1937. The Imperial Japanese Army invades China and attacks the civil population of the captured capital Nanking with unspeakable brutality. When the Hamburg businessman John Rabe, an adherent of Hitler and member of the NSDAP, is confronted with the terrific atrocities, he begins to act. With the support of a small group of foreigners, who remained in Nanking, he tries to protect the civilian population against the encroachments of the Japanese by establishing the Nanking Safety Zone. In view of arbitrary mass executions and systematic rapes by Japanese soldiers, more and more citizens of Nanking take refuge in this security area. Caused by the lack of drinking water and food, the people have to endure there under catastrophic humanitarian conditions. Despite this and the repeated violent attacks by Japanese troops, Rabe and the “International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone” are able to save the lives of approximately 250.000 Chinese civilians.