Documents on the Rape of Nanking (Ann Arbor Paperbacks)

by Timothy Brook

The Japanese Army's invasion of China in 1937 was the first step toward a hemispheric war that would last until the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. What ended in one atrocity began with the savage military takeover of China's capital city, which quickly became known as the Rape of Nanking. The Japanese Army's conduct from December 1937 to February 1938 constitutes one of the most barbarous events not just of the war but of the century. The violence was documented at the time and then redocumented during the war crimes trial in Tokyo after the war. This book brings together materials from both moments to provide the first comprehensive dossier of primary sources on the Rape.Part 1, "The Records," includes two sources written as the Rape was underway. The first is a long set of documents produced by the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone, a group of foreigners who strove to protect the Chinese residents. The second is a series of letters that American surgeon Dr. Robert Wilson wrote for his family during the same period. These letters are published here for the first time.The evidence compiled by the International Committee and its members would be decisive for the indictments against Japanese leaders at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo. Part 2, "The Judgments," reprints portions of the tribunal's 1948 judgment dealing with the Rape of Nanking, its judicial consequences, and sections of the dissenting judgment of Justice Radhabinod Pal.These contemporary records and judgments create an intimate firsthand account of the Rape of Nanking. Together they are intended to stimulate deeper reflection than previously possible on how and why we assess and assign the burden of war guilt.Timothy Brook is Professor of Chinese History and Associate Director of the Joint Centre for Asia Pacific Studies, University of Toronto, and is coeditor of Nation Asian Elites and National Identities and Culture and The Shaping of Capitalism in Eastern Asia, both published by the University of Michigan Press.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, China, Japan, Gender Studies, Gender, War

Paperback

First published December 3, 1999

About the author

Timothy James Brook is a Canadian historian, sinologist, and writer specializing in the study of China (sinology). He holds the Republic of China Chair, Department of History, University of British Columbia.

His research interests include the social and cultural history of the Ming Dynasty in China; law and punishment in Imperial China; collaboration during Japan's wartime occupation of China, 1937–45 and war crimes trials in Asia; global history; and historiography.

Reviews

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great primary sources in this. It includes documents from the International Relief Committee headed by John Rabe, personal letters of Dr. Robert Wilson, a few photographs, the Far Eastern Tribunal results, and the "dissenting opinion" of Radhabinod Pal.

Definitely worth studying for anyone interested in modern Asian history and WWII.

[Pia Jormel *manosalaobra_apn*]

Rape is not a way of life and should never be. Wars and battles should be fought to avoid this mentality just like Lila and Aleksey fought against the rape culture that infests their futuristic world. Rape shouldn't have been a product of wars and battle. Yet, many of the victims of war rape died without getting their justice.

[James Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

imothy Brook, editor. 1999

The book contains various documents concerning the Rape of Nanking, including Documents of the Nanking Safety Zone from 1939. Another set is a series of letters from Dr. Robert Wilson, the only surgeon who remained in Nanking during the invasion. A postwar investigation by th Nanjing District Court put the number of dead during the incident as 295,525, 76% of them men, 22% women and 2% children.

There were 27 non-Chinese in the capital when it fell. The International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone was formed before the attack and had a German businessman as its head.

On December 13th (1937) the first Japanese soldiers entered the city. The businessman, John Rabe, wrote the Japanese attache asking to set up some kind of working relationship between the Japanese army and the International Committee. Apparently there was a lot of violence from December 15th to the 21st, and from January 28th until February 3rd which was six weeks after the city actually fell.

The first part of the documents is from the Nanking Safety Zone, and is reprinted from a 1939 work. The letters are from John Rabe to the Japanese attache, Fukuda. Tokuyasu. One of the things he addresses is the problem of Chinese soldiers who threw away their military clothing and tried to blend in as regular civilians and tried to stay in the Safety Zone that had been established by the committee. One of the documents was a translation of a communication from the Japanese commander. One of this statements was "Trust humanitarian attitude of Japanese Army to care for the disarmed Chinese soldiers" which was quite a statement considering what happened.

Things went badly quickly. In a document labeled from Dec. 16th, 1937, the secretary of the group , in "Cases of Disorder by Japanese Soldiers in the Safety Zone" noted six street sweepers killed, people robbed, women raped, more thefts, more rapes an still more rapes. He also notes many of their "police" had been taken away, presumably to be killed.

For those who say the Rape of Nanking/Nanjing never happened, it would be of value for them to read these documents since they site specific incident after specific incident, often with names, of thefts, rapes, and all being done by Japanese soldiers.

These accounts go on for page after page after page. Also included are letters from Dr. Robert Wilson and the "Judgment of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East."

The last includes more details about the murders, rapes, etc. and that such things were not limited to Nanking itself but occurred an area with a radius of over sixty miles from Nanking.

The book certainly does not make for pleasant reading, but as a historical document it is of great importance and interest. For anyone who wants extremely specific examples of what happened in Nanking, this is a book you will want to examine.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good source material.