The Rape Of Nanking
explanatory Essay
1854 words
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II
The book that I chose to read was The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II by Iris Chang. This book describes the mass murder and large scale depravity by the Japanese army during World War II in China. The Rape of Nanking describes the events that occurred before, during and after the invasion and desecration of the Chinese people and their city.
Iris Chang was born in Princeton, New Jersey on March 28, 1968. The Chang family then moved to Champagne-Urbana, Illinois due to her mother and father accepting professor positions at the University of Illinois(Becker). This was the university where Iris first studied computer science and then journalism. She then obtained a master's degree in writing from The Johns Hopkins University and became a full time writer(Jiang).
At the age of twenty-five, Iris wrote her first book while still at Johns Hopkins entitled, The Thread of the Silkworm. This book conveys the life and career of Tsien Hsue-Shen and his contributions to the modern space age and nuclear missiles. Inspired by the stories that were told to her by her parents and grandparents of the atrocities of the Chinese holocaust, Iris Chang went to the university library to find out more information but was unable to find anything, leaving her to wonder if the stories were true(Jiang).
Iris married her husband Brett Douglas in Illinois. They then moved to the South Bay area in California. In December 1994, while in Cupertino, California, Iris happened upon an event marking the fifty-seventh anniversary of the Nanking Massacre. Black and white photos showing the gruesome reality of the carnage in Nanking decades ago were on exhibit. These photos immediately set Iris on a long path of searching for the truth(Jiang 5). Iris spent the next two years meticulously tracking down any and all information relating to the incident which included a trip to Nanking. In 1997, Iris Chang released The Rape of Nanking which quickly became a success and remained a New York Times bestseller for many months.
The following summary is the product of what Iris's research produced; The population in Nanking 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 their campaign until the U.
In this essay, the author
- Describes the mass murder and large scale depravity by the japanese army during world war ii in china.
- Explains that iris chang was born in princeton, new jersey, and moved to champagne-urbana, illinois due to her mother and father accepting professor positions at the university of illinois.
- Describes how iris chang wrote her first book while still at johns hopkins, the thread of the silkworm, which conveys the life and career of tsien hsue-shen and his contributions to the modern space age and nuclear missiles.
- Narrates how iris married brett douglas in illinois and moved to the south bay area in california. the nanking massacre was commemorated in 1994.
- Explains that the population in nanking in the 1930s was well over one million because many refugees were fleeing from the japanese army that had invaded china in 1931.
- Describes how the japanese committed un-human and terribly violent acts against innocent civilians, chinese soldiers, and refugees. mass executions were mostly done by machine guns.
- Explains how the japanese killed the chinese populace with a jocular demeanor, using bayonets and guns, and mutilating them by the hundreds.
- Describes how mass executions were performed outside the city walls. prisoners were gathered up by the japanese, some lured by a promise of salvation if they gave up quietly, then led out and shot or decapitated.
- Explains that the name "the rape of nanking" is appropriate due to all the rapes that occurred in six weeks.
- Explains that many of the chinese considered the victims lucky if the japanese killed them after they were raped.
- Explains that the japanese government knew what was happening in nanking due to the protests that were made by the japan embassy, yet they did nothing to stop it.
- Opines that they were captivated and appalled by this book. they were aware of the invasion of china by japan during world war ii, yet they had not the slightest inkling of their horrors.
- Opines that their favorite part of the book referred to the heroic actions of certain individuals. they particularly enjoyed the section concerning a nazi party representative by the name of john rabe.
- Analyzes how john rabe attempted to negotiate with the japanese officials to protect non-combatants. he tried to contact the upper echelon of the nazi regime to aid him in his attempts to deviate from their barbarous treatment
- Explains that the international safety zone was established despite opposition from the japanese and the un-involvement of the nazi government. john rabe's selfless actions and compassion earned him titles such as "the oskar schindler of china"
- Opines that they enjoyed reading the rape of nanking, though they did not enjoy the subjects of genocide, rape or oppression. the only downside of the book is that it has a biased opinion on history.
