In China, he is remembered as a hero. In Denmark, his name was nearly lost.

Bernhard Arp Sindberg was a sailor, a legionnaire and, in 1937, a factory watchman. He became the protector of thousands of Chinese civilians during the Nanjing Massacre.

His niece, Mariann Arp Stenvig, still looks at his photos with awe. "There were of a lot of fugitives, that needed rescue. Rescue from the Japanese because they went berserk. The atrocities were rather heavy. It was, it was disastrous," she said.

Sindberg went to China seeking work and adventure. He drove for a British reporter in Shanghai before being hired as a guard at a Danish cement plant near Nanjing. Only a few hundred Danes lived in China at the time.

When Japan's army swept through the city, Sindberg and a German colleague opened the factory gates. Refugees streamed inside.

"They were opening doors that otherwise were closed. And they, they made it a safe haven where people could come in and, and, was just a guarding them against the Japanese and all these horrible, horrible attacks," said Merete Boge Pedersen, archivist at Aarhus City Archive.

Inside the walls, families found food, water and care. Outside, Sindberg faced soldiers with nothing more than a Danish flag.

"I feel once again humble of the fact that he was able to rescue, had the courage to rescue that many people. I think it's, it makes me speechless," Stenvig said.

In China, his bravery was well known. In Denmark, few had heard of him.

Sindberg grew up in a working-class neighborhood of Aarhus. He sailed the seas and later joined the French Foreign Legion. But his courage was tested in China.

Recognition came in 2019. Queen Margrethe II unveiled a statue of him in Aarhus Memorial Park, a gift from Nanjing.

"What he did was heroic. He risked his life in order to save the innocent human beings. So, not only as a Dane but as a human being. I'm proud of what he achieved and what he did," said Martin Robert Nielsen, senior consultant at Aarhus City Hall.

Today, his statue stands as a symbol of courage and connection.

"I think it's crucial to retell his story, because certainly the world hasn't changed that much since then. We still see atrocities. We still see, people being persecuted, people being killed. And, in my opinion, I would say the world need people like Sindberg as many as possible," Nielsen said.

Stenvig says she is proud Denmark now calls her uncle a hero. She says she will keep telling his story so it is never forgotten.