blogs.wsj.com
Events were staged Tuesday to remember the victims of the Nanjing massacre on its 74th anniversary. Occupied by Japanese troops on Dec. 13, 1937, China's former southern capital city suffered a six-week massacre in which more than 300,000 were... Edit 
The Nanjing Massacre « Talesfromthelou's Blogtalesfromthelou.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/the-nanj...72.233.61.16 Nanjing Massacre: 300,000 Chinese People Killed, 20,000 Women Raped ...
http://RapeofNanking.info Rape of Nanking - Nanjing Massacre. Japanse Atrocities in Asia. Part I of 2. This documentary, by Rhawn Joseph is based on 20 years research and consists entirely of archival photos and film-clips. This film begins with an overview of Japan and China at the beginning of the 20th Century, explains the mind-set of the Japanese and their God, Hirohito, and then continues with the invasion of China, the crimes committed by the Japanese (during the Fall) on the road to Nanjing, Nanjing Massacre, the rape of the
Philipines, Unit 731, the Baatan death camps, Japanese denials, and the dropping of the A-bomb on Japan.
The purpose of this film is educational, and to explain the mind-set that led to a horrible crime: the torture and murder of 280,000 civilians by Japanese soldiers who took great pleasure in raping, bayonetting, beheading and burning people alive. We wish to emphasize: These crimes took place throughout Asia, and the Japanese planned the same for the White races as well, including America.
Those who do not learn from the past, are condemned to repeat it. The purpose of this film is, thus, educational. We have no hatred for the
Japanese people.
This documentary is an independent production. We are not associated with and never received any financial help from the Chinese government or any group or organization. The film is completely independent. We have no political motives. We have no purpose and no other goal other than to create an interesting, provocative, educational movie that speaks to the mind and intellect, and which can speak to the heart and one'e emotions.
Credits: The English edition is narrated by Rhawn Joseph, Ph.D.. The film was produced, written, and edited by Rhawn Joseph, Ph.D. Additional Credits: Music. The musical soundtrack (all music is identified at the end of the film) was arranged and selected by R. Joseph, Ph.D., and was reproduced in this film courtesy of Arc Music Productions Int., LTD, United Kingdom; Nonsuch Records,
Warner Music Group,
Rhino Entertainment, New York. Sony Classical Music, New York.
Modern History Sourcebook:
The Nanking Massacre, 1937
The Japanese occupation of Nanking, the capital of the Republic of China, lead to one of the greatest horrors of the century . This eyewitness report was filed by a New York Times reporter.
Aboard the U.S.S. Oahu at Shanghai, Dec. 17 [1937].
Through wholesale atrocities and vandalism at Nanking the Japanese Army has thrown away a rare opportunity to gain the respect and confidence of the Chinese inhabitants and of foreign opinion there.... The killing of civilians was widespread. Foreigners who traveled widely through the city Wednesday found civilian dead on every street. Some of the victims were aged men, women and children.
Policemen and firemen were special objects of attack. Many victims were bayoneted and some of the wounds were barbarously cruel.
Any person who ran because of fear or excitement was likely to be killed on the spot as was any one caught by roving patrols in streets or alleys after dark. Many slayings were witnessed by foreigners.
The Japanese looting amounted almost to plundering of the entire city. Nearly every building was entered by Japanese soldiers, often under the eyes of their officers, and the men took whatever they wanted. The Japanese soldiers often impressed Chinese to carry their loot....
The mass executions of war prisoners added to the horrors the Japanese brought to Nanking. After killing the Chinese soldiers who threw down their arms and surrendered, the Japanese combed the city for men in civilian garb who were suspected of being former soldiers.
In one building in the refugee zone 400 men were seized. They were marched off, tied in batches of fifty, between lines of riflemen and machine gunners, to the execution ground.
Just before boarding the ship for Shanghai the writer watched the execution of 200 men on the Bund [dike]. The killings took ten minutes. The men were lined against a wall and shot. Then a number of Japanese, armed with pistols, trod nonchalantly around the crumpled bodies, pumping bullets into any that were still kicking.
