When the Holocaust is mentioned, one immediately thinks of the Jewish genocide in Europe. However, a few years prior to World War II, Japan invaded China, captured Nanking, and performed a number of cruel atrocities on the people in and around the city. This horrible event, known as the Nanking Massacre or the Rape of Nanking, included brutality that rivaled the infamous Holocaust. “Many thousands of [the women] were killed after gang rape, and...others brutally injured and traumatized. Meanwhile, approximately a quarter of a million defenseless Chinese men were...murdered en masse, used for bayonet practice, or burned and buried alive” (Jones). This savagery, as written in the “Case Study: The Nanjing Massacre, 1937-38”, is not even the full
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During the summer of 1937, the Japanese and Chinese started facing off in a series of battles, now known as the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese Imperial Army and the Chinese Army first encountered each other in Shanghai. While the Japanese originally believed it to be an easy victory, the Chinese proved that they were a force to be reckoned with, causing the battle to last three long, savage months. This enraged the Japanese and caused them to seek revenge (“The Rape”, The History Place). Meanwhile in Nanking, the Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek, fearing high casualties, ordered the removal of all the troops in the capital city and forbade the official evacuation of its citizens. He left the city unprotected to the approaching army, and while many fled, those that could not afford train tickets were left to the mercy of the Japanese (“Nanjing Massacre”; “Story of Chu-Yeh Chang”). Money was also a constant complication for the Jews in the Holocaust. For example, in The Book Thief, Max Vanderburg’s family was financially incapable of fleeing to another country. Most Jews shared this fate during the genocide, while the richer Jews escaped (Zusak 130). All the victims wanted to flee to other countries, but more often than not, they could not afford the immigration fee or transportation fee. The only option was to face their oppressors and have faith that they would live. With the Chinese army gone, the Japanese …show more content…
United States citizens greeted the one page reports in The New York Times with much skepticism. Countries in the West and in Europe were much more focused on the Holocaust “where Adolf Hitler was rapidly rearming Germany...through devious political maneuvers” (“The Rape”, The History Place). Problems in Germany were higher priority than issues in Asia. Fortunately, foreigners present at the time of the massacre created a Safety Zone, an area created for the Chinese to take refuge, which saved 300,000 lives. The outsiders ministered to the wounded, the homeless, and the starving Chinese citizens. Even though, technically, the Japanese were not permitted to enter, John Rabe reported, “even in the Safety Zone, refugees in various houses have been robbed of their...possessions” (“The Rape”, Ibis; “The Rape”, The History Place; “Story of Chu-Yeh Chang”). The foreigners’ actions in Nanking were similar to resistance groups’ actions in concentration camps during the Holocaust. In Night, Elie Wiesel recalled, “...the resistance movement decided to act. Armed men suddenly rose up everywhere...at about six o’clock in the evening, the first American tank stood at the gates of Buchenwald...”(Wiesel 119). In both instances, the groups were bystanders, yet they felt compelled to help the victims of the nearby genocide. Their actions gave the helpless an opportunity to survive. These sources illustrate that even when the
During the summer of 1937, the Japanese and Chinese started facing off in a series of battles, now known as the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese Imperial Army and the Chinese Army first encountered each other in Shanghai. While the Japanese originally believed it to be an easy victory, the Chinese proved that they were a force to be reckoned with, causing the battle to last three long, savage months. This enraged the Japanese and caused them to seek revenge (“The Rape”, The History Place). Meanwhile in Nanking, the Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek, fearing high casualties, ordered the removal of all the troops in the capital city and forbade the official evacuation of its citizens. He left the city unprotected to the approaching army, and while many fled, those that could not afford train tickets were left to the mercy of the Japanese (“Nanjing Massacre”; “Story of Chu-Yeh Chang”). Money was also a constant complication for the Jews in the Holocaust. For example, in The Book Thief, Max Vanderburg’s family was financially incapable of fleeing to another country. Most Jews shared this fate during the genocide, while the richer Jews escaped (Zusak 130). All the victims wanted to flee to other countries, but more often than not, they could not afford the immigration fee or transportation fee. The only option was to face their oppressors and have faith that they would live. With the Chinese army gone, the Japanese …show more content…
United States citizens greeted the one page reports in The New York Times with much skepticism. Countries in the West and in Europe were much more focused on the Holocaust “where Adolf Hitler was rapidly rearming Germany...through devious political maneuvers” (“The Rape”, The History Place). Problems in Germany were higher priority than issues in Asia. Fortunately, foreigners present at the time of the massacre created a Safety Zone, an area created for the Chinese to take refuge, which saved 300,000 lives. The outsiders ministered to the wounded, the homeless, and the starving Chinese citizens. Even though, technically, the Japanese were not permitted to enter, John Rabe reported, “even in the Safety Zone, refugees in various houses have been robbed of their...possessions” (“The Rape”, Ibis; “The Rape”, The History Place; “Story of Chu-Yeh Chang”). The foreigners’ actions in Nanking were similar to resistance groups’ actions in concentration camps during the Holocaust. In Night, Elie Wiesel recalled, “...the resistance movement decided to act. Armed men suddenly rose up everywhere...at about six o’clock in the evening, the first American tank stood at the gates of Buchenwald...”(Wiesel 119). In both instances, the groups were bystanders, yet they felt compelled to help the victims of the nearby genocide. Their actions gave the helpless an opportunity to survive. These sources illustrate that even when the