Month: November 2017
The Nanking Massacre: One Event, Two Perspectives
When most people think of World War II, the biggest and most horrific event that first comes to mind is the Holocaust. Although the Holocaust undeniably left a lasting impression on the world, the was another event that often gets overlooked in history that rivals the destructiveness of the Holocaust. This event is know as …
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History In The Eye of the Beholder
As historians, it is our mission to correctly interpret the past so that others may learn and know what their ancestors and past cultures did and did not do. The problem comes when people try to miss-use facts or ignore them in order to push their own ideas and forces other historians to rewrite the …
Totalitarian MartyrsCJackson
Christopher Jackson Totalitarian Martyrs The conflicts between Asian states may not be as popular as European or American ones but they are still just as bloody. Japan’s war occupation of North China is not an exception to this as the Japanese were fully capable of ruthlessness. As in all wars, there was a body count …
Totalitarian Martyrs
The Nanjing Massacre was a mass killing and rape of the citizens of Nanjing, China by Japanese soldiers during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The photo above is a memorial in Nanjing that pays tribute to all the victims of the massacre. What really stuck out to me in The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten …
The Rape of Nanking as a Case Study of Historiography
“Our perception of history derives from past events as transmitted via the written word, not from the events themselves” (Masaaki vii). The connection between history and historiography can be a trepidatious one. While the opinions of those involved in events first hand can yield valuable insight into the feelings of the time, they can also […]
The Rape of Nanking from 2 Different Viewpoints
It is interesting to read both accounts of what happened in Nanking, China during World War II. Growing up and attending various history classes during high school and college, you continuously learn about the Rape of Nanking and the Nanking Massacre. It has become common knowledge that this horrific event did actually happen. I had …
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Schrödinger’s Massacre
The above image shows Chinese and Korean protesters outside the Japanese Consulate, signs and chants voice their outrage, reverberating off nearby buildings and echoing through the past. But why would there be controversy over an event so far removed from the present? The main controversy that has existed over the Nanjing Massacre, or Rape of … Continue reading →
Relationships not Politics as the Driving Factor for Civil Rights.
Michael Kilmartin, (pictured from left to right:) Lou Fumbanks, Bess, Michael Kilmartin, Chuck Kickbusch, 1954-1955, photograph, Wakkanai, Japan The inclusion of African Americans within the United States military marked a critical point for the advancement of Civil Rights movement. However, there was a split in opinion in terms of whether this was progress or not. […]
WWII and Decolonization
During WWII, soldiers from European colonies, from the Dutch East indies to French West Africa, fought for their “mother countries” with the hope of gaining independence after conclusion of the war. However, upon returning home soldiers from colonies almost universally had their hopes dashed. Many of these veterans became politically active and pushed the European …
Imperial Displacements
The end of World War II resulted in unfamiliarity for many citizens across the globe. There were many senses of loss. Where would people turn? Where would their national identity lie? Throughout these readings, we learn that the conversation of creating your own nation state did not only lie within the Israeli-Palestine conflict. With …
