of Communications was on fire, and the house of General Gu Zhusheng (transliteration) not far from us was also on fire. These terrible scenes foreshadowed war, heralded destruction.The most miserable are the wounded soldiers, no one to help them.They climbed out of abandoned carts and trucks, dragging their bodies along the streets in fear of the Japanese.A count of deaths on the streets the next morning showed how many had been trampled, run over or died from exhaustion. Towards early morning, the flow of retreating people began to gradually decrease.The city gate leading to Xiaguan was closed and blocked with barricades.There was no hope, and those who were still in the city at this time were imprisoned in the city.At this time, there were still many people gathered, and these people happened to be the best soldiers, and they insisted on fighting the Japanese until the last moment.I have personally experienced these tearful scenes.The troops under the guidance of the German advisers were excellent, well-equipped, and dared to fight. They retreated to the western mountains in small groups exhausted, or looked for a way out in other directions.We heard later that some scattered troops broke through the Japanese blockade three times and made great sacrifices before entering the Guangde-Wuhu line.Some soldiers put down their weapons and put on the civilian clothes they had prepared in their backpacks or bought.We had a collection of weapons in front of the committee's office and in the surrounding streets. There were 235 rifles, about 80 Mauser pistols and revolvers, 2 heavy machine guns, 6 light machine guns and many other weapons. A large number of grenades were thrown into a pond. On the morning of December 13, a small number of troops withdrew, and most of them concentrated in front of the barricades of the Ministry of Railways. Due to the spread of the fire at the Ministry of Communications, the barricades here also burned.Some of the withdrawn troops are still preparing to continue fighting the Japanese here.But the next day, the Japanese used tanks to fight the front line from the beginning, so they were quickly defeated.On this day, I used other trucks to transport a batch of rice from the warehouses that had been left unattended, but some warehouses had been opened, and a large number of ordinary people rushed in to get food.We hoped that this would improve the food supply situation for the refugees in the area, but many people's rice was later taken away by the Japanese. At noon, the whole city was dead silent.The Chinese were hiding at home, they were waiting for the Japanese, but the Japanese did not show up.Obviously, the Chinese army successfully completed the retreat, but it paid a heavy price!The first encounter with the Japanese was