The Nankin Massacre in China: Historically Forgotten

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Absolute historical fact is impossible to obtain. Although history tends to be thought of as based on facts, data and past happenings, history in its very nature subjects itself to human biases, personal interpretations, personal interests, national interests, and cultural values. The occurrence of the Raping of Nanking continues to be subjected to such interpretations. On December 12, 1937, an outbreak of mass murder and rape was committed by the Japanese troops against Nanking China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. This incident, which came to be known as the Nanking Massacre or the Rape of Nanking, lasted for six weeks during which the Imperial Japanese Army murdered tens of thousands of Chinese civilians and disarmed combatants. Since Japanese military records about the incident were deliberately destroyed or kept hidden, there is yet to be an accurate estimation of the death toll in the massacre. Typical death toll estimates range anywhere from 40,000 to 300,000. The incident continues to be a contentious and controversial political issue. Japanese nationalist and historical revisionists claim that the massacre has either been exaggerated or entirely fabricated for propaganda purposes. Due to the nationalists’ efforts to deny or justify the war crimes, the debate surrounding the massacre remains an obstacle in Sino-Japanese relations and Japanese interactions with other Asia-Pacific nations. Despite the Japanese government admitting to the acts of killing non-combatants, looting and other violence committed by the Imperial Japanese Army as well as veterans who served in Nanking at the time admitting to such acts, a vocal and passionate minority within both the Japanese government and society have argued that the death tol...

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...nd a variety of different viewpoints provided about the massacre. Everyone must understand the reality and horrors of the war crimes in order to reduce the possibility of this ever happening again. Yet instead of understanding and learning from the past crimes and mistakes of the Rape of Nanking, Japan hides, or even worse denies, the truth. By doing this, frictions and hostilities are created in Sino-Japanese relations. This influences the entire world’s perception of Japan. This also thwarts the younger generations in Japan from fully understanding their country’s contribution to World War II, which thus allows for the possibility of remaking similar colossal mistakes. History in general must be questioned, understood, and presented from differing perspectives. Truth must come from unbiased information; only then can the study of history be effective and reliable.

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