Bernhard Sindberg: The Schindler of Nanjing

by Peter Harmsen

In December 1937, the Chinese capital, Nanjing, falls and the Japanese army unleash an orgy of torture, murder, and rape. Over the course of six weeks, hundreds of thousands of civilians and prisoners of war are killed. At the very onset of the atrocities, the Danish supervisor at a cement plant just outside the city, 26-year-old Bernhard Arp Sindberg, opens the factory gates and welcomes in 10,000 Chinese civilians to safety, beyond the reach of the blood-thirsty Japanese. He becomes an Asian equivalent of Oskar Schindler, the savior of Jews in the European Holocaust.

This biography follows Sindberg from his childhood in the old Viking city of Aarhus and on his first adventures as a sailor and a Foreign Legionnaire to the dramatic 104 days as a rescuer of thousands of helpless men, women, and children in the darkest hour of the Sino-Japanese War. It describes how after his remarkable achievement, he receded back into obscurity, spending decades more at sea and becoming a naturalized American citizen, before dying of old age in Los Angeles in 1983, completely unrecognized. In this respect, too, there is an obvious parallel with Schindler, who only attained posthumous fame.

The book sets the record straight by providing the first complete account of Sindberg’s life in English, based on archival sources hitherto unutilized by any historian as well as interviews with surviving relatives. What emerges is the surprising tale of a person who was average in every respect but rose to the occasion when faced with unimaginable brutality, discovering an inner strength and courage that transformed him into one of the great humanitarian figures of the 20th century and an inspiration for our modern age, demonstrating that the determined actions of one person—any person—can make a huge difference.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: From the Foreign Legion to Shanghai (1911–1933)
Chapter 2: The Prisoner on the Falstria (1934–1937)
Chapter 3: ‘A Stupid Nincompoop’ (March–August 1937)
Chapter 4: Death in the Streets (August–September 1937)
Chapter 5: ’My Friend Sindbad’ (September–November 1937)
Chapter 6: A Capital City at War (November 1937)
Chapter 7: A Very Dangerous Job (November 30–December 1, 1937)
Chapter 8: Journey to the Heart of Darkness (December 2–5, 1937)
Chapter 9: The Fall of Nanjing (December 6–12, 1937)
Chapter 10: The Massacre Begins (December 13–15, 1937)
Chapter 11: ‘Blood, Blood, and Yet More Blood’ (December 16–19, 1937)
Chapter 12: Christmas in Hell (December 20–27, 1937)
Chapter 13: The Man with the Flag (December 28, 1937–January 13, 1938)
Chapter 14: Friendships (January 14–February 3, 1938)
Chapter 15: The New Order (February 4–20, 1938)
Chapter 16: Troublemaker (February 21–March 15, 1938)
Chapter 17: Guenther’s Letter (March 16–April 25, 1938)
Chapter 18: After Nanjing (April 1938–March 1983)

Sindberg’s 104 Days

Genres: China, History, Biography, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published August 14, 2019

Reviews

[Catherine Chapman · Rating 1 out of 5]

You can’t convince me this author likes the Chinese at all. This book watered down the rape of nanking and dehumanizes the Chinese people who experienced it. It also uses Japanese education to describe what happened instead of internationally recognized accounts/numbers of victims. Can you imagine a Holocaust book blaming the Jewish people for what happened? This book is the equivalent. I feel gross finishing this, regardless of the pieces of “good” information.

[Inger Marie Morell · Rating 4 out of 5]

En vigtig fortælling.

[Rasmus Jarlov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Virkelig spændende historie som er vigtig at få frem. Jeg kunne godt have tænkt mig flere beskrivelser af, hvordan han konkret holdt japanerne ude fra fabrikkens område og måske lidt færre detaljer om organisationshierarkierne i fabrikken og handelsorganisationerne. Men det er forståeligt, at det er taget med for fuldstændighedens skyld, så historien er ordentligt dokumenteret.

[Matthew Welker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, but can’t say I loved it not that subject matter is one to love though I’m glad I read it. Harmsen adds to his work of books covering the Far East theater of WWII. This one centered around the very unknown Dane, Bernard Sindberg, who played a part in maintaining the safety of Chinese refugees in the aftermath of Nanjing.

It’s a story I’m glad Harmsen told. Bringing us what we can all assume is a relatively unknown story in WWII and I hope he does more books like this going forward. His book on Sindberg & one about Greenland in WWII, both released in 2024, tell stories from the war many may not be familiar with.

Now why I rate this book 3 stars is mainly the overall content. While I like that the book is short, it’s really short. A lot of pages are often filled with imagery. Now look I don’t necessarily mind this as it was a quick read. Yet a lot of the info was stuff that Harmsen himself had already covered in his book Shanghai 1937 & his book Nanjing 1937. So for anyone who has read those already, this book doesn’t really offer new info aside from Sindberg’s story though I felt at times the story of Sindberg was put on the back burner. If I had to make a guess, the book is about 60-70 percent about what happened in China in 1937 and the rest about Sindberg ‘s experience/action. That being said, it was nice getting a refresher on these two events and as far as the Sindberg content goes I can give it a pass because the book mentions that he himself kept no written records of his experience that could’ve helped flesh out his story more. Though he was able to provide photos of some of the atrocities committed which I’d say is more important personally and we know enough about him to imo call a hero. Just wanted to let people know what to expect content wise.

I would still recommended this book and it’s another fine addition to Harmsen’s body of work. These are stories people need to know.

[Gert Christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful, detailed account of an individual that has been sadly forgotten by history. Based on hitherto unused sources. It's terrific that so many years after the events, it is still possible to publish fresh and original research.

[Aisha Manus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review to come in December.