peaceful and special, when a Japanese patrol stopped a Russian in his car near the American embassy on Shanghai Road and allowed him to drive on without hindrance.A bus was also stopped, and passengers had to alight to inspect weapons before being allowed to continue.The committee quickly got in touch with the Japanese, but the Japanese refused to recognize the safe zone on the grounds that there were Chinese soldiers everywhere in the safe zone, even though they had put down their weapons.On this day, under the good cover of the two sides and the forward, the Japanese spread out horizontally and advanced forward until they reached Xinjiekou Square.Apparently, they don't trust the Chinese yet. My first contact with the Japanese army was at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at 12:30 in the middle of the night. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had turned into a hospital and was recognized by the Japanese.A Japanese military officer made a brief inspection of the hospital and showed a very cooperative attitude. It seemed that the Japanese advance combat troops had good discipline, but unfortunately this impression was quickly wiped out. In order to cut off the retreat of the retreating Chinese army, Japanese planes had violently bombed Pukou as early as December 12.Unfortunately, almost all the British ships were also violently attacked, including the three-masted ship of Jardine Matheson that helped the Germans escape.On this day, Japanese motorboats also appeared on the river, but they acted very cautiously. On December 13, the Japanese army continued to pursue.The Japanese sent a force across the Yangtze to Pukou, thereby blocking the last retreat of the remaining Chinese troops.Fortunately, this force failed to rush to Pukou on December 12 as planned. On the night of December 13, the Japanese warships on the Yangtze River also began to fire. The sound of rumbling shelling and explosions could still be heard late at night. The targets of the shelling were obviously the roads and railways outside the city.The bombardment of the warship was also delayed by one day, so although the Chinese army paid a heavy price that cannot be counted, they still completed the retreat.If this is not the case, it is impossible for the Chinese army to withdraw from Nanjing City. On the afternoon of December 13, I took over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which had been converted into a hospital.The situation there is so bad that it can't be described in words. It's a disgrace to the Chinese army. The wounded are thrown there. They don't get care for two or three days. No one takes care of the poorest people. All the medical staff Everyone fled.It is admirable that the Red Cross Society of China sent care to these