Facts

Nanking or Nanjing was once known for being the booming capital of China in 1928, it was home to over one million civilians in the mid 1930’s. This was all going to change on December 9, 1937 on this day the Japanese army began The Massacre of Nanking. “300,000 Chinese died, and 20,000 women were raped. Some estimate the numbers to be much higher - 340,000 and 80,000 respectively” (Viklund). One could not begin to imagine the atrocities that took place and what men are capable of doing to another human being. "How many thousands were mowed down by guns or bayoneted we shall probably never know. For in many cases oil was thrown over their bodies and then they were burned" (Hu). Men, women, and children's life's vanished into thin air, but for what reason? “After the Meiji Reformation Japan gradually came to be ruled by a semi-fedual and semi-military fascist group.They regarded their emperor as the incarnation of a god and vainly attempted to rule the whole world.When the world economic crisis started in 1929,Japan was also affected with surplus products,low prices and unemployment.As a way out,the Japanese fascist ruling class claimed to establish "New Orders in East Asia" and "the Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere",starting intrusion in other countries for raw materials and markets” (Nanjing 1937). The Japanese government wanted to get control of resources that they could not acquire in there own country, also the japanese were raised with a great animosity towards the chinese people. This is just skimming the surface of the Nanking Massacre much more twisted evil lies within.