这本书的作者约翰·拉贝(John H.D.Rabe)于1882年出生于德国汉堡。1908年到中国,不久作为德国西门子公司的雇员,在北京、天津、南京等地经商。拉贝和他的家人在中国生活了将近30年,他的子女和外孙女均出生在中国。他们与中国人民结下了亲密的友谊。《拉贝日记》是近年发现的研究南京大屠杀事件中数量最多、保存得最为完整的史料。这部日记所记述的,都是拉贝的亲历亲见亲闻,非常具体、细致和真实,无人能否认其可信度。在写作日记的同时,拉贝还精心保存了80多张现场拍摄的照片,并 John H.D.Rabe, the author of this book, was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1882. In 1908 to China, soon as an employee of Germany’s Siemens company, in Beijing, Tianjin, Nanjing and other places of business. Rabe and his family lived in China for nearly 30 years, and both their children and grandparents were born in China. They have established close friendship with the Chinese people. Rabe Diary is the most abundant and well-preserved historical material in Nanjing Massacre discovered in recent years. All the diaries have written about are all Rabe’s own personal experiences. They are very specific, meticulous and true. No one can deny their credibility. At the same time as the writing diary, Rabe also carefully preserved more than 80 live shots, and