wounded, sent male and female nurses, but there were too few doctors.The first thing to do here is to clean up the weapons. There are weapons everywhere, many in number, and complete sets.The Japanese like to make excuses very much, and they are likely to execute the wounded with weapons.This afternoon, people finally removed the unsightly filth, and of course, the first thing to be cleaned up was the corpse.The wounded had their first meal.But the medical treatment situation is still very bad, I hope the situation will improve after the Japanese occupation is completed.During the night several patrols came to inspect the place, and on Tuesday morning the Japanese occupied the whole city.I first drove around with a senior military officer, who seemed to have been ordered to determine the progress of the inspection according to the exact time.I told him that until the International Club there was no whole Chinese army.He allowed us to send two truckloads of dressings, splints, and medicine from Central University (which later became a hospital too).People at Chung-Ang University also gave great cooperation and did not create any difficulties. But by this afternoon, the attitude of the Japanese had changed drastically.I persuaded 4 doctors to go to the hospital, but I was not allowed to enter.During this time, the city was completely in the hands of the Japanese, who occupied all public buildings and banned us from entering everywhere, even where we had established large refugee shelters.We were promised that things would change when Supreme Commander Matsui arrived.It is necessary to say here that even today, the situation in hospitals has not improved at all.The Japanese told us we could bury the dead and the wounded would be taken care of by the military.As of today, all we can get in is rice, and no nursing staff, doctors, or medical supplies.Judging from what was found at the receiving hospital, the death rate inside was quite high, and only the lightly wounded could hope to survive. Of course, there must be a prerequisite, that is, they were not immediately shot by the Japanese.According to newspaper reports, the care of the medical staff was good, and the wounded were cared for, albeit incompletely.We have also received confirmation from the nurses about this situation, but despite this, we are still not allowed to enter the hospital for inspection to this day. From December 14, the situation deteriorated sharply.The Japanese fighting forces, marching too fast and undersupplied, left the cities at their disposal, and what they did, especially to the poorest and most innocent, was beyond the imagination of ordinary people.They robbed the refugees (the poorest of the poor) of rice, and they plundered all the grain reserves they could take, and