Most likely in Medieval China
If the underlined word is devotion then the antonym would be neglect because they are opposites.
What they share the most is the fact that they are Survivors, although they survived quite different experiences, they both managed to stay alive despite all odds. Juliane Koepcke survived a plane crash and eleven days in the Amazon jungle, Bill Garleb was a prisoner in the Philippines during World War II.
It is an allusion The poem uses Christian imagery regarding the Apocalypse and Second Coming allegorically to describe the atmosphere of post-war Europe.
