The Nanjing Massacre is a series of massacres, rapes and other crimes committed by the Japanese military during the Second Sino-Japanese War in Nanjing in 1937.
Most of the events took place within six weeks of the capture of Nanking on December 13, 1937. During this time, from 250 thousand to 300 thousand Chinese citizens and prisoners of war were killed by soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army. About 200 thousand Chinese were able to escape in refugee camps, which were located near the US Embassy in Nanjing.
The Japanese government official admits that massacres and looting have taken place. However, some Japanese nationalists deny these events.
History
The second Sino-Japanese War began in July 1937. In mid-November, Japanese troops, despite significant losses, managed to capture Shanghai. Realizing that it would most likely fail to defend Nanjing, Commander-in-Chief Chiang Kai-shek took the army deep into China.
About 100,000 soldiers remained to defend Nanjing, mostly all of them were poorly trained. Also, the defenders were joined by demoralized units that escaped the defeat in Shanghai. Nevertheless, the commander of the defense of the city of Tang Shengzhi believed that he would be able to repel the attacks of the Japanese army. On his order, the troops did not allow civilians to leave the city: they blocked the roads and the port, drowned boats, and burned the surrounding villages.
The government left the city on December 1, the president left on December 7, and power in the city finally passed to the International Committee, headed by John Rabe.
On the eve of the capture
Many crimes were committed by the Japanese even before the approach to Nanking. The competition between two officers over who will kill a hundred people first using a katana has become widely known. Newspapers covered these events as if it was some kind of sports discipline. In Japan, the veracity of a newspaper article about a competition has been the subject of fierce debate for several decades, beginning in 1967.
Chinese troops used scorched earth tactics. All buildings outside the city, including military barracks, private houses, the Chinese Ministry of Communications, forests, and even entire villages were burned down. The losses were estimated at US $ 20-30 million in 1937 prices.
Battle of Nanjing
On December 9, the Japanese issued an ultimatum demanding the surrender of the city within 24 hours.
On December 10, at 13:00, the order was given to assault.
On December 12, the Japanese sank the USS Panay. This event had little military significance, but led to tensions in Japanese-American relations.
On the evening of December 12, Defense Commander Tang Shengzhi fled the city through the north gate. Soldiers from the 36th Division followed him at night. The escape was disorganized.
By the night of December 13, Japanese troops had effectively occupied the city.
Massacre
About twenty foreigners (Europeans and Americans) who remained in the city witnessed the massacre. The events were described in the diaries of John Rabe and the American missionary Minnie Waltrin. Another missionary, John McGee, was able to film a documentary and take a number of photographs.
The Tokyo Trial estimates that up to 20,000 women, including minors and the elderly, have been raped. The soldiers purposefully searched houses, hunting young girls. Often women were killed after being raped.
In some cases, the Japanese forced people to resort to incest: sons had to rape mothers, fathers - daughters. Monks who were celibate were forced to rape women.
It is rather difficult to determine how many civilians suffered from the actions of the Japanese army. Some of the corpses were burned, some are in mass graves, and many were dumped into the Yangtze River. Scientists estimate the casualties at 250,000, while modern Japanese nationalists speak of only hundreds of those killed.
On June 6, 1937, Hirohito personally signed a proposal to lift the restrictions imposed by international law on captured Chinese. The officers were advised to stop using the word "prisoner of war".
The Japanese military killed about 1,300 Chinese at the Taiping Gate. The victims were blown up with mines, doused with gasoline and set on fire, the rest were stabbed with bayonets.
War crimes trials
On November 12, 1948, the verdict was announced to the military leaders accused in this case. Matsui, Hirota and five other commanders were executed, and 18 others received various sentences.
