Based on the deep relationship between the German Department of Nanjing University and The Diaries of John Rabe, and on the important historical value of the diary itself, Chen Min, the director of the German Department of Nanjing University realized that leading a group of post-00s students to follow Mr. Rabe's footsteps in China, explore the glorious power of human nature in war years, and dig more thought-provoking historical details would not only be conducive to the continuation and dissemination of this national memory, but also will give young students ideological enlightenment and life education.

In March 2021, teacher Chen Min andChang Xuan took the lead in applying for a special international online science research project — "The Diaries of John Rabe and City of Peace" to the Undergraduate School of Nanjing University, which was later expanded into a summer social practice project for college students. They released recruitment information to the whole university. The students actively signed up. In the end, 36 undergraduate students from 14 different categories and majors of Nanjing University stood out. The average age of these students was about twenty.

In the 36-day research practice activity, teachers and students took The Diary of John Rabe and visited Nanjing, Beijing and Shanghai in search for Rabe's footprints of work and life in China. The first stop was the Memorial Hall. Later, they visited Memorial Hall of John Rabe and the International Safety Zone, History Museum of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Memorial Hall of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and John Rabe Beijing Exchange Center.

Visitthe Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders

Visit Memorial Hall of John Rabe and the International Safety Zone

Following this route, the teachers and students contacted Thomas Rabe, grandson of John Rabe, Christopher Reinhart, great-grandson of John Rabe, Han Yunhui, daughter of Han Xianglin， Rabe's assistantin Nanjing. They interviewed the people in charge of the restoration of Rabe's former residence and the cemetery of Rabe in Berlin, the representatives of editors and translators of the first edition of The Diaries of John Rabe, the representatives of the main creators of the opera The Diaries of John Rabe, Ms. YingyingChang, mother of Iris Chang, the author of The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II. They completed nearly 40 oral history interviews at home and abroad, offline and online, and finally produced an oral history documentary of more than 100 minutes, connecting the life track of Mr. Rabe's relationship with China and his great acts of love and kindness.

In 2022, the project team continued to recruit students of Nanjing University, and make oral history interviews into online courses. At present, the team has carried out online courses with more than 10 primary and secondary schools in 7 provinces and cities in China, and many primary and secondary schools had reserved courses for the next three months.

At present, the project team is cooperating with Nanjing University Press to publish a collection of nearly 40 oral history interviews. This book, about 200000 words, is planned to be published on the eve of the National Memorial Day this year.

Zhang Jiaqi, a member of the project team and a senior student of the computer department of Nanjing University said: "The Nanjing Massacre is not the memory of a certain time period, of a certain city, or a certain generation. It’s a common memory of all Chinese people. I want to spread that historical memory to a wider area through lectures."

Li Ke, a major in mathematical system planning at the university said that although the project had little to do with her major, she believed that she saw the "direction of light" by devoting time and emotion there.