Rape Of Nanking: Unspeakable Tragedy In History

More than any other unspeakable tragedy that has occurred in modern recorded history, the Holocaust of World War II is by far the most well-known. The slaughtering of over six million Jews by the Nazis has been retold and reimagined for decades as the end-all, be-all of suffering and terror brought down by humans on other humans. But thanks to Iris Chang, another unspeakable act of human indecency which was much less well known, but just as valuable a lesson in mankind’s history to know how inhumane and unfathomable humans can be to one another. This terrible tragedy that deserves to have the light of history shed on to it is The Rape of Nanking. Iris Chang authors this chilling account of how the Japanese forces in the 1930’s overran
Wilson was one of the few doctors to stay and work full time inside the safety zone after the rape began, and he showed his dedication to the Chinese people by not leaving and treating the victims by the thousands. Wilson wrote in journals to his wife of the terrible treatment he saw from the Japanese yet was not scared off by the Japanese troops, as he viewed staying to help the Chinese as his duty. Vautrin took it upon herself to single-handedly be a voice and collective protector for the women of Nanking. When most of the faculty of the school she worked at fled, Vautrin stayed and worked tirelessly to keep the rabid Japanese soldiers at bay. Many soldiers attempted to sneak into the safety zone and capture women for rape and prostitution but with Vautrin’s protection many of them were spared. In addition to Rabe, both Wilson and Vautrin kept diaries which chronicled their time and experiences during the rape of Nanking, the accounts of which Chang used to base much of her book’s content on. The inclusion of the accounts of these three courageous individuals gives The Rape of Nanking a shining message of positivity in a book which chronicles one of the darkest periods in modern human
Chang does a fantastic job in giving early explanations of historical evidence that could point to the answer to this question. Chang discusses the prominence of the Samurai and its place in ancient Japanese culture, how for generations Japanese warriors were taught to give their own lives before bringing dishonor onto their family names. Chang compares this to the occurrences of numerous kamikaze pilot suicides recorded during WWII, of how that 'death before dishonor' mentality still survived to that generation of Japanese fighters. Chang also points out that throughout the years Japanese education had systematically taught to children intense, aggressive nationalism and a built in hatred for the Chinese. While Chang gives a great observation of why the Japanese had this thought process ingrained in their system, she also accurately places the blame solely at the feet of the Japanese government (at that time under Emperor Hirohito) who knew of the terrible massacres being perpetrated in China but ignored and did nothing about