George Ashmore Fitch
George Ashmore Fitch (January 23, 1883 – January 21, 1979) was an American Presbyterian missionary that lived and worked in China, South Korea, and Taiwan. Fitch notably smuggled out of Nanjing some of the only known reels of film that documented the Nanjing Massacre.
George Ashmore Fitch | |||||||||
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| Born | January 23, 1883 Suzhou, Qing China | ||||||||
| Died | January 21, 1979 (aged 95) Pomona, California, United States | ||||||||
| Burial place | Valley View Cemetery, Essex County, New York | ||||||||
| Nationality | American | ||||||||
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| Children | 5 | ||||||||
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| Chinese | 費吾生 | ||||||||
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| Hangul | 조지 애쉬모어 피치 | ||||||||
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Fitch was born and raised in China, and was a fluent speaker of Chinese. He and his siblings went to the United States for their education, but all returned afterwards and worked in various religious and humanitarian roles. Fitch himself worked with the YMCA for most of his career.
He is most notable for his assistance of civilians and documentation of the Nanjing Massacre. Fitch served as director of the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone, and like John Rabe, was one of the few foreigners in the city at that time. After he was allowed to leave the city by the Japanese, Fitch brought his evidence and testimony of the atrocities and embarked on a public awareness tour across the United States that drew significant media attention.
Fitch and his wife are also remembered in South Korea for their roles as Korean independence activists. They provided aid to and befriended notable Korean politicians, including first President of South Korea Syngman Rhee and President of the Provisional Government of Korea Kim Ku. After he left China, Fitch eventually served as head of the South Korean YMCA between 1947 and 1949.