Historians identify Chinese pilot saved by John Rabe in Nanjing

Chinese historians have confirmed the identity of the Chinese refugee whom John Rabe helped escort out of Nanjing, Jiangsu province, in 1938 as Huang Guanghan, a former squadron leader in China's early air force. The identification resolves a decades-old question surrounding the name "Kwang Han-Hwang" recorded in The Diaries of John Rabe.

Researchers announced the conclusion after cross-checking military records, family memoirs, and wartime publications.

Huang, who had shot down several Japanese aircraft during the Battle of Shanghai, was severely injured in November 1937 and later hid in Nanjing with assistance from George Fitch, who worked at the Safety Zone. He later moved to Rabe's place.

Rabe sheltered him before disguising him as a household servant and escorting him out of the city on Feb 23, 1938, to Hong Kong.

For years, "Kwang Han-Hwang" was mistranslated due to confusion over the name's proper Chinese form. The breakthrough came when historian Zhang Yuanqing found a 1937 photograph in a collection documenting the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), identifying a pilot as "Hwang Kwang-han", which matched the diary's spelling with only the name order reversed.

Huang's elder brother wrote in his book that after the fall of Nanjing, Huang Guanghan "entered the Nanjing Safety Zone for refugees" and later "proceeded to Hong Kong for medical treatment". This aligns with relevant details recorded in The Diaries of John Rabe.

Huang Shijun, Huang Guanghan's son, told Yangtze Evening News his father had told him of the story. His elder sister also recalled that "our father sent a birthday card to John Rabe every year".

Zhang Sheng, president of the Research Association for the History of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, said that the confirmation of Huang Guanghan's identity highlights Rabe's extraordinary courage and humanitarian spirit, demonstrates the fearless protection provided by international friends to Chinese military personnel and civilians during the Nanjing Massacre, and supplements valuable details of the history of the Chinese air force's resistance against Japanese aggression.

Liu Xueru contributed to this story.