Human evil has taken many forms throughout history, what is not surprising is the denial that follows suit. It is when the unimaginable happens that we are faced with the ugliness face on, for certain events it harder for political entities to accept the actions and to repent for their crimes.
This weeks readings examine two authors,Iris Chang, The Rape of Nanking – The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II, and Tanaka Masaaki, What Really Happened in Nanking – The Refutation of a Common Myth. Both share their own evidence on whether or not the Rape of Nanking occurred, not in actuality but in terms of the degree of crimes committed against the non-combatant Chinese. The painting is by an American Chinese artist, Li Hu who depicts the Nanking massacre in a paint series, her paintings are haunting and are filled with emotion, disdain and loss.
Iris Changs, “The Rape of Nanking-The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II,” who is a author, historian, and activist in California, who grew up on the stories her family shared with her about the Japanese atrocities committed against the Chinese in the second World War. Her mission is to bring justice to those silenced before there are no more survivors left. She takes the reader through the timeline of Nanking, and expresses though more lives were lost in other wars, the Nanking massacre occurred in a matter of weeks. She feels the Japanese government have fought since the massacre to cover up their crimes and censor textbooks in order to protect their national pride. Contrary to the Germans, who have paid in both the Nuremberg Trials and in war reparations as well as incorporated their crimes into curriculum, Chang feels there is a moral obligation by Japan to address, accept and repent for their crimes. It should also be noted that in contrast to the trials at Nuremberg, where numerous amounts of evidence including photographs, documentation and film as well as eye witness accounts which strengthened the case against war criminals in Germany, the Tokyo Trials had limited discussion of details and did not receive as much press coverage.
The second author, Tanaka Masaaki “What Really Happened in Nanking- the Refutation of a Common Myth” takes the side of the Japanese, who combats Chang’s evidence and photographs and though does not deny that loss of life occurred at Nanking, but argues that the deaths were defiant Chinese military. He supports his claims by noting that he was serving in the Japanese military at the time and was secretary to General Iwane Matsui, who was the Army’s China expert (2). Masaaki learns that Matsui is charged with Class A War Crimes at the trials (“crimes against peace”) and after he was incarcerated, Masaaki visits him and Matsui’s accounts in Nanking never included a massacre, or even happened. (5-6) Masaaki quotes “Japanese scholars debated the Nanking Incident, and exposed it for what it was – the falsest of falsehoods.”(foreword)
Did the Japanese commit crimes in World War II, defiantly. Did they commit the crimes outlined in Changs book? Ultimately is up to the reader to decide, and challenge. We are living in an era of highly produced, fabricated and compelling materials that are as convincing as the truth and as historians it is through diligent research that we draw conclusions. Sometimes denying the unimaginable is easier than facing reality.
