[MOC] Bernhard Arp Sindberg "The Shining Buddha"

[greg3]

This MOC is inspired by a news article I read a few months ago about the unveiling of a statue to an unsung Danish hero, one of those people that make you wonder why you've never head of them before! (and whether under the same circumstances you'd have had the courage to do the right thing!) 

Sindberg_on_inspection_in_the_refugee_camp,_Nanjing_Massacre by g.nat, on Flickr

Born in Denmark in 1911, Bernhard Arp Sindberg would go on to save thousands of Chinese lives during the second Sino-Japanese War, earning himself the nickname of the "Shining Buddha" and comparisons with Oskar Schindler.

During his childhood, his love of adventure saw him run away from home several times. At the age of 20 he joined the French Foreign Legion but deserted after less than a year and found himself in China. Here his military experience saw him get a job with a Danish arms company demonstrating weapons to the Chinese. When the Japanese invaded China in 1937, the company pulled out (not wanting to be seen siding against Japan) and Sindberg got a job as a driver for an English journalist, Pembroke Stephens, who was covering the invasion of Shanghai. On one occasion during an air raid, they were strafed by a Japanese plane and Stephens was killed.

Following this, Bernhard moved to the the Chinese capital Nanjing/Nanking where he found employment as a security guard at a Danish owned cement factory. As the war reached Nanking itself, Sindberg and the only other European working at the factory, a German named Karl Gunther, decided to paint giant flags, a Danish cross (the Dannebrog) and a German Swastika on the factory roof hoping that the Japanese would leave them alone. Their plan worked, as at that time the Japanese wanted to keep other nations out of their war, and the factory was left alone during air raids and the following ground invasion. However, soon it was being besieged by desperate Chinese civilians seeking safety from the marauding Japanese troops. Their tales of the atrocities being committed by the invaders led to Sindberg opening the gates and soon the factory grounds became a vast refugee camp.

It's believed that between 6,000 and 20,000 Chinese men, women and children took shelter in the factory and a nearby temple that also came under the protection of Sindberg and Gunther's flags. During this time, Sindberg made frequent trips through the city to collect food and medicines often taking his camera and collecting evidence of what would become known as "The Rape of Nanking". Several times, Japanese troops tried to enter the factory but each time they were met by Sindberg clutching his flag and somehow persuading them to leave.

After about 6 weeks the worst of the violence died down and other Europeans set up similar safe havens but the Japanese had had enough of Sindberg and he was forced to leave the country. He would eventually travel to the US and serve in the Navy during WW2 before marrying and settling in California. He died in 1983, but never said much about his time in China. It's only in recent years that his story has become more widely known. 

My small MOC shows him protecting a Chinese woman and her 2 children from members of a Japanese patrol. The minifig of Sindberg is based on the reference photo of him at the top of this post, the flag and Japanese troops are from Brickmania.

Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr

Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr

Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr

Thanks for looking - comments are always welcome.

 

Edited October 29, 2019 by greg3