The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II

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Negative critical remarks ranged from condescending dismissals of her historic narrative and research methods and her conclusions to outright denials and accusations of fabrication. Nationalistic Japanese factions and scholars went out of their way to discredit and heap abuse on Ms. Chang. Snotty academics lined up to ridicule her findings and many dismissed her accomplishment as the work of an amateur. Edward Drea (2006). Researching Japanese War Crimes Records (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration for the Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Interagency Working Groups. p.3. ISBN 1-880875-28-4. Iris Chang committed suicide. I can't help wondering if doing the research for this book didn't create or deepen her depression. She was an obviously passionate person and turning that passion loose on uncovering what really happened in Nanking in December 1937 must have shook her deeply. There are many aspects of this book that I found particularly valuable. First, I thought the photographs that are included in the book are important for understanding this event and, even though some are horrific, would be helpful in a classroom as a visual representation of the atrocities. The book also talks about a documentary and articles that have been written in China about the story of how the photographs were saved instead of confiscated by Japanese soldiers. The documentary/articles would be helpful in a discussion about why it is important to preserve historical events no matter how horrible. The Rape of Nanking did not penetrate the world consciousness in the same manner as the Holocaust or Hiroshima because the victims themselves had remained silent.”

Excerpt of book: 18 January 2012. " The Nazi Leader Who, in 1937, Became the Oskar Schindler of China." The Atlantic. Historian Iris Chang won many battles/The war she lost raged within". San Francisco Chronicle. April 17, 2005 . Retrieved September 22, 2007. The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II. Basic Books. p.290. ISBN 978-0-465-06835-7.On December 13, the first troops of Japan’s Central China Front Army, commanded by General Matsui Iwane, entered the city. Even before their arrival, word had begun spreading of the numerous atrocities they had committed on their way through China, including killing contests, arson and pillaging. Chinese soldiers were hunted down and killed by the thousands, and left in mass graves. In 1991, Chang married Bretton Lee Douglas, a design engineer for Cisco Systems, whom she had met in college, and had one son, Christopher, who was two years old at the time of her suicide. She lived in San Jose, California, in the final years of her life. [6] [7] Career [ edit ]

It was later discovered that she had left behind three suicide notes each dated November 8, 2004. "Statement of Iris Chang" stated: Global Alliance for Preserving the History of WWII in Asia — a federation of NGOs whose mission was to educate the world about the unrecognized wartime horrors committed by Japan in the Pacific theater a b McLaughlin, Kathleen E. (2004-11-20). "Iris Chang's suicide stunned those she tried so hard to help — the survivors of Japan's 'Rape of Nanking' ". SFGate . Retrieved 2007-07-21.

The authors conclude that between December 1937 and March 1938 at least 369,366 people were murdered and some 80,000 women were raped. Another aspect of the book I found valuable is the lessons that can be learned from Nanking as outlined by the author. These lessons are: “civilization is tissue thin, the role of power in genocide, and the ease with which the mind can accept genocide.” Again, I think this would fit into a unit/lesson on genocide. Many comparisons can between the Rape of Nanking and other genocides that have occurred throughout history. After learning about each genocide, students could compare and contrast and see if the above lessons are true for each one. Students then could be asked how they think genocides could be prevented in the future. Yang Daqing, "Convergence or Divergence? Recent Historical Writings on the Rape of Nanjing", The American Historical Review 104 (1999), p. 7. The horror began on the morning of December 13, 1937, when the Japanese Imperial Army captured Nanking (Nanjing), which was then China's capital. Soldiers went through the streets indiscriminately killing Chinese men, women, and children without apparent provocation or excuse until in places the streets and alleys were littered with the bodies of their victims.