High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Nanking Safety Zonewas a demilitarized zone for Chinese civilians set up on the eve of the Japanese breakthrough in the Battle of Nanking (November 22, 1937). Following the example of Jesuit Father Robert Jacquinot de Besange in Shanghai, the foreigners in Nanking created the Nanking Safety Zone, managed by the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone led by German businessman and Nazi party member, John Rabe. The zone and the activities of the International Committee were responsible for saving the lives of many thousands of Chinese civilians during the Nanking Massacre.