Lest We Forget: Nanjing Massacre, 1937 By Xu Zhigeng

Consistent with Japanese propaganda the nationalist leaders held belief that Japan was “the leader, protector and light of Asia”. However, this perception of liberation from colonial rule was a façade as the civilians of occupied nations experienced harsher treatment under the Japanese than they did under the colonial authorities.

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Throughout The Rape of Nanking, the brutal massacre of thousands of innocent Chinese citizens is brought forth through the invasion of this ancient city taken over by the Imperial Japanese army. Iris Chang illustrates the graphic details of the murder and rape of these victims through the perspectives of different sides of the attack. Chang; furthermore, ties in the mass genocide and destruction displayed throughout the book with the example of the Japanese government’s desperate attempt to cover up the incident and the reluctance of the survivors to discuss it. In addition, the horrifying events of The Rape of Nanking only further motivated an uncontrollable desire for aggression, violence, and imperialism in the Asian community evidently

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…nevertheless the future outlook for further dangerous incidents was anything but serene. On the one hand, the ability of the Tokyo Government to control the action of the Japanese forces in China in jeopardizing American life, interests, and property is negative. On the other hand, I cannot conceive that with all our pacifist tendencies and longing for peace the patience of our people under cumulative insult is inexhaustible.6

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In just six short weeks, the Chinese city of Nanjing was devastated with the brutal murdering of civilians ranging somewhere between 40,000 to 300,000 deaths, along with 20,000 to 80,000 of the cities woman being raped. These horrific statistics came to fruition after the Imperial Japanese Army forces abruptly entered the Chinese city of Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China at the time, on December 13, 1937. It is often debated as to how serious the massacre really was as both the death and rape tolls seems to have such large ranges. Although many may argue that the Rape of Nanjing was Japans attempt at world domination, others often disagree, proclaiming that the genocide was simply exaggerated and possibly even fabricated entirely. In many instances this “fabrication” was believed to be an attempt at political propaganda, but there are various supporting facts that prove otherwise. The massacre was in fact a real,

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In his work “Right to Kill, Right to Make Live” Takashi Fujitani compares and contrasts the Japanese treatment of colonialized Koreans leading up to World War II with the American treatment of the Japanese residents following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This work highlights how both the Japanese and the Americans treated the Koreans and Japanese Americans, respectively, and offers several different viewpoints. Thus, this work is exceptionally important and provides incredible insight into both cultures and the harsh reality of wartime. Additionally, Fujitani also explains how the Korean and Japanese populations are still influenced today.

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