The rape of Nanking: historical overview and impact

Chang, Iris. The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II.

New York: Penguin, 1997.

The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II by Iris Chang details the atrocities committed by the Japanese national government against the people of China during the siege of Nanking that took place from 1937 -- 1938. Iris Chang, a child of the victims of the massacre, details how, in the span of only a few short weeks, hundreds of thousands of unarmed Chinese were systematically murdered and raped. As well as condemning the Japanese nationalists of the past, Chang condemns members of the present day Japanese government who deny that these war crimes took place. Chang wrote her book not simply to explicate history, but as a political act. She felt that other war crimes of the era, such as those perpetrated by the Nazis, had been dealt with in acts of public mourning, but not those of the Japanese army. Today, Chang states, the Rape of Nanking is not even discussed in student textbooks.

The troops that had been left behind to guard Nanking were largely untrained, as the more experienced forces of the Chinese army had been withdrawn, to avoid sacrificing them to a hopeless cause. Even on the way to the city, the invading Japanese army ravaged the civilian population they encountered along their way without compunction or pity. Yet, says Chang, because of the desire to make amends to the Japanese government, the full extent of the massacre has largely been swept under the historical carpet. Unlike the German government, the Japanese government has never formally apologized for its abominations, which left the waters of the Yangzi river red with blood.

Chang entertains several explanations of why the Japanese army was converted so easily into icy-faced killers. One explanation is the idea that those who are oppressed or repressed, when given the license to mistreat others, are often the most cold-blooded killers, and early Japanese 20th century society was highly regimented. The religious fervor the people felt -- the Emperor Hirohito revered as a god -- is another reason often given, along with the contempt the Japanese felt for the Chinese, whom they regarded as an inferior race. But, Chang writes: "I would have to conclude that Japan's behavior during World War II was less a product of dangerous people than of a dangerous government, in a vulnerable culture, in dangerous times, able to sell dangerous rationalizations to those whose human instincts told them otherwise. The Rape of Nanking should be perceived as a cautionary tale -- an illustration of how easily human beings can be encouraged to allow their teenagers to be molded into efficient killing machines able to suppress their better natures" (Chang 244). Chang does not believe that the Japanese are uniquely prone to racism, but she does believe that the Japanese government has not been held accountable for its actions.