Rape of Nanjing

957 Words4 Pages
World History II 26 April 2013 The word genocide is defined as: the deliberate killing of a large group of people of those of a particular ethnic group or nation. On December 13, 1937 Japanese troops invaded the Chinese city of Nanking; this was to be known as one of, if not the most horrific events in history. Even the Nazi party was horrified by these events. The Rape of Nanking, or Nanjing Datusha, as it is known as in China, wiped out an entire city full of art and history. Although this was true, it is often referred to as the “forgotten Holocaust”. At the present time of this gruesome event, it was found in all the headlines and newspapers, however, seventy years later it began to disappear (Chang). Though, recently, it has begun to resurface again, along with the question, “was the Rape of Nanking truly a genocide”? The tension between Japan and China began with Japan feeling somewhat threatened by how strong and powerful China was becoming. The young Japanese men were trained to think that this “disagreement” was China’s fault and that they would be dishonored if they did not complete the tasks they were given. It is still not said who gave these orders. A famous quote from this time was, “I do not beat you because I hate you, I beat you because I care for you” (Chang). September 18, 1931, Japan attempted to derail the express train in China. They were under the cover of “Chinese sabateurs”. Although derailing the train didn’t seem to work out in their benefit, this did allow them to seize and bomb Manchuria. In 1928, the capital of China was moved from Bejing to Nanking. Nanking, at the time, was only home to about 250,000 civilians, but, by mid-1930’s, the population was a whopping 1,000,000+. At this time, Japan was on the border of Nanking, ready to attack. On December 9, 1937, Japan’s troops led the first attack, marking the beginning
Open Document