What really happened at Nanking?
What led to the enormity of the sheer wickedness and barbarity displayed by the Japanese Imperial Army towards the Chinese?
Why did the Japanese Army and their Generals act with such impunity & heartlessness?
These were the questions that raced through my mind as I read the tragic story of the Chinese people at Nanking.
The Japanese had just overpowered the Chinese Army at the battle fields of Shanghai. After the defeat, 50,000 Japanese soldiers marched into the city of Nanking, then capital city of China, and proceeded to massacre a total of about 300,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians.
The Massacre of the Chinese POWs (Prisoners of War) & Civilians
Some of the Chinese soldiers had already been captured by the Japanese Army at the outskirts of the city of Nanking. As soon as they [Japanese Army] entered Nanking, they rounded up some civilians and young men who they suspected were soldiers (most of the Chinese soldiers that escaped had changed into civilian clothes to avoid detection). They were marched out of the city to be massacred. Most were shot with machine guns and the ones suspected to still be alive were individually bayoneted. In some cases, they were gassed to death and their bodies dumped in mass graves. The Japanese Army also shot indiscriminately at civilians within the city. Thousands died this way.
The Unsuccessful Escape Attempts
A large number of refugees tried to flee by crossing the Yangtze River. Unfortunately, there were no means of transportation. The Japanese arrived and shot at the people at the river bank and even those that were trying to get away by swimming. The whole river was littered with dead bodies of children and adults. An approximate number of 50,000 died this way.
The Japanese also managed to infiltrate the safety zones that were established by some American and European Missionaries, businessmen and doctors. Several Chinese were murdered even in the safety zone areas.
Other Atrocities Committed
The Japanese employed barbaric means of executing their carnage. They shot, stabbed, beheaded, burnt and drowned their victims. There were even more horrid cases of cutting open abdomens, excavation of human hearts, and castration.
Raping & Killings
20,000 women were raped. This included girls under 8, women over 70 and even pregnant women. Some Japanese soldiers even forced fathers to rape their daughters and sons to rape their mothers while they watched. Those who declined were killed.
Pillaging, Burning & Vandalism
Jewelry, money, animals, food, clothes and even items of lower or insignificant value were looted. The Chinese were sometimes forced to carry their loot.
Buildings were set on fire and people that tried to escape from the burning buildings were murdered.
These heinous crimes were committed and apart from the few missionaries that were in China at the time, no help was forthcoming. Even though some of the perpetrators were punished for crimes against humanity, nothing can compensate for the pains caused and the thousands of lives that were lost.
