Sindberg : den danske Schindler og Nanjing-massakren 1937-38

by Peter Harmsen

Forlagets beskrivelse af: Sindberg af Peter Harmsen
For første gang fortælles historien om en af de største humanitære skikkelser i det 20. århundredes danmarkshistorie: Bernhard Arp Sindberg.

I december 1937 falder den kinesiske hovedstad, Nanjing, og den japanske hær går amok i et orgie af vold, mord og gruppevoldtægter. I løbet af seks uger bliver hundredetusindvis af civilister og krigsfanger myrdet. Den danske opsynsmand på F.L. Smidths cementfabrik, Bernhard Arp Sindberg, åbner fabrikkens porte, og 10.000 civile kinesere slår sig ned på området uden for japanernes rækkevidde.

Sindberg var en skæv eksistens, der i en kort periode trådte i karakter for derefter at vende tilbage til glemslen. I bogen følger vi ham fra hans barndom i Aarhus og på hans første eventyr som sømand til de dramatiske 104 dage som redningsmand for tusindvis af mennesker. Peter Harmsen (f. 1968), cand.mag. i samfundsfag og russisk, har arbejdet som journalist i Østasien i over 20 år for blandt andet AFP, Bloomberg og Financial Times. Skriver for Weekendavisen om Kina og det øvrige Asien. Udover biografien om Bernhard Arp Sindberg har han også skrevet et par anmelderroste bøger om kinesisk historie.

Genres: China, History, Biography, Nonfiction

344 pages, Audiobook

Published January 1, 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.