they also robbed quilts, clothes, watches, bracelets for sleeping, in a word, everything they thought was worth carrying. Take away everything.Anyone who hesitated was immediately stabbed with a bayonet, and many people were murdered in this barbaric act without knowing why. Thousands were killed in this way.These soldiers and bandits who had degenerated into beasts continued to break into the refugee areas and houses full of refugees, even the things that the soldiers who robbed first would dismiss them.In Nanjing today, it is almost impossible to find a house that has not been smashed open, brutally searched and robbed by Japanese soldiers.Locked doors and cupboards were forcibly broken open, and the contents inside were turned upside down, stolen, or damaged.The Japanese have never respected foreign flags from the beginning until now, and the same goes for the German flag. We had to stand strong and designate our German flag in order to protect our property and our servants, but in doing so often faced the threat of Japanese officers and soldiers.When everyone leaves their home, they must be mentally prepared at all times. The home will be stolen and robbed.My car was parked in the garage with the front wheels removed, but when I was discussing with several senior officers of the Japanese logistics force about the resumption of production of the power plant and water plant, just such a car was stolen from the garage .Under the threat of bayonets, the servants were forced to open the gate and hand over everything.In front of our house, there are 3 dead bodies that have been exposed to the street for 3 weeks.How can I expect heroism from my servants under such circumstances?It will only invite brutal revenge from the Japanese.Apparently the Japanese paid special attention to means of transportation. They hunted around for stolen cars and bicycles.A soldier can often be seen behind with a gun forcing 4 coolies to haul stolen items.The means of hauling were baby carriages, wheelbarrows, donkeys, mules, etc., in short, everything that could be found was used.This organized looting continued for more than two weeks.Even today, it cannot be said that any house will not be harassed by certain Japanese troops aiming to "expropriate military supplies".After valuables are removed, furniture, carpets, doors and window frames are mopped.Some troops even brought in thieves who specialized in stealing safes, some of which could be opened with nothing more than rifle bullets or hand grenades. 54所德国人的房子中，有14所受到轻微损坏，4所完全烧毁，15所遭严重抢劫，也可以说里面的东西全被破坏掉了，其余的房子遭到了偷抢。 13辆汽车被盗走。当然遭受灾难最深重的还要算各个难民收容所，因为每一个第一次到安全区大行抢劫的日本部队都以为，靠威胁和暴行就可以从难民身上讹诈到更多的东西，难民由此而被逼上了绝路。 中国军队撤退的时候，砸开并抢劫了一些粮店，也有几处发生了火灾。但是绝大部分城区在日军进城的时候完好无损。日本人用大手笔完成了一个巨作，也许唯一使他们感到遗憾的是，他们只能在各个地方一所一所地烧房子，他们恨不能一下子把整个南京城烧个精光。