JOHN RABE: the Nazi's own Oskar Schindler

Humanitarian and Nazi and not words ordinarily found in close proximity to one another but in the case of JOHN RABE they go together very well.
Rabe was director of the Siemens factory in Nanjing when the Japanese attack on the Chinese city in late 1937 precipitated the now infamous "Rape of Nanjing." 300,000 Chinese  were butchered by the forces of the Imperial Japanese Army and that number would undoubtedly have been tens of thousands higher were it not for Rabe's actions.

Working with others in the beleaguered international community he created an International Safety Zone centred on his factory and took in an estimated 200,000 Chinese civilians, promising to protect them from the slaughter beyond its walls. Using only his authority as an unofficial representative of  the Third Reich, and leaning heavily on the partnership Germany and Japan had recently cemented with the signing of the Anti-Comintern Pact, Rabe bargained with the Japanese military authorities for the lives of these innocents.
This film is his story and what makes it so astonishing is that it's true. Rabe did what he did despite being an ardent German patriot and Nazi. Having not lived in Germany since 1910 it's doubtful whether he really understood the true nature of Hitler's regime but he never expresses the slightest criticism of his government's policies and is genuinely bemused when the local American doctor (an excellent Steve Buscemi) refers to him contemptuously as a Nazi.
What's almost as surprising is that this most unlikely of heroes is being celebrated by German  cinema. JOHN RABE is a German language production, shot on location in Nanjing and Shanghai, with a European approach to recreating history which emphasizes the personal but eschews much of the gratuitous sentimentality that mainstream Hollywood is so fond of.
Ulrich Tukur is magnificently understated in the title role, imbuing John Rabe with a quiet dignity and restraint, and a reluctant sense of responsibility. Rabe does what he does because he can see no other choice, although he'd much prefer not to have to do it at all. In rousing himself to action he becomes a beacon of hope to the terrified citizens of Nanjing and inspires his fellow westerners to dig deep within themselves and find the courage to face up to an apparently hopeless situation.
JOHN RABE can be criticised for focusing on the power struggle between two mismatched groups of foreign invaders and relegating the Chinese to the role of victims caught in the middle with no control over their own lives or country. But the film also deserves to be commended for shining a long overdue spotlight on an area of the turbulent 1930s that has been mostly overlooked by western filmmakers.