As China marks 80 years since the end of a terrible global conflict, attention turns to the lesser-known heroes whose actions saved countless lives amid the horrors of conflict.

One such figure is John Rabe - a German businessman whose name is revered in China but remains unfamiliar to many in the West.

In 1937, as Japanese forces launched a brutal assault on Nanjing, Rabe chose not to flee. Despite suffering from diabetes and ill health, he helped establish and lead the International Safety Zone, a civilian refuge that ultimately sheltered more than 200,000 people. Over 600 found safety in Rabe's own home, garden, and the German school he oversaw.

Now, in the German city of Heidelberg, his grandson, Dr. Thomas Rabe, continues to preserve and share his legacy.

"We are very proud here in our family about what my grandfather has done in Nanjing," he told CGTN. "He had no financial benefit to stay. He stayed because he believed it was the right thing to do - and it was Christian love for your neighbor."

John Rabe's wartime diaries, carefully preserved in Heidelberg, offer a detailed day-by-day account of the atrocities witnessed and the decisions he made to protect civilians.

In one entry dated December 26, 1937, he wrote: "The best Christmas present I got was a life of 650 people who survived in the house of my grandfather."

Saved from persecution

To keep the memory alive, Dr. Rabe has published more than 40 books – including a detailed series on his grandfather's life and diaries – now translated into multiple languages, including Chinese.

An English-language edition is set for release in the coming months. All proceeds support the John Rabe Communication Centres, which promote international understanding and humanitarian cooperation. Six such centers have been established so far, including in China and Germany.

Dr. Mechthild Leutner, an expert on Sino-German history, says stories like Rabe's deserve greater recognition.

"A lot of Chinese diplomats helped a lot that all those persecuted could leave Germany," she told CGTN, referring to efforts to issue life-saving visas to Jewish and political refugees during the war.

As China holds solemn commemorations, John Rabe's story – and the ongoing work of his family – remind us that moral courage can shape history.