jinzhe

The Nanjing Massacre Memorial Site

Background#

• The spirit of Bushido became the model for men's behavior.
• Due to the Tokugawa family's policy of isolation, Western powers humiliated Japan with their technological advancements, leading to a mindset of learning from the West to defeat the West.
• Dissatisfaction with the shogunate rule led to the Meiji Restoration.
• Japan tested its learning achievements on neighboring countries.
• For certain reasons, the First Sino-Japanese War broke out.
• Japan achieved economic growth with the help of World War I.
• After World War I, military demand for goods ended, factories closed down, workers were laid off, and the Great Depression began.
• The fanatical view of dominating Asia.
• Militarized education, military academies.
• The Second Sino-Japanese War broke out.
• The occupation of Shanghai was not smooth, and as they advanced towards Nanjing, their mentality gradually became evil.

Advancing towards Nanjing#

Splitting the troops into three routes#

• Nakajima Kin'asa: South of the Yangtze River, Shanghai-Nanjing Railway.
• Matsui Iwane: Crossing Taihu Lake, amphibious operation.
• Yanagawa Heizaburo: Advancing from the south, entering Nanjing from the northwest.

Burning, killing, and looting#

• Suzhou: Population decreased from 350,000 to 500.
• A small town in Shanghai: Population decreased from 100,000 to 5.

Massacre of prisoners of war#

• Asakasu Miya replaced Matsui Iwane and issued the order to kill all prisoners of war.
• Executed in groups.
• Chinese soldiers offered no resistance, making the Japanese even more brutal.

Massacre of civilians#

• Buried alive
• Physical injuries
• Burned to death
• Frozen to death
• Chemical corrosion
• Rape

Comfort stations#

• The Japanese government established comfort stations to prevent rape and other violent acts within the occupied areas, in order to avoid criticism from the British, Americans, and Chinese governments.

The Fall of Nanjing#

• After the failure of the Shanghai War, a large number of soldiers retreated to Nanjing. With insufficient combat effectiveness, the soldiers had no target.
• Chiang Kai-shek sent Tang Shengzhi to stay and resist, but eventually failed and retreated.
• The retreat was chaotic, resulting in countless casualties.

Safety Zone#

The Safety Zone accommodated a total of two to three hundred thousand Chinese refugees. Almost half of the population of Chinese people who stayed in Nanjing were in the Safety Zone.

China's Oskar Schindler - John Rabe#

A German businessman and member of the Nazi Party, he became a legendary leader in the Safety Zone.

The Japanese were always wary of the Nazi Party, and Rabe used this to save countless Chinese people.

Nanjing's Only Surgeon - Robert Wilson#

Both of his parents worked in Nanjing, and he grew up in China. Later, he went abroad for further studies and met his current wife. He considered the Chinese people as his compatriots.

When the war broke out, he sent his wife and children out of the country, while he stayed behind with a few colleagues in Jinling Hospital to provide free medical treatment and save lives.

Nanjing's Living Bodhisattva - Minnie Vautrin#

An American professor who served as the head and dean of the Department of Education at Jinling Women's College. She had been the principal of a girls' school in Hefei, Anhui Province, China for seven years before the start of the Nanjing Massacre. She was one of the few Western women who stayed in Nanjing during the first few weeks of the Nanjing Massacre.

Vautrin opened Jinling Women's College as a refuge for women and children. She inspired the Chinese people that "China has not yet perished and will never perish, and Japan is destined to fail."

The Nanjing Massacre Known to the World#

American Journalists#

• Frank Tillman Durdin of The New York Times
• Archibald Steele of the Chicago Daily News
• C. Yates McDaniel of the Associated Press

They left Nanjing a few days after the massacre, but wrote excellent reports in an effort to save the Chinese people.

McDaniel: "My last memory of Nanjing is dead Chinese, dead Chinese, dead Chinese."

Newsreel Producers#

• Norman Alley of Universal Newsreel
• Eric Mayell of Fox Movietone News

Japanese Crisis Control#

After foreign journalists left Nanjing, the Japanese immediately sealed off the entire city, prohibiting other journalists from entering. Until April, the Japanese high command still did not allow most foreigners to freely enter and leave Nanjing.

The United States deleted some videos.

Japanese Propaganda#

They filmed short films showing Chinese people welcoming the Japanese army, claiming that "after the Imperial Army entered the city, they sheathed their swords, extended their compassionate hands to examine and treat patients, and provided food for the hungry and medical services for the sick."

They distributed propaganda leaflets to create a positive image.

