Comparison Of The Holocaust And The Rape Of Nanking

The term genocide was not coined until 1943 when Raphael Lamkin used it to describe the Nazi reign in Europe (ROD notes). Genocide refers to the systematic destruction of a racial or cultural group. Two examples of this are the Holocaust and the Rape of Nanking. The Holocaust deals with the Nazi’s takeover of Europe during World War II, and the Rape of Nanking is the Japanese invasion of China in the late 1930’s. These events in history serve a painful reminder of the cruelest depths of human nature, but also of the possibilities that lie within every catastrophe.

Bystanders always play a key role in any event, whether they have a positive or negative effect on the outcome of the situation at hand. Most, if not all, of the bystanders during
The Japanese soldiers gathered thousands of Chinese women and forced them to live in barracks while being raped on a daily basis. They raped women of all ages, from little girls whom they cut due to their pre-pubescent age to old women into their 80’s (A&E). This extensive raping is considered a crime against humanity. There were many war crimes committed by the Japanese soldiers during the Rape of Nanking. They used the prisoner’s of war for bayonet practice, and also held killing contests in which the Japanese officers vied to see who could kill the most people and get the highest body count. An interesting fact about the Japanese is that they were contemptuous of those who surrendered. They considered surrendering to be dishonorable and therefore felt as though it downgraded the surrendering Chinese soldiers to the level of animals. These Chinese soldiers were then shot on sight (A&E). Many more crimes were committed during these eight tragic weeks. The crimes that were committed during the Holocaust partially resemble the atrocities at Nanking. In the Holocaust people were also gathered and forced to live in barracks, but unlike Nanking they were killed for a reason. People were selected on the basis of race and religion; this is discrimination which is a crime against humanity. The largest group of those unfortunately selected, was the Jews. They were killed in masses and
One positive effect taken from these events is the heightened world-wide prevention of genocide. Many countries around the world have tried to intervene in such places as Bosnia, Cambodia, and Kosovo in order to deter those who are attempting to kill masses of innocent people (Horvath). In the minds of nearly all Japanese, the Rape of Nanking never occurred. Its story is neither told nor taught in schools, and those who have accused the Japanese government of concealing the truth have been threatened or killed. If you were to visit Japan and inquire upon many average citizens about this event, they would have no knowledge of the carnage or even the occurrence of Nanking. Although, there are those Japanese fanatics who worship the Japanese soldiers during Nanking as Gods and have set up shrines in honor of them (A&E). The atmosphere in Germany is a bit different, but has similar qualities as well. The overall German population today is very ashamed of the war criminals that represented their country. However, many current Nazi enthusiasts deny that the Holocaust ever happened. This declaration comes as a heart breaking hit to the survivors and their families (Horvath). These survivors must live the rest of their lives with the haunting and painful memories that remain vivid in their minds. At the chance that those memories subside, they are still left with the physical scars