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

Abstract: Documents Japanese atrocities in World War II that caused even the Nazi's to object. Featured on KFYI.

Keywords: book review, history, Japanese atrocities, world war II, Nanking massacre, Nan-ching shih China 1937.

Title: The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II Author: Iris Chang Publisher: Basic Books Date Published: November 1997 ISBN: 0465068359 LOCN: DS796.N2C44 1997 Dewey: 951.04/2 21 Pages: 290 Footnotes: 583 Figures: 2 Photos: 44

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REVIEW by Orville R. Weyrich, Jr.

The author Iris Chang, an American-born of Chinese descent, sometimes departs from the stance of an objective reporter, using emotion-laden adjectives to describe the horror. I can't really blame her. My only real complaint is that she states that The broad details of the Rape are, except among the Japanese, not in dispute. She then proceeds with a narrative that lacks direct foot-noting of the source of her assertions, even though she does include a collection of end-notes organized by page number. Perhaps this is a due to a desire to create a narrative history that is accessible to a mass market, but it detracts somewhat from the first impression of historical credibility.

I am struck by the parallels between the "shame of the Jews" during the Holocaust that they allowed themselves to be herded like cattle into the death camps rather than fighting to the death, and the manner in which the soldiers defending Nanking surrendered hoping for mercy, only to be systematically murdered. While I have felt the ripples of this shame within the American Jewish community, mixed with vows of never again! I can only guess that similar sentiments must exist within the population of mainland China.

Some commentators on this book have noted that one of the "heros" of the resistance to the Japanese massacre at Nanking was a Nazi businessman named John Rabe, and have drawn the false conclusion that the book is an attempt to white-wash the sins of the German National Socialist Party. While John Rabe is portrayed in a very sympathetic light, and while he was a Nazi, he clearly did not represent the views of the German hierarchy, and indeed was rebuffed when he took his complaints back to Germany.

Some may question the need to dig up 60-year old bones and breath new life into old grudges. But I see several important aspects that must be found relevant today if we are to avoid history repeating itself:

• While the German people have to all outward appearances, repented from their crimes in World War II, and truly appear contrite and penitent, the Japanese people for the most part deny that the events ever took place, and go to great lengths to rewrite their own history books. This increases the possibility that their old cultural inclinations may show a resurgence and again threaten the world.
• By illustrating the obvious rewriting of history by the Japanese government educational establishment, the book serves as an example of why central control of the educational curriculum is dangerous to any free society. I can only pray that the people of the United States will not allow the National Education Association and the Federal Government to put their own vision of "politically correct" spin on our own history.
• The contrast between the aggressive prosecution of German war crimes and the weak prosecution of Japanese war crimes is evident. Ms. Chang suggests that the reasons are political -- whereas supporters of Israel found strong political advantage to pursuing these issues, Cold War considerations lead the United States to try to gloss over similar issues in Japan. It is certainly worrisome to consider the extent to which the conduct of the foreign affairs of the United States have been shaped by geopolitical and economic considerations rather than by a pursuit of a consistent path of moral integrity.
• The history of Japan and its relationship to the rest of Asia is not a pretty history, and it appears that there are many old grudges that have not fully been resolved. Perhaps the United States should be a bit more circumspect in its support of Japan against the interests of China. While it is true that mainland China is a Communist nation that can harbor nothing but ill for the United States, a policy of unabashed defense of Japan seems ill-advised, given the unresolved Japanese aggression against China, Korea, and the rest of Asia, and the generations-old mistrust and grudges.
• The brief history of Japan that the author presents in Chapter 1 is chilling in its description of Japanese psyche from 1852 through the start of World War II, and of their strategy of quietly absorbing Western technology in preparation for the confrontation which ensued. A similar pattern seems to be playing itself out in Communist China today.

In summary, I highly recommend The Rape of Nanking to all voters and their elected representatives, who must shape the future direction of foreign policy for the Constitutional Republic known as the United States of America.

CONTENTS

Foreword by William C. Kirby

Introduction

Part I

Chapter 1: The Path to Nanking

Chapter 2: Six Weeks of Terror

Chapter 3: The Fall of Nanking

Chapter 4: Six Weeks of Horror

Chapter 5: The Nanking Safety Zone

Part II

Chapter 6: What the World Knew

Chapter 7: The Occupation of Nanking

Chapter 8: Judgment Day

Chapter 9: The Fate of the Survivors

Part III

Chapter 10: The Forgotten Holocaust: A Second Rape

Epilogue

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS DATA

Author:        Chang, Iris.
Title:         The rape of Nanking : the forgotten holocaust of
                  World War II / Iris Chang.
Edition:       1st ed.
Published:     New York, NY : BasicBooks, c1997.
Description:   xi, 290 p. : ill., map ; 25 cm.
LC Call No.:   DS796.N2C44 1997
Dewey No.:     951.04/2 21
ISBN:          0465068359
Notes:         Includes bibliographical references (p. 231-283)
                  and index.
Subjects:      Nanking Massacre, Nan-ching shih, China, 1937.
               Nan-ching shih (China) -- History.
Control No.:   97024137 

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