不过即便是这样，也已经是太不像话了。他们挨个儿撬店砸铺，抢劫店内的东西。如果单个士兵人手不够，就会有小分队在军官的指挥下开着卡车抢走所有值得拿走的东西，完后还要把房子付诸一炬。整个城南夫子庙地区，主要商业街太平路、中山东路、国府路、珠江路就是这样被掠夺一空纵火焚尽，现在轮到了中山路。这种有组织的纵火焚烧开始于12月20日，自那以后一直到今天，没有一天晚上夜空不被火光映照得通红。如果有房子遗漏或跳了过去，那还要细心地给它补上一把火。截至今天，全城估计约有百分之五十至百分之六十的房屋被烧毁。 城里到处被丢弃的军装告诉日本人，城里还有许多中国士兵，他们已经穿上平民的服装藏了起来。因此日本人在12月14日占领全城后，立即开始在整座城市，尤其是在难民收容所进行了严厉的搜查。他们打着这个幌子，干着各种各样残暴的事情。为了一点点无关紧要的小事就滥杀无辜，无缘无故处死人，这类事件每天不知要发生多少起。对收容所的搜查完全是随意进行的。平民百姓中根本没有人开枪射击，但是在几天中估计有5000人未经临时军事法庭审判就被枪毙，这个估计只会少不会多，大部分人在江边被处决，这样连埋葬尸体的辛劳都可以免去了。即使在今天，在强迫每个居民进行登记的时候，这种把人筛选出来予以处死的无谓的杀戮行为仍然在继续进行，只不过人数比以前有所减少罢了。如果说在开始的时候毫无意义地屠杀大批已经放下武器或者已经受伤的士兵、市政管理部门人员、水电厂的工人以及和平的居民和农民是为了显示对南京城的军事占领的话，那么在这之后再大肆屠杀成千上万的人就是不可饶恕和不可开脱的了。在12月14日到12月26日期间，交通部不远的街道旁躺着约30具苦力和士兵的尸体，他们是被捆绑起来枪杀的。距山西路不远的一个池塘里泡着约50具尸体，在一座寺庙里我看见了约20具尸体，在江苏路的尽头，至今仍有约20具尸体暴露于街头。以上所说的一切还不包括那些在山里被枪毙后草草掩埋的那些人。今天，日本人还想让我们相信，许多被抓走的人都被关押在八卦洲岛上或者被运到了其他什么地方，其实显然根本不存在战俘。 16日开车去下关，经过海军部时，汽车简直就是碾着尸体开过去的，这里也有一批人被捆绑着双手遭到了枪杀。城市的清理工作一直持续到了12月29日。在这之前，人们不得不天天从这些尸体旁边经过。我甚至连做梦都会梦见这些尸体。前面已经提到过，我们的房子前面就有3具尸体和一匹死马。日本人严格禁止殓尸。那匹死马一直到了1月9日我才找人埋掉。 日本军队暴行的另一个悲惨的篇章是虐待和强奸成千上万的姑娘和妇女。毫无疑问，这种暴行在各个军队都会发生，远东地区的军队尤其如此，但是虐待、致人残废以及肆无忌惮的、甚至连幼小的孩子都不放过的施暴则是毫无意义的。指导日本军队犯下这种种罪行的就是日本古老的武士道精神。 12月28日我第一次开车去栖霞山，一路上所见让我感到震惊。当时是严格禁止我们出城的，但是我急需粮食，因此我还是开车去了那里，我一路畅通没有遇到困难。我原先以为，日军的报复行为只发生在南京，因为它是抗日运动的首都和中心，但是现在我才发现，日军在这里的所作所为即便不是有过之而无不及，也是丝毫不亚于城里的。 中国军队在撤退的时候，已经烧掉了农民的房子和村庄，桌椅和农具等物品则被扔进村子的池塘里使之得到挽救。日本军队则在更大范围内将纵火行为延续了下去。他们不问青红皂白地枪杀庄稼地里的男女老幼，为此打出的口号是：“搜捕可恶的中国士兵。”许多水牛、骡马被打死在农田里或马路旁，任凭狗和乌鸦啃噬。农民们白天带着财物逃进山里，家里只留下老头老太，然而就连这些人的性命也受到了威胁。在一个小时的车程中，我连一个人都没有看见，就连较大一些的村庄也是空无一人。房子被烧光了，人被打死了，活着的人一见到汽车立即就逃得无影无踪。千佛山脚下形成了一座难民营，逃到里面的约有1万多人，全都是附近地区的农民。然而日本士兵在这里也没有丝毫收敛。他们任意拉出年轻小伙子枪毙，任意强奸少女。喝醉酒的士兵见到哪个人不顺眼就用刺刀捅死或捅伤，以此取乐，而这一地区恰恰又没有任何医治救护条件。寺庙里的佛像或被抢走或被破坏，就连和尚他们也不放过，也要加以虐待。水泥厂因为有两个外国人，一个是德国人京特博士，还有一个是丹麦人，所以日军的恐怖行径有所收敛。约有4000名难民带着所能带走的家产逃到那里安身。 根据中方报道，日本人从上海到南京，到芜湖，一路上以完全相同的方式对农村地区进行了大肆破坏和蹂躏。农民没有了农具，没有了种植水稻不可缺少的水牛，没有了每日农田劳作必不可少的安全感。这一切都没有了，农民怎么才能进行农田耕种，这是很难想象的。尤其是安全感，到目前都没有保障。如果情况没有根本性好转的话，那么很有可能会爆发饥荒。这种情形很容易让人联想到30年战争，当时的情况不仅在当今的20世纪发生了，而且是发生在亚洲民族之间，这简直让人无法想象。 1月1日，公开宣告成立南京临时自治机构。在音乐的伴奏下，在夸夸其谈的致辞的吹捧声中，昔日的五色旗在饱经世事历经沧桑的古老的鼓楼上升起。这个自治委员会几经周折才成立起来，但是今天它仍然是一个不能自主行动的摆设，中国人对它几乎没有什么信任感，日本人虽然答应提供各方面的支持，但实际上却拒绝给予支持。仅有的几个有修养的中国人态度不积极。红卍字会也只是为了使合作有一个起码的基础才表示愿意合作。由于日本军事当局反复无常无端猜疑，因此合作的成绩可以说是零。 就在五色旗升起的同时，俄国大使馆着火了。根据日本人的解释，这只是一个偶发事件，是一次事故。 因为城门关闭，所以从12月9日起南京城的自来水供应停止了。电厂的生产则一直坚持到了12月12日的深夜。尽管发电厂的两台机组没有受到任何损坏，但是日本人还是花费了很大的功夫才在1月2日使电厂临时恢复发电，水厂恢复供水是在1月3日。水电的正常供应到1月7日才真正恢复。由于局势普遍不安宁，再加上有43名电厂工人就因为是国营工厂的职工而遭枪杀，所以工人们都不敢报名，招募工人十分困难。 地下水源受到了严重的污染，好在水的供应对日本军队也是至关重要的，所以他们全力以赴，尽快恢复自来水正常供应。 电话线路网受到彻底破坏，短期内修复是不可能的。 城市的粮食供应形势十分严峻，预计形势不仅不会好转，反而会恶化。居民靠着他们的储备过日子，他们没有收入，在相当长的一段时间内，不可能复苏经济恢复生产。在南京被占领前，我们成功地把大约8000袋大米和1000袋面粉运进安全区。我们把这批储备分成了无数份，一部分提供给粥厂，免费分发给大约5万名难民，一部分则出售给居民。在城内城外，还有大约10万袋大米和4万袋面粉，但是被日本人全部没收。我们进行了反复交涉，日方也一再答应归还，但是新的粮食储备至今没有运进安全区。