Nanking Massacre

Nanking Massacre 1. The Japanese invasion of China immediately before and during World War II lasted from the early 1930's to 1945. During this dark period in modern Asian history, the Japanese military machine was motivated by an uncontrollable desire for aggression, expansion and imperialism. The brutalities and atrocities committed by the Japanese military in China and elsewhere in Asia finally ended with destruction on Japanese soil -- the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, 1945. The victims of the Japanese militarists' aggression included the innocent and peace-loving peoples of China, Korea, the Philippines, other south east Asian countries, United States, and Japan herself. 2. In the past forty-five years, China and other countries have allowed the Japanese war crimes to be forgotten. In fact, the only constant reminders of the victims of World War II in Asia were the events commemorating the Japanese who were killed by the atomic bomb dropped by the United States. The young generations, Chinese and Japanese alike, are not kept informed about the consequences of imperialist militarism. 3. During this time, the Japanese Ministry of Education distorted the facts of World War II in their history textbooks, the government glorified convicted Class A war criminals as national heroes, and high ranking Japanese officials publicly denied the occurrence of the Nanking Massacre, one of the most infamous atrocities committed by the Japanese armies in China. 4. This pamphlet is an attempt to raise awareness on an issue -- the history behind the bombing of Hiroshima -- where proper attention is long overdue. Although this pamphlet is far from an exhaustive research on the subject, we hope to provide the readers with some basic information on a few pertinent topics: * The Nanking Massacre * Nanking Massacre -- the Japanese Versions * The Tokyo War Crime Trial * Chronology of the Japanese Invasion of China o References

References: 5. The constant reminders of the atrocities of Germany 's Nazi regime is now recognized as a major preventive measure against the revival of Nazism in Germany, and the annual commemoration of the victims of Hiroshima provides a strong basis for the resistance to the dangerous escalation of nuclear weapons. By preparing this pamphlet, we hope to help initiate a long term movement to bring attention to the war crimes committed by the Japanese militarists during World War II, and, by doing so, to unite with peace-loving people of all nationalities to prevent the resurgence of militarism anywhere in the world. 6. In 1928, the Chinese Nationalist Government moved the capital of China from Peking to Nanking. The city normally held about 250,000 people, but by the mid-1930 's its population had swollen to more than 1 million. Many of them were refugees, fleeing from the Japanese armies which had invaded China since 1931. On November 11, 1937, after securing control of Shanghai, the Japanese army advanced towards Nanking from different directions. In early December, the Japanese troops were already in the proximity of Nanking. 7. On December 9, after unsuccessfully demanding the defending Chinese troops in Nanking to surrender, the Japanese troops launched a massive attack upon the city. On the 12th, the defending Chinese troops decided to retreat to the other side of Yangtze River. On the 13th of December, the 6th and the 116th Divisions of the Japanese Army first entered the city. At the same time, the 9th Division entered Guanghua Gate, and the 16th Division entered Zhongshan Gate and the Pacific Gate. In the afternoon, two Japanese Navy fleets arrived on both sides of the Yangtze River. On the same day, December 13th, 1937, Nanking fell to the Japanese. In the next six weeks, the Japanese committed the infamous Nanking Massacre, or the Rape of Nanking, during which an estimated 300,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed, and 20,000 women were raped. 8. During the Nanking Massacre, the Japanese committed a litany of atrocities against innocent civilians, including mass execution, raping, looting, and burning. It is impossible to keep a detailed account of all of these crimes. However, from the scale and the nature of these crimes as documented by survivors and the diaries of the Japanese militarists, the chilling evidence of this historical tragedy is indisputable. 9. On December 13th, a large number of refugees tried to escape from the Japanese by trying to cross the Yangtze River. They were trapped on the east bank because no transportation was available; many of them tried to swim across the river. Meanwhile, the Japanese arrived and fired at the people on the shore and in the river. A Japanese soldier reported that the next day he saw an uncountable number of dead bodies of adults and children covering the whole river. He estimated that more than 50,000 people were killed at this tragic incident of the Nanking massacre. 10. When the Japanese troops first entered the city on the 13th, the streets were crowded with more than 100,000 refugees or injured Chinese soldiers. The Japanese relentlessly fired at these people. The next morning, tanks and artilleries entered the city and killing of people continued. Dead bodies covered the two major streets of the city. The streets became "streets of blood" as a result of the two-day annihilation.