Flare Sci-Fi Forums: The Rape of Nanking

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Posted by Jeff Raven (Member # 20) on :

This is something I'd like to share with many of you. Many of you are familiar with the Holocaust of the Jews by the Nazis(and many of you are quick to note American atrocities on other nations too)... But do you guys know anything about what the Japanese did to the Chinese during WWII? I thought that it was just two armies duking it out on the battlefield...

But now I know what really happened. The Japanese systematically wiped out many of the civilian population, one of the most horrible examples being Nanking.
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/12.12.96/cover/china1-9650.html
http://www.princeton.edu/~nanking/

These are the best links I can find at the moment, but they do tell you some of the details. The first is an interview of Iris Chang, a women who wrote a well-documented book called "The Rape of Nanking". I had just finished reading the book and watching a video called "In the Name of the Emperor." The second link goes into detail what happened, as well as show some of the pictures collected from the event.

These detail the atrocities in Nanking, as well as the Japanese government and many Japanese historians trying to downplay the events.

So why write all this? Well, after having read the book and watching the video, I sit here wiping tears from my eyes and wondering what I could do about it. It isn't enough to just cry and feel bad, so I decided to spread the word. This event may have been even more tragic than that of the Nazi Holocaust, and yet my teachers hardly covered the topic in high school. Please, tell others, and let it not be forgotten.

I urge you to read the book or see the video. I hope many of you will be as moved as I am.

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"If a nail is driven into the wrong place, it would be foolish indeed to become angry with the hammer." - Old Russian Proverb

Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :

Hmmm...... My girlfriend saw a video of this despicable massacre in class yesterday and told me about it. Here is what I know (so far):

-Initial reports pegged the death rate at 220,000. After the massacre, some Jap soldiers (guilty of their actions) maintained that the death rate was at around 350,000 to 387,000.
-Scholars in Japan (I think) said that the death rate couldn't have been more than 50,000. Nanking (or Nanjing) was probably a very large population centre back then, probably about half a million to a million. It's impossible for such a figure to be so small.
-There were 28 foreigners in Nanking at the time of the massacre. The Japs decided to leave them untouched because of possible reprisal from such countries as the United States and Britain. These 28 foreigners were able to document alot of the evidence and the events that happened at Nanking, including the rapes and the tortures.
-Out of the possible 5000 people who participated in the massacre, only 7 were ever convicted of this gruesome act. Today, Japanese do not know about this act, and even if they did, they'd rip your head off if you talked to them about it.

Another thing that she told me was about a Japanese soldier who was taught to do good things in life, respect others, help others in need, be a good son, brother, husband, and father. And yet he was told to do this.

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Posted by Jeff Raven (Member # 20) on :

quote:

-Scholars in Japan (I think) said that the death rate couldn't have been more than 50,000. Nanking (or Nanjing) was probably a very large population centre back then, probably about half a million to a million. It's impossible for such a figure to be so small.

Very true. Actually, the population was a bit over a million before the Japanese invaded, but many had flade, about 250 thousand at first(the rich), another 250-290 thousand left after them, most of them soldiers and middle class. The ones who stayed were too poor or injured or pregnant.
Out of the remained 500 thousand, about 350 thousand were raped, tortured and killed.

quote:

-There were 28 foreigners in Nanking at the time of the massacre. The Japs decided to leave them untouched because of possible reprisal from such countries as the United States and Britain. These 28 foreigners were able to document alot of the evidence and the events that happened at Nanking, including the rapes and the tortures.

Actually, the Japanese soldiers didn't leave them alone...not completely anyways. These foreigners set up a safety zone for refugees, but the Japanese soldiers would conduct raids to kidnap supposed Chinese soldiers and prostitutes(how do you prove that?). They brow-beat the foreigners, trying to make them crack...the soldiers did let them live, but that was about it.
Of the of the foreigners who did much work as well as minister the safety zone was man named John Rabe, a Nazi who lived in China. He actually was left untouched and the Japanese actually feared him because of his connections to Hitler. He would rip japanese men from women they were doing business with and shove his swastika arm-band in their faces and yell "Do you know what this means?" It was quite effective when he was around, but as soon as he turned his back, they'd be back at it. John Rabe, though he was a Nazi, actually did some good things there.

Read "The Rape of Nanking" by Iris Chang. Its very informative, more than I could ever be.

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"If a nail is driven into the wrong place, it would be foolish indeed to become angry with the hammer." - Old Russian Proverb

Posted by Simon on :

Very few countries have ever confessed to their crimes as Germany did. The Austrians and French will also deny any blame for the Holocaust. How often have you heard of the Turkish massacre of hundreds of thousands of Armenians. And what has happened to all those responsible for Stalin's atrocities who are still alive, we will never see Russia reviving that issue.

Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :

Oh, I don't know about that. I'd say we live in a pretty open time as far as apologies go. They may not be easy, certainly, but I don't think I'd call them rare.

And regarding Russia, uh, who exactly would be apologizing to whom? I mean, don't get me wrong, I know what you're talking about, but the country in question has sort of had a, you know, revolution since then. In most books, that sort of thing is recognized as being a bit stronger than a handslap.

(Actually, I think I might be misreading your argument. I'm taking it as refering to Stalin's treatment of Russia as a whole, which means that by overthrowing that government the Russians came out as being rather against that sort of thing. If, on the other hand, you're talking about the targeting of certain groups then I'd tend to agree. I think. Gosh, I've lost myself, haven't I?)

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"What did it mean to fly? A tremor in your soul. To resist the dull insistance of gravity."
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