Cherishing the Memory of My Father

My father， as a Chinese revolutionary of Austrian decent， was self-disciplined and low-key all his life. In a 65-year revolutionary career in China — his second homeland — he witnessed the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression， War of Liberation， New China’s construction and development， the “cultural revolution” and reform and opening up； he underwent all kinds of hardships and suffered from illness. Being unfairly treated and distrusted for quite a long time， he felt depressed in both his work and daily life.

My father， as a man of firm belief， gave no thought to personal gain， and worked tenaciously without attracting public attention. In 1983， at the age of 63， he was appointed by the State Council as an advisor to the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences， and later he was elected member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference （CPPCC）. As a member of the Sixth， Seventh， Eighth and Ninth CPPCC， regardless of his old age and poor health， he often went to the countryside， border areas and grass-root units to do research work and offer suggestions on the country’s economic construction and development of medical services.

In his twilight years， he told me several times that he missed the times in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei battlefront during the anti-Japanese war. “The three years from early 1942 to the end of 1944 were the hardest and most dangerous， as well as the happiest， most exciting and memorable times in my life.”

In October 1944， my father， a member of the health department of the United Defense Headquarters of the Eighth Route Army， together with Nie Rongzhen， went to Yan’an from the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei border area to discuss with Zhu De， Ye Jianying and representatives of the US Army observer group how to ensure medical supplies reached the Eighth Route Army.

After the meeting， he was asked to stay in Yan’an by the CPC Central Committee. He then made repeated requests to return to the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei battlefront， but later due to work on research and production of penicillin， he never had a chance to return to the battlefront. After retirement， however， he went back to the old revolutionary base area to meet villagers and the owner of the house where he had lived during the anti-Japanese war. That’s why he hoped that， after his death， his ashes would be scattered on the land in Tangxian County to keep company with his lost comrades-in-arms.

In 2004， my father’s health was rapidly deteriorating in the Peking Union Medical College Hospital. I and my younger sister wanted to take him to Vienna for treatment， but he insisted on staying in China to the end of his life and donating his remains to the hospital for scientific study. On November 15， none of his children was at his bedside when he became comatose.

I know everyone will die eventually. But， the day when my father did leave me forever， I could not accept this irrevocable fact. Even today when I recall this， I still feel the pain in my heart. I was a disobedient son at home. When my father was alive， we often squabbled. Now he is gone， all I remember is his kindness to me. He had been very strict with me. After his death， I came to know from the memoirs of some old comrades that my father had quietly cared for and helped me.

After he passed， the Chinese President and Premier， and Austrian President， as well as many departments and old comrades laid wreaths at his funeral. In 2005， on the occasion of commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression， I was invited to take part in the commemorative activities in Beijing and accepted， on behalf of my father， the commemorative gold medal of the War of Resistance.

In February 2006， the CPPCC set up a memorial plaque honoring him at the middle school in Vienna where my father had been a pupil. The text was written by Austrian President Heinz Fischer. Now， in many museums in various places of China， and in Austrian and Israeli national museums， there are exhibits on my father’s legendary life. Many Chinese historical records include his deeds and newspapers， magazines， books and pictorials have published articles about his miraculous life.

In 2007， to commend his historic contributions and spirit of internationalism and to educate and inspire the future generations with his revolutionary deeds， a monument was built for him in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Cemetery of Revolutionary Martyrs in Tangxian County， the battlefront during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

Today， my father rests in peace in the place where he fought heroically side by side with the military and civilians of the border area over 70 years ago， and beside the tombs of Canadian doctor Norman Bethune and Indian doctor Dwarkanath Kotnis who had died in his arms. The three internationalist doctors working in the Eighth Route Army of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei area were successively buried in Tangxian County.

In 2012， I took my son and the daughter of Jiang Yizhen， former President of the Bethune Military Medical College， to Tangxian County to lay wreaths， accompanied by leaders of the college. Seeing the well-managed Cemetery of Revolutionary Martyrs， I felt gratified. I took some pictures and sent them to Dr. Kotnis’ relatives in India.

In July 2007， my mother died in the Social Medical Center in Southern Vienna （Sozialmedizinisches Zentrum Sud Wien） where my grandmother had breathed her last. On July 22， I placed my father’s ashes in his tomb in the Cemetery of Revolutionary Martyrs in Tangxian County. At the same time my mother’s ashes were interred in the Vienna Central Cemetery next to my great-grandfather’s tomb. According to the local custom， we siblings had my father’s name， dates and places of his birth and death engraved on my grandparents’ tombstone.

After she lost touch with my father， Hanna joined the Anti-Fascist United Front in Britain. After the war， she and her husband （a senior general of the Czechoslovak People’s Army） lived in Prague. During the 10 years after my father’s death， she lived alone， but talked with me almost every week by phone and told me a lot of stories about the past. In the small hours of February 26， 2014， she closed her firm， wise and kind eyes for the last time in a Prague hospital.

Today， marching on the road of national rejuvenation， China has become the world’s second largest economy and plays a prominent role in international affairs. But， the Chinese people have never forgotten those international friends fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Chinese people for China’s independence and freedom in the most difficult times of the Chinese nation， or dedicating their lives to supporting and helping the construction of new China. Likewise， today， an open and strong China will have more Chinese “Norman Bethunes” working for the benefit of the people all over the world.

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the death of my father and the 75th anniversary of his arrival in China， it occurred to me that， in 2015， the people of the world will greet the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. During the war， my father’s family in Europe like many thousands of other families lost members of three generations. In the past 30 years， my younger sister and I have not been able to find any of our close relatives， nor their offspring in Europe.

At the time of commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Second World War， I， on behalf of Germany， signed the Beijing Peace Declaration and the Zhijiang Peace Declaration in Beijing and Zhijiang respectively. We wish peace will last forever and the people of the world will never suffer again from such calamities as the Second World War.

In the past 70 years after the war， the fast scientific and technological and economic developments in the world have changed lifestyles and raised people’s living standards. However， because of ethnic clashes， religious conflicts， different ideologies， gaps between the rich and the poor and bloody scramble for interests， today’s society is still far from being peaceful and tranquil. Having entered the 21st Century， humankind still relies on violence to resolve political problems. At present， the flames of war are burning uninterrupted in many places around the world； wanton massacres or persecution by terrorists are hard to prevent； the influence of militarism remains and arms race and military exercises are escalating. Therefore， we must call loudly on the peace-loving people of the world to unite， maintain high vigilance and make joint efforts to prevent war so that the tragedy of the Second World War will never repeat.

This article is dedicated to my deceased father.

Written in October 2014