John Rabe`s Nanking Diaries: A study of his complete records and collection of documents in the context of contemporary sources

约翰·拉贝的南京日记：当代资料背景下对其完整记录和文献集的研究

• 批准号: 412638730
• 负责人: Dr. Torsten Weber
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Deutsches Institut für Japanstudien (DIJ)
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2017-12-31 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/412638730?language=en
• 关键词: John; Rabe; Nanking; Diaries; study

This project proposes to study the Nanjing Massacre of 1937/38 committed by Japanese soldiers in the Chinese capital of Nanjing from the perspective of John Rabe`s diaries. As the main source, for the first time, the complete versions of the diaries which comprise more than 2000 pages, including Rabe`s collection of related materials (letters, photographs, newspaper clippings etc), can be critically examined and evaluated. To contextualize this main source, other war diaries, memoirs, and other writings by witnesses in the German, English, Japanese, and Chinese languages will be used comparatively. Due to the genre of the main source, this project methodologically falls into the field of historical diary research. Rabe`s diaries are no "factual accounts" (J. Rabe, 1942) but 'ego documents' that need to be analyzed also according to their functional dimensions of self-search and self-justification of the diarist. Consequently, this project will not only contribute to research on the Nanjing Massacre itself, on Japanese-Chinese as well as Japanese-German and Chinese-German relations but it will also make contributions to research into war diaries as a case studies that takes into consideration the diarist`s role as a participant with own intentions and changing memories. In addition to being the first analysis of this extraordinary historical source, the special relevance of this project lies in the role the Nanjing Massacre continues to play within the history and memory controversies between Japan and the PR China. The Massacre has remained at centre stage in the public dispute between both countries on the nature and legacy of the Second World War in East Asia and continues to harm the Japanese-Chinese diplomatic relations. Against this background, researchers on the Nanjing Massacre in Japan, China, and elsewhere have long called for a detailed study of the complete versions of the Rabe diaries which was made available to me by John Rabe`s grandson.

该项目拟从约翰·拉贝日记的角度研究日本士兵在中国首都南京犯下的1937/38年南京大屠杀。 作为主要来源，2000多页日记的完整版本，包括拉贝收集的相关材料（信件、照片、剪报等），第一次可以得到严格的审视和评估。为了将这个主要来源置于背景中，我们将比较使用德文、英文、日文和中文的其他战争日记、回忆录和目击者的其他著作。由于主要来源的类型，该项目在方法上属于历史日记研究领域。拉贝的日记不是“事实记录”（J. Rabe，1942），而是“自我文件”，需要根据日记作者自我探索和自我辩护的功能维度进行分析。因此，该项目不仅有助于对南京大屠杀本身、日中关系、日德关系和中德关系的研究，而且还将为战争日记的研究做出贡献，将日记作者作为具有自己的意图和不断变化的记忆的参与者的角色纳入考虑范围。除了首次分析这一非凡的历史来源之外，该项目的特殊意义还在于南京大屠杀在日本与中华人民共和国之间的历史和记忆争议中继续发挥的作用。大屠杀仍然是两国关于东亚第二次世界大战的性质和遗产的公开争论的焦点，并继续损害日中外交关系。在此背景下，日本、中国和其他地方的南京大屠杀研究人员长期以来一直呼吁对约翰·拉贝的孙子向我提供的完整版拉贝日记进行详细研究。