看来日本人是在静等饥荒出现，迫使居民变得更加顺从，达到解散安全区的首要目的。我们至今未找到解决这个问题的办法。 虽然还有新鲜蔬菜运进城，但这都是从农民荒弃的农田里勉强收上来的，一旦菜田收完了，也就什么都没有了，因为什么都没种。此外农村到处都不安全，农民无法耕种，或者说只能推迟耕种。从上海调运则完全取决于日本人的恩赐，虽然上海方面已经将粮食准备妥当，但是日本人至今未准予调运。 南京的居民至今不敢回到其他城区，一方面是因为绝大部分房子已经被烧毁，另一方面是因为日本人仍然在肆元忌惮地为所欲为，所以绝大部分的居民仍然滞留在安全区。在日本人的花言巧语号召下，许多难民回到了他们原来的住所，但是一部分人却付出了生命的代价，一部分人则遭到了日本士兵的野蛮折磨。整个安全区共有较大规模的难民收容所26个，安置的人数从数百上千到5.5万不等。在最危险的那一段时间，我们最大的一个收容所收容了约7万难民。今天，仍有5万人没有粮食，一无所有，仅靠粥厂救济过日子。怎么才能让这些人重新恢复正常生活呢？ 南京城被占领前后进行了紧张激烈的战斗，这一段时间刚刚过去，南京却又在连续许多天可怕的暴行下陷入到黑暗的悲惨世界之中。要想逃脱这个世界，只有一个途径，就是日本军方恢复理智，保障居民起码的生活条件，首先要保障他们的安全和他们行动的自由。在这种情况下，原本由普通工人、小商贩、职员和农民组成的居民结构肯定会发生变化，因为很多人在掠夺抢劫下完全失去了自己的生存基础，社会各阶层将会出现新的调整，南京在今后的几个月内仍将是一座难民的城市，居民必须继续依靠救济和救援才能生存下去，直至社会阶层调整完毕。当然，调整还得有一个前提，这就是全部现存的物资没有被消耗殆尽。 在南京城受难的日子里，我和大家一起经历了多少可怕的日日夜夜，这一方面使我们认识到，中国军事领导人的素质是可悲的，中国军队完全不具有军人的气质；另一方面，我们也极为失望地看到，日本军队只是一支通过绝对服从组织起来的军队，一旦这种服从不存在了，或者说被人为地取消了，这只亚洲野兽就会抛弃所有人所具有的克制和约束，赤裸裸地登场亮相。正是这只野兽把自己标榜为反对共产主义的先锋，声嘶力竭地要为中国的变革和解放而不遗余力，而它在中国的所作所为，却助长了赤裸裸的共产主义和一切丑陋的因素。这难道不是一个极大的讽刺吗！ 签名：克里斯蒂安·克勒格尔 48小时以来，我没有再看到一所房子在燃烧。是由于恶劣天气（前些时候雨雪不断）的缘故，还是“日本老爷们改邪归正了”，我无法确定。我希望是后者。克里斯蒂安·克勒格尔不得不把他启程的时间推迟一天。他1月23日（星期日）才可以走，当然是乘火车走。此外，还给他派了一个壮实的士兵作保镖，防止他在途中从火车上跳车。虽然大家都知道他是个“幸福的新郎”，但别人永远也不知道他会不会还要逃走！我现在也想尽力搞到一张通行证，因为我想到上海去，至少能探望一下妻子。我可不能像克勒格尔那样找个要结婚这样的借口，因为日本人知道我是个幸福的丈夫、父亲和祖父；也不能像菲奇那样说牙疼，因为我很幸运，不能装出“牙疼啊、牙疼啊”喊个不停。剩下的只有一条出路——说真话：洋行“没钱”了。他们也许会立即斜着眼睛审视我这个西门子洋行的经理，但这也不会影响我的决心。我还得向克里斯蒂安·克勒格尔借500元钱，以便凑齐1月份的薪水。 Telegram to Shanghai National Church of Christ Boynton 18日电报上所恳求的船运许可证能得到吗？对大米绝望的询问与日俱增。请于23日（星期日）用英国炮艇运1000磅鱼肝油（大包装）和200磅包扎用药棉到大学医院。请敦促无论如何把1月10日在国际药房预订的20万单位白喉血清也一并送来。布雷迪大夫准备返回这里，正在香港等候我们为医生和护士们办理入城许可证。这事我们到现在尚未办成。您在上海能通过格伦·麦英托什为在星期日启航的炮艇办到航行许可证吗？ Signed: Smythe 1938年1月21日10时，南京 上面这份致上海全国基督教总会会长博因顿先生的电报使人稍稍看出我们的危急情况。预订的1000磅鱼肝油将用来增强肺病病人的体质，20万单位抗毒血清用来治疗这里正蔓延的白喉。日本人直至现在仍然拒绝发给上海和香港的医生和护士入城许可证。不过我们希望依靠大使馆的帮助不久即可得到。否则就对日本当局的拒绝态度毫不留情地予以披露。 下面收入了刊登在日本人在上海办的《新申报》上的一篇关于这里情况的文章译文，它再一次表明报纸特别是日本报纸什么胡言乱语都会有。这篇文章是一个彻头彻尾、荒谬绝伦的无耻谎言，其造谣手段已达登峰造极的地步。 关于我们为上海和香港来这里的医生申请通行证一事，刚才日本方面来消息说，他们愿意为我们给美国的鼓楼医院提供两名日本医生。我估计这项提议立刻就会遭到美国大使馆的拒绝。 译自上海《新申报》第3版的文章译文： 日本部队安抚中国难民 南京出现令人欣慰的和谐气氛 南京的街道上还是死一般地寂静。阳光像是充满了同情心，特别照顾城西北的难民区。摆脱了艰难和死神的难民群众由于日本士兵的高尚行为得到了安抚。他们满怀忠诚和感激的心情跪在街道两侧。在日本部队占领该城之前，他们饱受了中国抗日军队压迫的苦难。他们既买不到大米，也买不到小米，病人得不到治疗，饥饿的人没有饭吃！市民们的痛苦无法加以描述。令他们走运的是皇军进入该市后，放下手中军刀，伸出援助的双手，以便治愈这些最穷苦人的伤口和痛苦。在日本大使馆西面的区域，成千上万的难民聚集在一起特别感激日本人保全了他们的生命，完全放弃了他们对日本人的敌对情绪。男女老少跪下来叩头，以证明自己对皇军的忠诚。对于一个中国人来说，这是具有特别意义的一种礼仪，只有出自真心真意时才会这样做，因为他们的这种礼仪是非常严肃的。在这个区内，男女难民都从日本士兵处得到面包、糕点和香烟，大家对此非常感激。城墙旁最穷的人也得到了施舍的物品。 与此同时，我们的医疗队已开始工作。许多几乎失明的眼疾病人在日本医生的治疗下又恢复了视力，并痊愈。母亲们送来了她们患哮喘病的孩子，两脚肿胀的妇女们也来请求治疗。他们都对日本医生赞不绝口。医生的检查和治疗结束后，他们中的许多人聚集在太阳旗和红十字旗下，高呼“万岁”表达他们的谢意。在一条街道上，一个商人刚刚开店恢复营业，一个宪兵正和一个居民温和地交谈。日本大使馆旁的鼓楼那里有个山丘，从那里可以眺望四周。人们可以看到附近挂着星条旗的美国大使馆，西北面有英国国旗，北面还有法国国旗，东面的苏维埃红旗则倒映在玄武湖碧波之中。在中央，在日本大使馆的铁塔上，太阳旗突出于一切之上。人们从高处向下望去，可以看到日本士兵正在和中国儿童愉快地玩耍。 南京目前正处于世界的焦点，众目注视。可以肯定，这里的人们又重新享受到了和平的幸福与劳动的快乐。