A survivor overlooks the destruction at Nanking
The image above shows an elderly woman who survived the Nanking Massacre after her entire family was murdered. Scenes like this were common across the city of Nanking after the 1937 attack that claimed hundreds of thousands of Chinese lives. The Nanking Massacre is one of the worst displays of cruelty in history, but the event is not remembered with the same harshness as the Holocaust or other tragedies. Due to conflicting opinions about the truth behind the number of people killed and the manner in which the massacre happened, the Nanking Massacre has become a polarizing issue that shows how war, trauma, and politics can alter the collective memory of an event.
Since the death of Emperor Hirohito in 1989, more historians in Japan have started to study and discuss the Nanking Massacre than ever before. In the decades following the massacre, the Japanese government and officials strove to portray the Japanese as innocent of any crimes during the war. Some historians, like Iris Chang, believe it is time for the Japanese government to be held accountable for its actions. In her book The Rape of Nanking, Chang writes, “Japan carries not only the legal burden but the moral obligation to acknowledge the evil it perpetrated at Nanking. At a minimum, the Japanese government needs to issue an official apology to the victims, pay reparations to the people whose lives were destroyed in the rampage, and, most important, educate future generations of Japanese citizens about the true facts of the massacre.” (Chang, 225) One issue that Chang has a big problem with is the education of children on the Nanking Massacre. She mentions that some children learn very little about the war at all, and most learn nothing of any atrocities committed by Japan. The point Chang is making is that it is essential for education on the truth of the event to start so that Japan can heal and move on from this issue.
Other historians approach the Nanking Massacre from an entirely different side of the argument. From 1937 to this very day, some historians in Japan maintain that the massacre never occurred, or if it did it was much smaller than reported. Even in the face of photographs, witness testimony, criminal trials, and global pressure, these scholars hold on to their beliefs that the massacre was a hoax created by the Chinese government. One of the historians, Tanaka Masaaki, goes to great lengths to refute the claims made by Chang. Masaaki writes, “The inflammatory prose that characterizes The Rape of Nanking is rife with accusations that are simply untrue and descriptions of despicable, horrific crimes that were never committed.” (Masaaki, 1). He then explains in detail why some of the photographs featured in The Rape of Nanking are obvious fakes and a poor attempt to distort the truth. Masaaki’s viewpoint shows how passionate arguments on opposing sides can lead to prolonged disagreement and strife, and how the memory of the event is warped by the denial and acceptance of truth and fact.
The Nanking Massacre is a horrifying event that many people are not familiar with due to the intense debate surrounding the issue. In my opinion, the Japanese government should formally acknowledge the massacre in a manner similar to what Chang suggests. This is the easiest way to repair international relations and heal the memory of that tragic event. Continued denial simply prolongs the pain and dishonors the memory of the victims and survivors.
Image source- Suping Lu. They were in Nanjing: the Nanjing Massacre witnessed by American and British nationals. Hong Kong University Press, 2004
I think it is interesting that The Rape of Nanking is not as remembered or studied as the Holocaust or other mass genocides that have occurred around the world over time. I wonder why this is? Is it because it was really faked?
You say that the ” easiest way to repair international relations” is for Japan to acknowledge the Nanjing Massacres, do you think that this could also have a reverse blow-back effect. With more Nanjing deniers coming to the surface and the Chinese and Japanese governments becoming more hostile to each other?
It is interesting to see just how much the government can control your thoughts and opinions of something, especially with the events that happened in Nanking. Through education, people develop their own opinions on subjects and with Japan’s censorship, it prevents their people from having information critical to this task. How much would things be different if Japan let information fall freely to the people who want to know?
You reference the need for Japan to take responsibility for what they have done. However, if Masaaki is to be believed then many Japanese believed they had not done anything wrong. How would you recommend remedying this situation?
You mention how Chang believes that people need to be taught more about the Nanking Massacre when in school and this appears in places like the US. Does this mean that states other than Japan also need to acknowledge this event better?
Who do you side with; the emotionally biased Chang or Masaaki the one that states a lot of the pictures were falsified.