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

This book was the effort from Chinese/American author Iris Chang to raise awareness of the horrifying events of December, 1937, when Nanking, then the capital of China was, along with Manchuria at large and nearby Shanghai attacked by Japanese forces who would carry out one of humanity's most brutal, sick and inexcusable acts the world ever knew. Already blazing a trail of murder by the thousands of Chinese civilians and anybody suspected of being a Chinese soldier, they took this to psychotic levels in Nanking. The details of the seven weeks of torture, mass killings and rapes are so putrid it is not advisable to discuss them here. While the Holocaust of Jews in Germany outnumbered the dead in Nanking, where most estimates hover around 350,000 deaths, most of them civilians - women, men, children, infants - it didn't matter to the Japanese, what made the Rape of Nanking stand out was the speed in which the atrocities occurred, in just over a one month period before a full military occupation took hold and residents were allowed to return home but forced to obey the Japanese unless they wanted to be killed for even the slightest implication of an insult or unwillingness to do what they were told. Chang argues that while the U.S. especially demanded rightfully so severe reparations from Nazi Germany, and dutifully executed most of the high ranking officials and many many underlings, with Mao Tse Tung's takeover of China in 1946 and Chiang Kai-Shek's exile to Taiwan which meant communism China style, the U.S., while trying and executing some Japanese officials, including some for the equally brutal Bataan march, they feared communism and pumped billions into the Japanese economy and ignored for the most part the horrifying deeds their Army committed so America could have an "ally" near Russia and China. Thus, Japan skated, and systematically excluded the rape of Nanking, Bataan and other atrocities from schools and universities. Those who did dare to demand Japan admit responsibility, many Japanese scholars and journalists, were faced with death threats, protests, and vile denials in the right wing media. Her efforts were not in vain, as the book was a best seller and Japanese officials even as late as 1998 were forced to come clean after a fashion and at least one offered a formal apology to the citizens of Nanking and China. Tragically, because she suffered from bi polar disorder, and a severe case of it, coupled with the stress of promoting her book, making speeches all over and sadly becoming more paranoid as the disease progressed, Iris Chang suffered a nervous breakdown and committed suicide in 2004. While she was not a direct victim of the Rape, her parents and grandparents told her many stories of what happened, and combined with the very thorough research she compiled, it is quite possible the very horror of the event could have contributed to her mental illness. She would not be alone, as thousands of victims who did live suffered severe health problems after being maimed, burned and otherwise tortured. One woman who worked at a university in Nanking during this holocaust was so effected by the brutality, gore and misery that she too succumbed to her own suicide. We can't fairly hold the Japanese collectively responsible as most are long gone. But to shove this terror under the proverbial rug only allows a population or armed forces of any nation the potential given the effectiveness of the nationwide propaganda and sense of nationalism to be just as bad. Witness Kosovo - the U.S. was involved as much to cover up Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky as any sense of duty, and the ethnic cleansing that took place was an equal horror. Tanzania, Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot, attacking Iraq for 9-11 when it was totally innocent - hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis died for war profiteering and a not so subtle Islamic genocide because George W. Bush wanted it. We are no better than any other nation when it comes to the ability and willingness to use propaganda, controlled media and lies to commit terrible crimes for money and power. Chang valiantly tried to warn all of us that as the saying goes, those who ignore and obfuscate or destroy history are condemned to repeat it, and we do so over and over and over. This book is must reading, along with "Tears in the Darkness", a great book about the Bataan march of 1942, to remind all of us that as a species, we do not have to act like the tyrants leaders worldwide demand us to do.

This book by Ms. Chang is an excellent recounting of the atrocities which occurred in WW2 China. As for those vicious comments here refuting the book, I don't know what to say. What would one say to someone who was to deny the European Holocaust? In the face of irrefutable evidence, not even just this book, but the available documents regarding this incident, how can these events be denied? Why is this historical event denied with such a vitriolic hysteria? If it were not true, could it not be disproved objectively, and not with the "lies lies lies" that are listed here? It can't, the books which "refute" Nanking are pure fabrications themeselves; the very paradigm of modern Japanese selective amnesia. The fact that the Japanese to this day whitewash their shameful actions during WW2 only adds humiliation to those who suffered through this nightmarish event. And Nanking was not the only place which was "raped" in China during this time. Let us pretend Nanking did not even occur. What of it? It was NOT the only city in China, nay, in all of Asia which was "raped" by Japan. Even if this book, which it IS NOT, was pure fabrication, it still does not excuse the actions of Japan on its neighbors. The argument that Japan was doing its Asian neighbors a favor, or was asked in by them to get rid of the Western occupying colonsits is exceedingly silly. There has not been a nation on the face of this planet in all of history which has willingly asked an enemy nation to occupy their territory. To those who would berate this book, or this tragedy, based on completely unrelated contemporary Chinese actions, such as Tibet, then shame on you. A tragedy is a tragedy; if you think that Nanking is somehow justified for any other reason, I ask you how you can look at yourselves without disgust. Ms. Chang has written a very objective book on the subject matter. Chang is not a historian, she is a journalist, and as such, does NOT write her book like a history book, as some people seem to expect. Also, her book is balanced, and she is VERY careful not to blame all the Japanese people for the horrible event; and she is correct in doing this. The fact that some Japanese would get mad at this book only shows how they have been brainwashed into the view that their country was a victim; it was not. It is objective, and picking at any MINOR faults it may have is truly pathetic. As said earlier, a rape in August is still a rape in September. Mutilated, raped, pregnant women in "site A" is still a tragedy in "site B." A question was raised, "how long must the Japanese people be sorry for this event?" Well, read this book, and look at the whitewashing the Japanese have done on their wartime crimes, look at the ignorance of the world to this topic, and I think you can confidently say that there has been not one once of regret concerning this event. I applaud Ms. Chang for having the courage to write about such a previously unknown event, an event which has gotten many killed in Japan for asking too many questions about...For those who suggest you read revisionist books by ultra-nationalistic Japanese, I say that would be as objective as reading "Mein Kampf" for information on WW2. You decide...

