70 years ago today, Japanese soldiers breached the walls of Nanking

One of the books I'll never forget reading is the Rape of Nanking, by Iris Chang. I was working at China Radio International at the time, and like many newcomers to China, was curious to learn as much as I could about the place. In the news at CRI, I would often come across the Nanking Massacre. Some of my Chinese friends told me about it. Whatever happened in Nanking I knew was bad, so when I saw the book on sale at Hong Kong's Airport one day, I snapped it up.

Needless to say, it's a harrowing tale of the barbarity of Japanese soldiers in Nanking in 1937. They invaded on December 13th, and only 30 days later, it's estimated that 200,000 people had been killed. In addition, historians estimate 20,000 rapes took place.

The situation would've been much worse had a group of foreign residents not banded together and created a Safety Zone -- a zone which shielded Chinese refugees, but whose border was breached repeatedly by Japanese soldiers looking for their Chinese counterparts. While there were many heroes in this story, perhaps the man who did the most was a German by the name of John Rabe. But while he lived in a luxurious residence and used his profile, Nazi-connections, and influence to bravely protect Chinese citizens, he had a sad ending to his life; after returning to Germany, he was arrested and interrogated. Following the Soviet seizure of Berlin, he was arrested again. He lived out the remainder of his life in poverty.

The tale of what happened in Nanking is not well-known, but might be soon. A number of movies are currently being made, with the first one, simply titled Nanking, having been released in China this past fall. I've watched the DVD twice (it's now available at most DVD stores in Beijing and Shanghai), and obviously with this kind of subject matter, can be quite emotional. If there's one complaint about the movie, it's that it didn't give the viewer a full picture of the harsh realities in Nanking at the time (or, at least as harsh as the book was able to describe).

I went to Nanking this past spring while I lived in Shanghai, with my sole purpose to visit the War Museum. Unfortunately it was closed for renovations at that time. While I was impressed by the city's aesthetics, I couldn't help but think about what it must've been like to be there 70 years before.

I highly recommend reading Iris Chang's book, and also watching Nanking. If you're not familiar with the event, do yourself a favor and learn about it. It's one of the great tragedies of the War, and one we should never forget.

Elsewhere:

• Giving Testimony on the Horror that was Nanking (New York Times)
• Movie Review: Nanking (Shanghaiist)
• Nanking Massacre Anniversary (TIME China Blog)