Summary: The Rape Of Nanking

Throughout the decades, wars have been fought for countless reasons, all ending with similar results. While war, for some, might unveil new territory, power, and resources, there are repercussions that the litter the battle field. These repercussions can take the shape of many horrific ideals such as a mass massacre of a population. During World War II, the most notable massacre was that of Hitler and the genocide of the Jewish population. While this massacre was consider one of the worst, the blood bath that filled the streets of Nanking was considered one of the worst in the history of the world. Jean-Paul Sartre, a French philosopher and politician, said, “When the rich wage war, its the poor who die.” This is the case for the population
Based on interviews with survivors, John Rabe’s journal entries, and Japanese soldiers’ journals, there was a plethora of information that, under the rule of Prince Asaka, the Japanese army mercilessly killed over 350,000 innocent Chinese civilians and soldiers. It has been said that the death count was “350,000—it is shocking to contemplate that the deaths at Nanking far exceeded the deaths from the American raids on Tokyo (an estimated 80,000-120,000 deaths) and even the combined death toll of the two atomic blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the end of 1945 (estimated at 140,000 and 70,000, respectively) (p. 6). Not only that, but there was an abundant accounts of rape of “an estimated 20,000-80,000 Chinese women were raped” (p.6) whom were later killed after being raped. Later, a small group of foreigners created a safe zone within Nanking for the Chinese citizens. These three individuals, a businessman by the name of John Rabe, a surgeon named Robert Wilson, and an academic named Wilhelmina Vautrin, helped create the safe zone for those inside the city. Ultimately because of their heroism, they were able to save the lives of over two hundred Chinese refugees. As the war drew to an end, Japan surrendered and because of this surrender, the Emperor of Japan, the one who called the attack of Nanking,
This, therefore, allowed for a more cohesive account which some can say is unbiased. When looking at this book, although the accounts range from the Japanese soldiers to the Chinese refugees, one can say that this account could be a tad biased towards the fact that it is highlighting all of the atrocities that took place during the Nanking invasion. This book allowed for readers to grasp the ideas behind each of the principles that lead to the raping of Nanking and what happened afterwards. The intriguing style of incorporating all three perspectives brought light to the mentality of each individual as it showed their motives behind their actions. Chang’s main purpose of exposing the horrific events that took place during the destruction of Nanking. By expressing the power that one instance had over someone’s life, Chang said “In a single blinding moment I recognized the fragility of not just life but the human experience itself” (p. 10). This showed how this experience has impacted her in more than just one way. Being that her grandparents barely made it out of this incident alive, allowed her to incorporate her passion so that events, such as this, do not happen