In 1937 the Japanese Imperial Army began an assault on Nanking and slaughtered 300,000 Chinese civilians. This article provides a short overview of the massacre.
Unlike the Holocaust in Europe or the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Nanking Massacre has received little attention outside of Asia. Written by Iris Chang and dedicated to the victims of the massacre, this book provides a no-holds-barred account of the cruelty of Japanese soldiers in Nanking, and the Japanese government's repeated denials of the event.
The Fall of Nanking
In the early morning hours of December 13, 1937 Japanese troops stormed into Nanking, and started rounding up thousands of Chinese residents for execution. The nightmare had officially begun. The Japanese used several ways to dispose of the Chinese prisoners, including dousing them with gasoline and setting them on fire, using them for bayonet practice, and decapitation (which seemed to be the preferred method). The massacre received wide attention by the media in Japan. Some of the soldiers engaged in killing competitions near Nanking to further harden their resolve to butcher unarmed men, women and children. Two lieutenants in particular, Toshiaki Mukai and Takeshi Noda went on beheading frenzies to see which of them would be the first to kill 100 people. Their pictures were shown in the December 7, 1937 edition of the Japan Advertiser. The bold headline read, "Contest to kill first 100 Chinese with sword extended when both fighters exceed mark." The paper later reported that Mukai said the competition was "fun." Thousands of others were dumped into ditches in the ground or into the Yangtze River. It was as if a race of demons had taken over the city.
The Nanking Safety Zone
A handful of Americans and Europeans decided to stay behind and establish a safe haven for the thousands of Chinese refugees who managed to escape certain death at the hands of the Japanese military. These courageous men and women formed the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone. Although they put their lives in serious danger by defying the Japanese troops, their diaries, journals and pictures were preserved and many years later were used to tell the world about what really happened in Nanking.
One of the members of the committee was an unlikely saviour to thousands of Chinese people. John Rabe first came to China in 1908 and worked for the Siemens company. He later transferred to Nanking and grew to love the city and people. What made him so perplexing was that he was a member of the Nazi party. Iris Chang found diaries written by him and other Nazi members in 1996 and concluded that Rabe was the Oskar Schindler of Nanking. Technically, he was an ally of Japan, but he thought their behaviour was unacceptable and protected the Chinese refugees within the Safety Zone. Apparently, being a Nazi gave Rabe considerable clout. It prevented Japanese soldiers from causing extra trouble, at least while he was around. Whenever he had his Nazi armband and thrusted it in front of their eyes, they backed off. Dr. Robert Wilson, an American physician working in Nanking at the same time as Rabe, greatly respected the German businessman despite being thoroughly repulsed by Nazism.
Justice and Restitution
The International Military Tribunal of the Far East, otherwise known as the Tokyo War Crimes Trial, began in the Japanese capital on May 3, 1946. It lasted two and a half years and drew more than 400 witnesses. The Nanking Massacre was one of the highlights of the trial. Unfortunately many of the officials that were most heavily involved in the massacre passed away before they could be punished. Kesago Nakajima and General Heisuke Yanagawa are two such examples.
Unlike the highest ranking Nazis in Germany, who either died in prison, were executed, or spent the rest of their lives as fugitives from the law, several Japanese war criminals are still living comfortably in their own country. Japan has paid almost no compensation to its victims and the lack of any formal apology to the citizens of Nanking has contributed to the strong anti-Japanese sentiment in that city.
The Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanking Massacre was built in 1985.