Counterattack by Safety Zone Officials#

One common trait among Safety Zone officials was their excellent training in written expression. Almost without exception, they were eloquent writers and speakers. Each missionary had received education at the best universities in the United States and Europe and had devoted most of their adult lives to preaching, writing, and touring lectures on Christianity. Many professors of the International Committee had also published their own works. In addition, as a group, they were very good at cooperating with the media. Even before the fall of Nanjing, they had given speeches through Nanjing's radio broadcasts or written articles about China in popular newspapers and magazines. Finally, the missionaries had another advantage that the Japanese did not anticipate: they had spent their entire lives searching for the true meaning of "hell." So when they discovered the true hell in Nanjing, they did not hesitate to describe it to the world. Their articles were sharp, well-supported, and convincingly reproduced the horrifying scenes they had witnessed.

Nanjing under Japanese Occupation#

• Burning, killing, and looting (including foreigners and their residences)
• Establishment of the "Nanjing Autonomous Government" (puppet government)
• Confiscation of valuable items
• Heavy taxes and rent
• Opium circulation
• Unit 1644 (human experiments)

Judgment Day#

The relevant personnel of the Japanese authorities were tried in both Nanjing and Tokyo for their heinous crimes during the Nanjing Massacre.

Nanjing War Crimes Trial#

This trial lasted until February 1947, during which more than 1,000 people testified in 460 cases of murder, rape, arson, and robbery. The Chinese government posted notices on the streets of Nanjing, encouraging witnesses to come forward.

International Military Tribunal for the Far East#

The International Military Tribunal for the Far East, also known as the Tokyo Trial, began on May 3, 1946, in the Japanese capital, Tokyo. The scale of the Tokyo Trial was astonishing. It attracted over 200,000 spectators and had 419 witnesses. The trial records amounted to 49,000 pages, 10 million words, including 779 written statements and testimonies, as well as 4,336 pieces of evidence. This "trial of the century" lasted for two and a half years, three times longer than the Nuremberg Trials. In fact, the Tokyo Trial was the longest war crimes trial in history.

Asakasu Miya was not only skilled in golf but also had a keen interest in the development of golf courses. Emperor Hirohito himself led a peaceful and dignified life until his death in 1989.

Fate of the Survivors#

• Most survivors lived in dark and dirty houses filled with rubbish, emitting dampness and mildew.
• Robert Wilson suffered from epilepsy and nightmares for a long time, and also had trouble with blurred vision in the morning.
• Minnie Vautrin suffered from mental illness and committed suicide by turning on the gas.
• Rabe was warned not to speak about Japan in any speeches, discussions, videos, etc. After being persecuted in Germany, he lived in poverty, and Chinese residents sent him food every month. He died of a stroke in 1950.

The Forgotten Massacre#

Denial of History#

The Japanese government denies this part of history, claiming that the Nanjing Massacre was fabricated to tarnish Japan's image. They argue that comfort women and rape victims were not slaves but voluntary prostitutes.

Textbooks#

The Japanese education system deliberately conceals important information about "World War II" through textbook censorship. In 1965, Japanese historian Saburo Ienaga sued the Japanese government, but faced interference from officials of the Ministry of Education. He eventually won the lawsuit, and the Ministry of Education had to admit the Nanjing Massacre, but began to downplay the scale of the massacre.

Academic Community#

The academic community also avoids researching the Nanjing Massacre. Serious research on the Nanjing Massacre is mostly conducted by individuals outside the traditional academic circle, such as freelance writers and journalists. Those who dare to write books about the Nanjing Massacre often face endless attacks.

Media#

Japanese film distributors deleted a 30-second scene about the Nanjing Massacre from the movie "The Last Emperor."

Intimidation#

Isao Shiro was the first Japanese veteran to publicly admit his atrocities in Nanjing. Before leaving for the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Nanjing Massacre, he held a press conference in Kyoto, where he was interviewed by newspaper and television reporters. As a result, he faced overwhelming criticism and even death threats.

Conclusion#

Motives Behind#

• The hierarchical characteristics of Japanese society, where Japanese soldiers silently endured all the abuses imposed on them by their superiors, and now the Chinese people must accept any punishment given to them by Japanese soldiers.
• Many people in the Japanese military harbored hatred towards China and often compared Chinese people to pigs.
• Religion, every bullet must be infused with the glory of the empire, and every bayonet must bear the spirit of the nation.
• The Sino-Japanese War
• Japanese Bushido culture
  • If a tenant farmer did not answer their questions respectfully, the samurai had the right to decapitate him.
• Killing game

Lessons#

• Human civilization itself is very fragile, like thin paper. Humans are easily manipulated, allowing young people to suppress their innate goodness and be molded into efficient killing machines.
• Highly centralized government poses fatal dangers.
• The human mind can so easily accept genocide.