This is a well researched and beautifully written book about "The forgotten holocaust" (Nanking Massacre). The massacre of Nanking is one of the forgotten chapters of the 2nd world war. Reading this book is a gut wrenching experience. It is full of anecdotes of atrocities committed against helpless Chinese men and women. The book describes the mass murder and rape of Chinese citizens in the hands of marauding Japanese army during the occupation of Nanking in 1937. Though the estimates vary, the general consensus is that, between 300,000 to 400,000 Chinese were mercilessly murdered by the invading Japanese army. An estimated 20,000 to 80,000 Chinese women were raped, mutilated and murdered. They did not spare even babies. Many a men were burnt alive. German Shepherd dogs were let loose on men, who were buried up to their waist. The dogs ripped apart these helpless men. During the 6 weeks of this horror, many foreigners stationed in Nanking risked their own life and heroically faced the Japanese soldiers. They tried saving as many Chinese citizens as possible. Notable among them were Rabe (A Nazi German), Wilson (an American physicist) and Vautrin (an American missionary). Stories of these brave foreigners who stood for the helpless Chinese, restores your faith in humanity.

Got it for my niece. She liked it.

A warning should be given to any prospective reader of this book. I would strongly suggest that you do not read this book if you are easily upset by graphic descriptions and images of rape and murder. I have read a lot of graphic books about the Jewish Holocaust, but the `Rape of Nanking' is one of the most disturbing books I have ever read. That being said, this book is a massively important testimony for the lives of hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians who were brutally raped, tortured and murdered by the sadistic Japanese invaders during the Sino-Japanese Conflict which eventually formed part of the Second World War. This book is essential reading, I knew nothing at all about this massacre before reading this book. I had read books written about the survivors of Japanese prisoner of war camps and was aware that torture and barbarism was part of the captor's psyche and management; but I was totally unprepared for the level of violence and depravity the Japanese subjected their conquered Chinese citizens to. The book principally describes the six week period in which the Japanese invaders subjected their captives to some of the worst violence recorded in modern warfare. The author also describes the `International Safe Zone' which was created by a small band of Westerners including the famous John Rabe (a complete paradox as he was a `kind-hearted' Nazi); in order to attempt to provide a comparatively safe haven for the refugees of the conflict. The book ends by describing the punishments received by some of the perpetrators before looking at how the Japanese as a country still refuses to officially recognise the `Rape of Nanking' and has done nothing to alleviate the suffering of the survivors of this terrible event. This book is truly heart rendering and it will certainly upset the reader at various points. It did with me, I just couldn't get my head around the lack of humanity that the invaders showed to their captives. I would recommend that as many people as possible who are able to read this book do so. This is certainly a forgotten Holocaust and what with the Japanese government continuing to deny this crime, combined with the passage of time; the world needs to know what happened in Nanking in order to prevent it being forgotten from memory and most importantly as a warning to future generations of what human beings are capable of doing to each other. So in conclusion: harrowing, graphic, upsetting, but vital reading.

Arrivato in anticipo e immediatamente aggredito dalla lettura. Libro eccellente per capire le responsabilità di tutti in quell'ennesimo orrendo episodio di violenza perpetrata da militari in guerra. Andrebbe letto tenendo conto di quanto riferito in "Shooting up", altro interessantissimo libro per confermare le responsabilità delle "linee di comando" delle alte gerarchie militari di tutti i paesi del mondo. L'unico appunto riguarda il libro in sé che mostra segni inequivocabili di uso, nonostante sia venduto come nuovo. (i segni d'usura riguardano l'uso di evidenziatore giallo su diverse pagine del libro: 1 a pag.64, 2 a pag.131, 1 a pag.133... per ora...)

Ein sehr interessantes Buch über die Geschichte Japans. Es wird viele Details über die Verbrechen genannt. Ich habe das Buch für mein Fachreferat benutzt und bin damit absolut zufrieden.