Month: November 2016
Rewriting History
The Second Sino-Japanese War is a conflict that lives deep in the hearts and memories of many people throughout the world. It was a monumental conflict in terms of scope of warfare and casualties, as well as the implications that resulted from it. It is odd therefor, that many people throughout the world, particularly in […]
Why Being Safe in a ‘Safety Zone’ Matters
As Masaaki put it in the opening lines of “What Really Happened in Nanking: The Refutation of a Common Myth,” “[t]he word history possesses two meanings. One is “events of the past in and of themselves.” The other is “a record of events of the past put into writing for the benefit of future generations” (historiography).” […]
Fact or Fiction: Why is there a dispute on the Nanking Massacre?
Take a second to look at the picture to the right. What do you see? This picture was created to show just how things can be intentionally morphed into a totally different image. Usually these things are a product of… Continue Reading →![]()
Perspective Matters
The Rape of Nanking has been forgotten by the majority of the world, denied by the Japanese, yet memorialized by the Chinese. The 1937 incident left an estimated 300,000 Chinese civilians dead in a matter of weeks. Sixty years later … Continue reading →
Historiography Trumps History
This week’s class topic does nothing short of cause an internal battle of the psyche of each reader. The recorded histories surrounding the Rape of Nanking are overwhelmed by biased, one-sided views and opinions that enter into a argument of “he-said, she-said” thwarts for public approval. The entire discussion on the Rape of Nanking might […]
Tension between Memories
This painting memorializes the victims of a massacre during World War II that the world had forgotten for decades. The Nanking (Nanjing) Massacre, or also known as the Rape of Nanking, occurred over a period of six weeks when the Japanese Imperial Army captured Nanking. The International Military Tribunal of the Far East (IMTFE) estimated that more than…
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The Forgotten Massacre
When thinking about massacres that occurred during the Second World War, most people immediately think of the Holocaust as the most evil act committed by the Axis powers. However, in 1937, the Japanese army committed one of the greatest atrocities … Continue reading →
Everything is Not What It Seems
To American’s World War II began on December 7th, 1941, when the Japanese army bombed Pearl Harbor, forcing us to end our stage of isolation. For the rest of the world, World War II began for them at several different times, and for the Chinese and Japanese, World War II was called the Sino-Japanese War. […]
Concentrated Killing
World War II is still the undisputed king when it comes to the bloodiest and deadliest human conflicts in history. It was not just combatants that experienced the horrors of war though, for millions of civilians would be caught up … Continue reading →
The Forgotten Massacre
On January 13, 1937 the Japanese army began a brutal attack on the people of Nanking. An estimated 350,000 people were murdered. Other citizens were raped, assaulted, and forced to witness unspeakable acts perpetrated on on their loved ones by the Japanese soldiers . It is difficult to conceptualize the amount to life lost in this attack … Continue reading “The Forgotten Massacre”