Descendants of veterans and foreign friends who supported the Chinese people during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression(1931-1945) have expressed their vision for world peace by emphasizing the importance of understanding the real history.
China has been holding a series of activities to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, which culminated in a grand gathering and military parade in Beijing's Tian'anmen Square on Wednesday.
One day prior, a special medal presentation ceremony was held in Beijing where relatives and representatives of key international figures were presented with commemorative medals awarded for the valuable contribution they made during the war effort.
Mariann Stenvig Andersen, the niece of the late Bernhard Sindberg, a Danish national who helped save thousands of Chinese lives, received the medal on his behalf.
From December 1937 to March 1938, the then 26-year-old Sindberg set up a refugee camp and hospital near the Jiangnan Cement Plant in Nanjing, providing shelter and medical aid to nearly 20,000 Chinese refugees during the Nanjing Massacre. He also documented Japanese war crimes through a collection of photographs and letters, revealing the truth of these horrific atrocities to the world.
"I have a copy with me here, by the way, of that passport. He wrote in his passport -- 'a friend of China'. I have the original passport at home. In the Nanjing Memorial, that's a copy, a very nice copy," Andersen said proudly.
However, Andersen lamented that the lessons of the past appear not to have been learned, given there are still so many conflicts around the world today, which makes it even more important to review and remember history.
"There's still aggression. There's still war everywhere. Sometimes I think they have learned very little from history. Also, it's important, it's so important to tell the history," said Andersen.
Also present at the medal presentation was Zoe Reed, Chair Emerita of Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding. Her Chinese-born father became an orphan during the war and later went to study in the UK as the first Chinese youth under a post-war British sponsorship.
Reed believes that more should be done to share and understand the real history of war and its associated horrors, particularly amid the current complex international environment.
"I think in the past, war was sort of glorified. I think still, kids, because they have no concept of it ever being real, they see all the media and all the comic books and things, and maybe think it's a bit of fun. And that's quite dangerous, isn't it? That people don't have any concept," she said.
Relatives of int'l war figures emphasize significance of remembering real history of WWII
