Holocaust in Germany, Japan, and China

Holocaust in Germany, Japan, and China

Eleven million precious lives were lost during the Holocaust of World

War II. Six million of these were Polish citizens. Half of these Polish

citizens were non-Jews. On August 22, 1939, a few days before the

official start of World War II, Hitler authorized his commanders, with

these infamous words, to kill "without pity or mercy, all men, women,

and children of Polish descent or language. Only in this way can we

obtain the living space [lebensraum] we need".

Heinrich Himmler echoed Hitler's decree: "All Poles will disappear from

the world.... It is essential that the great German people should

consider it as its major task to destroy all Poles."

When someone mentions the word holocaust, most often people will

relate that word with the Germans and Jews during World War II. When

Japan is mentioned, the first things that come to mind are the atomic

bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Nanjing Massacre is known

as the forgotten holocaust and very oddly, it truly has been forgotten.

In this forgotten holocaust, three hundred thousand people were

brutally murdered and 20,000 women were raped in the city of Nanjing,

during the years of 1937-1938 (Yao).

The Chinese Nationalist Government moved the capital of China from

Peking to Nanjing in 1928. Nanking's population in the mid 1930s was

well over one million, mainly because many refugees were fleeing from

the Japanese army that had invaded China in 1931. Japan had entered

China and other parts of Asia before World War II began, and didn't

stop until the U. S. dropped the atomic bombs on Japanese soil in early

1945. It is said that the Japanese military machine was motivated by

the aggression and uncontrollable desire for expansion and imperialism.

On December 9, 1937, Chinese troops endered in the city of Nanjing,

followed by a massive Japanese attack on the city (Yao).

For the next six weeks, this capital was filled with brutal, unhuman,

and terribly violent acts now known as the Nanjing Massacre. The

Japanese committed venomous acts against innocent civilians, Chinese

soldiers, refugees, and many others. The crimes ranged from mass

execution to burning, raping, and looting. On December 13, many of the

refugees tried to flee for their lives by crossing the Yangtze River.

When they arrived at the river there was no type of transportation for

them to cross. The Japanese arrived and when many of them tried to swim

the river, the Japanese started to fire at the people in the river and

along the banks of the shore. When it was all over, one Japanese