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- The Rape of Nankinganalytical essayWhen most American people think of Germany, they think of sports cars made for the autobahn, sauerkraut, Adolf Hitler, and the Holocaust. Compared to Germany, when most American people think of Japan they think of sushi, Godzilla movies, Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. World War II was such a significant event in history that almost 70 years after it came to an end, today’s younger generations often associate former Axis controlled countries with the war. People around the world are filled with disgust and immense hate when they hear the name Hitler, mainly because of his leadership under the Holocaust; which was the discriminatory mass genocide of 11-17 million people, the vast majority of which were European Jews. Hirohito, former Emperor of Japan, should strike a similar bell with people when they hear his name because Japan carried out genocide on Chinese civilians and soldiers in World War II. Japan’s attack on the Chinese city of Nanking, was one of the most atrocious events in history. This event has been named both the Nanking Massacre and the Rape of Nanking. The torturous, violent techniques used by the Japanese army upon Chinese civilians and soldiers including dehumanizing them, addicting them to drugs, and other perverse and violent acts, are some of the most grosteque methods ever recorded that could only be thought of by sadistic Japanese soldiers. The events committed by the Japanese army in Nanking, are equally as disgusting as the acts that Nazi Germany committed and should become a major topic involved with World War II in the future, despite the lack of light shed on it in the past for various reasons.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that japan should become a major topic involved with world war ii in the future despite the lack of light shed on it.
- Opines that americans feel sympathy for the japanese people, although they bombed the u.s. naval port of pearl harbor, that our atomic bombings of japan, hiroshima and nagasaki, were a much greater crime
- Recounts how the japanese army invaded and captured the chinese city of shanghai in 1937. they feared the superior japanese would take over nanking and relocated their troops to avoid a hopeless effort.
- Analyzes how the japanese soldiers took joy from the murdering of the chinese. they had mandatory bayonet practices on chinese civilians and soldiers.
- Analyzes the sadistic acts that took place in military barracks, which reflect ordinance and how a military is to properly operate, such as forcing chinese families to commit incest.
- Analyzes how john rabe and other foreigners created a sanctuary for all the chinese people in nanking. the two-faced japanese soldiers performed their acts in the safety zone.
- Analyzes how the japanese abused the chinese by lighting the building on fire from the base, trapping the civilians inside, and taking pictures to avoid the flames.
- Analyzes how the nuremberg trials gave the chinese civilians hope when the axis forces surrendered.
- Describes the diaries of john rabe and erwin wickert's the good man of nanking.
- Cites sheridan, michael, chang, iris, the rape of nanking: the forgotten holocaust of world war ii.
2406 wordsRead More - Rape Of Nanking Essayanalytical essayWhile years pass by and the times change, history, nevertheless unimportant, is continually being made. The more important events are recovered and documented, and artifacts from the time span are conserved. These kinds of incidents, deserving of occupying space in textbooks and in valuable time throughout history courses around the globe, are reviewed time and time again, with the purpose that these kinds of occurrences should never be ignored as well as decades to come, may have a window into the past. However, it appears as though a few incidents are outlined and glorified, forcing some others under the rug, to be long forgotten, while the periods of time change. The Rape of Nanking is certainly one such type of situation. Even though discussed in books and courses, the Rape of Nanking is briefly reviewed as well as ignored, making those curious, with an imperfect understanding on the forgotten Holocaust of World War I. Iris Chang’s raid into China in December of 1937, reveals a ruthless massacre which years afterwards has developed high essential questions not just concerning imperial Japanese militarism but yet the psychology of killers, torturers, and rapists.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the rape of nanking and iris chang's raid into china in 1937 reveals a ruthless massacre.
- Analyzes how the japanese military invaded nanking in 1937, raping and killing helpless civilians and bombing hiroshima and nagasaki. john rabe, the nazi, helped to save these individuals and uncover the real and true horrors.
- Analyzes how the rape of nanking is an illustrative and remarkably well written book of a time period in japan, which is definitely regarded with disgrace and contempt.
