The Rape of Nanking

The foJ1owing is taken from Iris Chang's The Rape ofNanking... "

Overview: On December 13, 1937, two years before wwn started in Europe, the japanese occupied the former capital of China - the city of Nanking. For seven weeks after the initial occupation, the Japanese military went on a devastating rampage.

The Broad details of the Rape are, except among the japanese, not in dispute. In November 1937, after their successful invasion of Shanghai, the Japanese launched a massive attack on the newly established capital of the Republic of China. When the dty fell, Japanese soldiers began an orgy of cruelty seldom if ever matched in world history. Tens of thousands of young men were rounded up and herded to the outer areas of the dty, where they were mowed down by machine guns, used for bayonet practice, or soaked with gasoline and burned alive. For months the streets of the city were heaped with corpses and reeked with the stench of rotting human flesh. Year later experts estimated that more than 260,000 non-combatants died at the . hands of Japanese soldiers at Nanking in late 1937 and early 1938, though some experts have placed the figure at well over 350,000.

The Rape of Nanking represents one of the worst instances of mass extennination. While Hitler killed about 6 million jews, these deaths were brought about over several years. In the Rape of Nanking the killing was concentrated within a few r

weeks. The, death toll of Nanking -- one Chinese city alone - exceeds the number of civilian casualties of some European countries for the entire war (Great Britain lost a . total of 61,000 civilians, France lost 108,000, Belgium 101,000, and the Netherlands 242,000). It is shocking to think that the deaths at Nanking far exceeded the ,( combined death toll of the two atomic blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the end of

. 1945 (estimated at 140,000 and 70,000 respectively).

The Rape of Nanking should be remembered not only for the number of people slaughtered but for the cruel manner in which many met their deaths. . Chinesenien , were used for bayonet practice and in decapitation contests. An estimated 20,000 -'-'-,~ :: ~ ~; , ',.' 80,000 women were raped. Many soldiers went beyond rape to disembowel wome~, _, " :-:\~:..: ,,'

' slice off their breasts, nail them alive to walls. Fathers were forced to rape their " - < "~ ~ daughters,and ~Sons .their mothers,aso~er faI!illymembers watched. Not only did . c -~ .

'live burials, castration, the carving of organs, and the roasting" of people " . f.,~~~~ . routine, . bilt .mo~e diaboli,cal ·tC?rtilres )yere praqiced, ' S~~l1 .9-S .l?-angiJ:;lg . xon~1;l~s o~Jron hooksor~?.'!~g. peopleto-,their : w~s~s and watc,"h!-ng .

. apart by eras. ,~ "'_ ": . ,c "' .. -.4•. -""=-' .. "--, - - -,­-r;." • " : . :"'. J~~~, _~_"~!~,:~-!;: .".:<, ,~.~~~ ;:_'~ ':/ . .; ".~ ,

- Death by fIre: The Japanese subjected large crowds of victims to mass incineration. In one instance, a Japanese soldier bound Chinese captives together, ten at a time, and pushed them into a pit, where they were sprayed with gasoline and ignited. Japanese soldiers even devised games with fire. One method of entertainment was to drive mobs of Chinese to the top stories or roofs of buildings, tear down the stairs, and set the bottom floors on fire. Another form of amusement involved dousing victims with fuel, shooting them, and watching them explode into flame. ill one infamous incident, Japanese soldiers forced hundreds of men, women, and children into a square, soaked them with gasoline, and then fired on them with machine guns..

- Death by dogs: One diabolical means of torture was to bury victims to their waist and watch them get ripped apart by German shepherds. Witnesses saw Japanese soldiers strip a victim naked and direct German shepherds to bite the sensitive areas of his body. The dogs not only ripped open his belly but jerked out his intestines along the ground for a distance.

- Death by ice: Thousands ·of victims were intentionally frozen to death during the Rape of Nanking. For instance, Japanese soldiers forced hundreds of Chinese prisoners to march to the edge of a frozen pond, where they were ordered to strip . , naked, break the ice, and plunge into the water to go "fishing". Their bodies . hardened into floating targets that were immediately riddled with Japanese bullets.

- The Rape.: An estimated 20,000-80,000 women were raped during this incident. Chinese women were raped in all locations and at all hours. An estimated one-third ~.,

of all rapes occurred during the day. Survivors even remember soldiers prying open •. .. the legs of victims to rape them in broad daylight, in the middle of the street, and in front of crowds of witnesses. No place was too sacred for rape. The Japanese attacked women in nunneries, churches, and Bible training schools. Seventeen soldiers raped one woman in succession in a seminary compound. Many women in their eighties were raped to death. little girls were not spared from the rape as Chinese witnesses say Japanese rape girls under ten years of age in the streets and then slash memin ~.. half by sword.

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Rape of Nanking

). Why is the city of Nanking important?

2. When did the Rape of Nanking happen and for how long? How many people died?

3. How many people died in the atomic blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

4. What did the Japanese soldiers do to the Chinese men and women? What did they do with the dead bodies?

5. Under each heading: write a one sentence summary of what happened.

Live burials:

Mutilation:

Death by fire:

Death by dogs:

eath by ice:

The Rape:

6. What happened at the Nanking War Crimes Tria l? What was the verdict?

7. What happened to Emperor Hirohito? Is this fa ir?

8. What do you think should be the punishment for the Japanese officers and emperor?

9. In military crimes, who is responsible for these atrocities? The soldiers, commanders, President/Emperor? Explain.

10. Who is the author of The Rape of Nanking and when was it published)

rl . In your opinion: What drives people to violence?