The army men performing the gruesome job had invited navy men from the warships anchored off the Bund to view the scene. A large group of military spectators apparently greatly enjoyed the spectacle.
When the first column of Japanese troops marched from the South Gate up Chungshan Road toward the city's Big Circle, small knots of Chinese civilians broke into scattering cheers, so great was their relief that the siege was over and so high were their hopes that the Japanese would restore peace and order. There are no cheers in Nanking now for the Japanese.
By despoiling the city and population the Japanese have driven deeper into the Chinese a repressed hatred that will smolder through tears as forms of the antiJapanism that Tokyo professes to be fighting to eradicate from China.
The capture of Nanking was the most overwhelming defeat suffered by the Chinese and one of the most tragic military debacles in the history of modern warfare. In attempting to defend Nanking the Chinese allowed themselves to be surrounded and then systematically slaughtered....
The flight of the many Chinese soldiers was possible by only a few exits. Instead of sticking by their men to hold the invaders at bay with a few strategically placed units while the others withdrew, many army leaders deserted, causing panic among the rank and file.
Those who failed to escape through the gate leading to Hsiakwan and from there across the Yangtze were caught and executed....
When theJapanese captured Hsiakwan gate they cut off all exit from the city while at least a third of the Chinese Army still was within the walls.
Because of the disorganization of the Chinese a number of units continued fighting Tuesday noon, many of these not realizing the Japanese had surrounded them and that their cause was hopeless. Japanese tank patrols systematically eliminated these.
Tuesday morning, while attempting to motor to Hsiakwan, I encountered a desperate group of about twentyfive Chinese soldiers who were still holding the Ningpo Guild Building on Chungahan Road. They later surrendered.
Thousands of prisoners were executed by the Japanese. Most of the Chinese soldiers who had been interned in the safety zone were shot in masses. The city was combed in a systematic housetohouse search for men having knapsack marks on their shoulders or other signs of having been soldiers. They were herded together and executed.
Many were killed where they were found, including men innocent of any army connection and many wounded soldiers and civilians. I witnessed three mass executions of prisoners within a few hours Wednesday. In one slaughter a tank gun was turned on a group of more than 100 soldiers at a bomb shelter near the Ministry of Communications.
A favorite method of execution was to herd groups of a dozen men at entrances of dugout and to shoot them so the bodies toppled inside. Dirt then was shoveled in and the men buried.
Since the beginning of the Japanese assault on Nanking the city presented a frightful appearance. The Chinese facilities for the care of army wounded were tragically inadequate, so as early as a week ago injured men were seen often on the streets, some hobbling, others crawling along seeking treatment.
Civilian casualties also were heavy, amounting to thousands. The only hospital open was the American managed University Hospital and its facilities were inadequate for even a fraction of those hurt.
Nanking's streets were littered with dead. Sometimes bodies had to be moved before automobiles could pass.
The capture of Hsiakwan Gate by the Japanese was accompanied by the mass killing of the defenders, who were piled up among the sandbags, forming a mound six feet high. Late Wednesday the Japanese had not removed the dead, and two days of heavy military traffic had been passing through, grinding over the remains of men, dogs and horses.
The Japanese appear to want the horrors to remain as long as possible, to impress on the Chinese the terrible results of resisting Japan.
Chungahan Road was a long avenue of filth and discarded uniforms, rifles, pistols, machine guns, fieldpieces, knives and knapsacks. In some places the Japanese had to hitch tanks to debris to clear the road.
From F. Tillman, "All Captives Slain,''
The New York Times, December 18, 1937, pp. 1, 10.
This text is part of the
Internet Modern History Sourcebook. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts for introductory level classes in modern European and World history.
Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No permission is granted for commercial use of the Sourcebook.
(c)Paul Halsall Aug 1997
halsall@murray.fordham.edu Related post:Japanese Occupation survivors tell their stories 
China's top leaders Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli present flower baskets to martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the Anti-Japanese War during a ceremony marking the 69th anniversary of Victory Day in the war at the Museum of the War of the Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 3, 2014. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) 
Studio interview: China-Japan ties frayed by Tokyo's attitude on war crimes
Bringing awareness of Nanking Massacre to West