- Analyzes how iris chang's perspective is that the japanese government took to conceal the event along with the reluctance of the survivors to speak about it is equally important to the massacre.
- Argues that japanese education on the topic has long been censored. the rape of nanking implies that the main point keeping people back is fear of retaliation from people who really don't believe it took place.
- Analyzes how iris chang's the rape of nanking is not for the weak of heart. it depicts the terror that these individuals were made to deal with, day in and day out.
- Concludes that the rape of nanking was a terrifying event, designed to disappear with time. iris chang reveals the incidents and the reasons behind the concealing.
958 wordsRead More - World War II and Evilanalytical essayChang, Iris. The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II. New York, New York:
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how adolf hitler's vision of war and genocide was chosen as an example of individual evil. the japanese invasion and subsequent rape of the then chinese capital city of nanking (nanjing) in december 1937, was an institutional example.
- Opines that chang, iris, the rape of nanking: the forgotten holocaust of world war ii.
- Describes joachimsthaler, anton, and the last days of hitler, the legends, evidence, the truth.
- Explains that adolf hitler was born on april 20, 1889, in the small austrian village of braunau am inn, just across the border of german bavaria.
- Analyzes the horror of the japanese sacking of nanking during world war ii.
1939 wordsRead More - Massacre Of Nanking Essayopinionated essayHave you ever wondered what it would be like to have a Japanese soldier barge into your house, rape your mother and sister, and then kill your father, all while you’re being forced to watch? Hopefully not, but unfortunately at one point in our history, that has happened to hundreds of thousands of people of Nanking, China. This Rape of Nanking or Massacre of Nanking can sometimes be referred to as the “forgotten Holocaust of WWII” seeing as it took place close to the start of the Second World War and is not nearly talked about as much as the German Holocaust with the Jews. It all happened in December of 1937, when Nanking fell to the Japanese.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the rape of nanking, or massacre, can be referred to as the "forgotten holocaust of wwii" since it took place close to the start of the second world war.
- Opines that the united states could possibly be blamed for japan's aggression. japan did not advance during the industrial revolution due to its isolation.
- Explains how the japanese threw themselves into the modern age, scientifically, economically, and militarily. they studied the defense cultures of the united states and europe, favoring germany's.
- Narrates how japan began a war on china in the 1930s by blowing up the japanese-owned railway in manchuria, killing the chinese guards, and bombing the city.
- Explains how the japanese marched towards nanking, killing the people of the city, and abducting thousands of women for sexual slavery. they were outnumbered, but were able to get the chinese soldiers to retreat.
- Explains how the japanese systematically killed city dwellers, the elderly, and the chinese in the suburbs and countryside during the first few days of their invasion.
- Narrates how chu-yeh chang lived to tell his experience of the rape of nanking — he lived with his sisters, brothers, 80-year-old great-grandmother, and his parents when the japanese invaded.
- Analyzes how the japanese killed the chinese, raped the women, and decapitated many people. iris chang's the rape of nanking taught them that men were killed at one time or used for bayonet practice.
- Opines that the rape of nanking is important because it reminds us of what some people have gone through.
1969 wordsRead More - genocide research projectopinionated essayWhen 1937 arrived, Japanese soldiers raided China’s capital of Nanking and began to mass murder citizens. A sole leader of the Japanese Imperial Army was non-existent. There were many of people in power such as generals who allowed these behaviors to occur. Baron Koki Hirota, Foreign minister at the time, proceeded to do nothing while being well aware of the Japanese’s persecution of the Chinese. These unsympathetic murders of those who were thought to be Chinese soldiers as well as woman, children and elderly. This massacre lasted between the 1937 and 1938. Within this time 300,000 Chinese citizens were viciously killed. This genocide is called Rape of Nanking because of raping the woman before killing them. Most likely this group was selected because the second world war happened in Asia. This was significant because a country was able to kill half the population of another. I believe the reason of this Genocide was for Japan to take advantage of China while expand Japan. Most likely the Japanese wished to exterminate China’s entire population.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the genocide is called rape of nanking because of raping the woman before killing them.
