Essay On The Nanking Massacre

Many remember the atrocities that occurred to the Jews in the Holocaust, but few remember what is called, “The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II,” where 300,000 people were murdered, and 20,000 women were raped (Rivera 2). Even with such a huge death toll, some even deny the existence of this massacre. Immediately after the massacre occurred, the Japanese did not tell their citizens of what happened in Nanking due to shame. The government of Japan controlled most of the media so unbiased, reliable information was hard to come by. “In fact, the Japanese soldiers were always described as heroes. It was not until the postwar Tokyo Trial that the truth of the Nanking Massacre was first revealed to the Japanese civilians. The atrocities revealed during the Trial shocked the Japanese Society at the time,” (Basic Facts on the Nanking Massacre and the Tokyo War Crimes Trial 18). As more scholars look into what really happened in Nanking, it becomes …show more content…
However, the majority of the death toll from this war came from what is called, “The Rape of Nanking” or “The Nanking Massacre.” Precedented by a skirmish in Lugouqiao between the Japanese and the Chinese in July, this small conflict resulted in a full-on war between the two countries. Smaller battles broke out between the two countries where Japan came to find many easily won victories. Due to their previous successes, the Japanese army underestimated the Chinese. With confidence won from earlier battles, the Japanese thought the Shanghai troops would be as easily beaten. When Japan attacked Shanghai, the two armies came to a stalemate. Fights broke out on streets, bombs dropped on this nearly decimated city, and both armies rushing to replenish their losses. “Many historians today say the battle of Shanghai nurtured the psychological for japanese soldiers to go on a berserk rampage in Nanking later on,” (Battle of Shanghai