- Opines that japanese dehumanization acts caused many victims to be bayoneted and some of the wounds were barbarously cruel. they used "killing competitions" to boost morale.
- Opines that the japanese soldiers polarized the chinese soldiers because of intimidation and silencing.
- Explains how the japanese imperial army attempted to exterminate the chinese people who lived in nanking.
- Analyzes how the japanese government had a tight control over the news media during and immediately after the sino-japanese war.
- Explains that stand is a movement led by students who are trying to bring the end to atrocities.
604 wordsRead More - Iris Chang: The History of a Historiananalytical essayTo begin, it is interesting to note that the author, Kamen, wrote the biography in a style most similar to first-person mystery novels. The premise for writing the book lies in the fact that Iris Chang was well-known historian and author, but details of her personal life, which could potentially have given clues on the motives of her suicide, were largely unknown. In essence, Kamen saw the biography as a means to “investigate beyond the public contours of this public figure, to find color, depth, and maybe even shadow [to Iris’s life]."
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the first half of finding iris chang consists of friends' recollection of the weeks before she committed suicide. there is very little mentioned about chinese americans as a group.
- Analyzes how kamen individualizes the biography, documenting iris's personal life, rather than as a chinese american.
- Analyzes how paula kamen's biography, finding iris chang: friendship, ambition, and the loss of an extraordinary mind, was an effort to quell misconceptions.
- Analyzes how kamen does not bring these statistics and stereotypes to light as they relate to chinese americans, but she does focus on iris chang's character traits and professional decisions in the context of issues that women face.
- Concludes that finding iris chang is an excellent resource to discover answers to the personal aspects concerning a particular deceased chinese american woman, but it is not an individual case study on issues surrounding that particular individual.
1458 wordsRead More - World War IIopinionated essayThe World War II unit that we have been studying over the course of the past several weeks has been home to some of the most amazing stories, facts and events of history that I have heard of. Throughout the length of this unit I learned about the tragedy, the chaos, and the hell of the second World War. Of the several stories of the events of this war, a few of them have attracted my attention significantly. The Story of Gerda Weissmann, The Horrors of Nazi Concentration Camps, and The Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are among the few things that I learned which have affected my perspective of the war as whole. These stories demonstrate the atrocities of the war and how they continue(d) to affect people worldwide in the days, weeks, months, and years following them.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the world war ii unit has been home to some of the most amazing stories, facts, and events of history that they have heard of. the story of gerda weissmann, the horrors of nazi concentration camps,
- Analyzes how gerda weissmann's story tells the story of the ghetto, deportation, slave-labor camps, and death march from the perspective of one who had lived through and survived them.
- Opines that the nazi concentration camps were horrendous and inhumane acts against humanity in the 20th century.
- Opines that the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki demonstrated the drastic measures that our country would take to end a war with as little casualties as possible.
697 wordsRead More - Similarities Between Jung Chang And Richard Kimanalytical essayJung Chang and Richard Kim’s accounts are representative of their time and detail the problems that the children who lived in those periods experienced as caused by the oppressive rulers. From the similarities described above, it is clear that the harsh rules in those years had a significant impact on the children mostly due to the experiences that their parents went through. The accounts are accurate as qualify to be used as historical documents. The reason why they are accurate is that they mention specific dates and years when some events took place. For instance, the author states that in July 1937, the Japanese started their invasion on China (Chang 106).
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how jung chang and richard kim's accounts are representative of their time and detail the problems that the children who lived in those periods experienced as caused by the oppressive rulers.
- Analyzes the similarity of the chang and kim's accounts of coming of age in times of political, cultural and social crisis.
235 wordsRead More - A Century of Spies: Intelligence in the Twentieth Century and The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War IIanalytical essayThe two books that I chose to read for this assignment were A Century of Spies: Intelligence in the Twentieth Century and The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II. Both books are consistent with themes two and three. I was lucky enough to have chosen two books that have similarities with their time period, World War II. The book, A Century of Spies: Intelligence in the Twentieth Century written by Jeffery T. Richelson, focuses more on the governmental standpoint of the war specifically, spies that were sent out during the war and what their roles were. While the The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II written by Iris Chang, focuses more on the governmental power to torture people and how they did in war. Both of these books successfully portray the two world history themes one and three, together they help the understanding of the power of governmental rule in World War II and help to reveal secrets of the certain governmental strategies during the war.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that they chose to read a century of spies: intelligence in the twentieth century and the rape of nanking: the forgotten holocaust of world war ii.
- Analyzes how a century of spies: intelligence in the twentieth century teaches the tactics of government spies during wwii.
- Analyzes how the first chapter introduces the beginnings of the war and describes how espionage efforts grew dramatically. the next chapter, "the wrecking crews", describes the effect of spies coming into countries on the government.
- Explains that chapter ten, 'aerial spies', discusses the outbreak of war removing any peacetime inhibitions regarding aerial reconnaissance, and chapter two,''black magic'.
- Analyzes how the second book the rape of nanking: the forgotten holocaust of world war ii is about an importatant historical event.
- Describes the themes of "six weeks of terror" and "the fall of nanking".
- Analyzes how "six weeks of horror" describes the events in which people were either killed or raped, and the military controls the ways of governing and torturing in nanking.
987 wordsRead More - The Chinese Invasion and the Rape of Tibetanalytical essayThe Chinese Invasion and the Rape of Tibet “All I want is for my people to be happy and free from suffering”. This is what the Dali Lama has stated to be his only wishes for the people of Tibet, what should be referred to as their basic human right. Over one million Tibetans have died since 1959; the deaths are a direct result of the Chinese occupation, either through harsh prison conditions, summary executions or starvation.[1] In the years since the Chinese government has taken over Tibet, Tibetans still in the country and those living in exile in Darsalma, India, have depended on the assistance of others for basic needs such as health care and education.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the dali lama's wishes are for the tibetan people to be happy and free from suffering. over one million tibetans have died since 1959 due to the chinese occupation.
- Argues that international governments should pressure china for the end of their oppression and cultural genocide.
- Explains that education, the right to practice their culture, and health care are essential for tibetans to receive the happiness which the dali lama wants for them.
- Argues that the chinese government's claims of cultural genocide are based on westerners' claims.
- Analyzes how buddhism in tibet is slowly losing its pivotal role in tibetan culture. the dali lama himself has stated that there is an attempt to destroy the integral core of tibetan civilization and identity.
- Opines that little is being done by international governments to help save the tibetan culture. they are more likely to be helping with the chinese modernization plan where financial assistance is given for infrastructure and factories.
- Analyzes how each country has made a different attempt to "help" tibet.
- Explains that canada recognized the people's republic of china and initiated a program to bring several hundred tibetan refugees from the settlement camps of india to new homes in canada.
- Opines that the willingness of aid donor states to contribute to china's development of tibet coincides with china’s strategy of development as the long-term answer to tibetan nationalism.
- Explains that the chinese government is forcing an education on the people of tibet. the gyalten schools offer free education to male and female students age 8 to 17.
- Opines that tibetans are dealing with extraordinarily high rates of maternal mortality, infant mortality and juvenile mortality.
- Explains that non-governmental organizations are responsible for much of the money and man hours that go into supporting tibet's main social issues.
- Argues that the chinese government is not concerned with tibetans rather with the economic gain they can make by controlling tibet.
- Describes chinese education and society's "the light of hope on the roof of the world: a brief account of 30 years of tibetan education."
- Describes chinese education and society 30.4 jul/aug 1997's "the light of hope on the roof of the world: a brief account of 30 years of tibetan education."
- Describes fung, chew juai's views on tibetan culture and religion.
- Analyzes solomons, noel w., laffitte, gabriel, and solomon's work on malnutrition and excess mortality in shangri-la.
- Cites lafitte, gabriel, wandi, jiang, and agence france-presse.
- Cites wandi, jiang, "a better life for rural tibetans assured." beijing review, 41.30 27 jul. 1998.
5040 wordsRead More