Content When the subject of atrocities of World War 2 is brought up, many individuals tend to automatically assume that the abominations to be discussed include Hitler’s mass extermination of Jews, the horrid bombing of Pearl Harbour, and the repugnant atomic blasts that occurred in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is infrequent that someone brings up the topic of the Nanking Massacre, one of the worst known massacres to have ever taken place. With an estimated death toll between 260,000 to 350,000, author Iris Chang believes that the victims of the Nanking Massacre have perished in anguish and despair, with little or no recognition or sympathy displayed by the Western World today. Chang’s thesis is that not enough of the world population is knowledgeable …show more content…
The ultimate goal of Chang in producing this novel was not to blame the Japanese people, but rather to tell the story of the massacre so that the atrocities that occurred will be unable to disappear into history.
In order for Chang to further develop her thesis, explaining the massacre in gruesome detail was a necessity, as it would accentuate this unremembered piece of the past. The believed factors that fueled the Japanese soldiers to commit such monstrosities against the Chinese include the actions of resistance carried out by the Chinese army during Japan’s conquest to rule the entirety of Asia, the education system in Japan, and the unchecked Japanese government. After months of grueling, strenuous battle between the Japanese and the Chinese for complete control over Shanghai, the Japanese claimed victory of the city on November of 1937. Now advancing rapidly towards the
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After the Japanese surrendered, the Rape of Nanking was dismissed from textbooks and educational systems globally, hence why there is such a miniscule amount of details on the topic today. Several reasons behind this mysterious disappearance include Japanese propaganda, the refusal of Japan to admit to the monstrosities committed in Nanking, and the threats of Japanese violence. To make matters worse, those who were truly responsible for the crimes of the massacre were never brought to trial. Emperor Hirohito of Japan, as well as his family, were granted immunity in exchange for the condition of surrendering. Chang believes that not only should the Japanese government admit to allowing the genocide of the Chinese population, but they should undergo penalties as a result of their actions as
World War II left the world with the worst horrors in history. These horrors include the Holocaust, in which millions of innocent Jews and civilians were used for labor and killed, and the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In addition, the more unknown horror of World War II is the way the POWs of the Japanese were treated during war, which violated war laws. POWs, prisoners of war, of the Japanese were starved, forced into labor for the military, tortured, humiliated, received little to no medical treatment and worst of all killed; Louie S. Zamperini experienced this horror. Laura Hillenbrand’s nonfiction novel Unbroken tells the story of Louie Zamperini’s life before, during, and after the war.
Jett S. Backer Mrs. Vermillion Honors English 10 20 March 2023 Analyzing the Government Conflict in When the Emperor was Divine People all around the world have been wrongly oppressed for things that they didn’t do. When the people that get wrongly oppressed they usually get angry at the people that oppressed them or traumatized. In Julie Otsuka’s When the Emperor was Divine, the characters, which are Japanese-Americans, are oppressed and have to deal with people that don’t like them because of their race and have to deal with the effects of that because the attack on pearl harbor really made the government worried about Japanese spies.
Christopher Browning documents everyday experiences and tribulations of Germany men, who were involved in the tragic events of the Holocaust. Browning tries illustrate the reasoning of all the massacres caused by the Reserve Police Battalion 101, so that people could get a clear understanding of what really was going on with these men, physically and mentally. Looking past all the opposing claims of German men, Browning explains how these men were just regular “middle aged family men” who were taking basic orders from higher authorities (1). Throughout the book Ordinary Men, Christopher Browning explains his reasoning of calling these murders ordinary men, the reasoning behind all the massacres, and how these men later on became killers.
World War II has no shortage of examples demonstrating man’s inhumanity to man: the atomic bombs, the Holocaust, the fire bombings, and the war itself all evidence the horrors that humans can visit upon other humans. Night, by Elie Wiesel, establishes certain examples of cruelty, like tossing infants into fire and using babies as target practice. Fire is the common theme in these examples, as much of the death resulting from the war and genocide is attributable to fire. Thus, inhumanity and fire are linked by the human capacity for violence. When the people of Sighat learn of the horrors Moishe the Beadle witnessed, they didn’t believe it; they couldn’t even imagine one human doing the things he described to another human being.
Fung also points out, “We were Chinese, so they treated us like animals. They beat us, starved us, and worked us to death. They didn’t care if we lived or died”(Yung 89). Fung shows the harsh treatment that the Chinese prisoners were put under because of their race and because the Japanese prisoners targeted them specifically because they were Chinese. They were treated so brutally that he says it did not matter if they lived or died because they were treated like slaves and animals.
When learning about and analyzing acts of mass atrocity during World War II, hundreds if not thousands of questions can be asked trying to gain a deeper understanding for their actions. Probably one of the most intriguing thoughts to ponder is what leads individuals and societies as a whole to descend to such a level of cruelty. According to the author of Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand, one reason may be, “Few societies treasured dignity, and feared humiliation, as did the Japanese, for whom a loss of honor could merit suicide. This is likely one of the reasons why Japanese soldiers in World War II debased their prisoners with such zeal, seeking to take from them that which was most painful and destructive to lose” (189). To elaborate, the Japanese
The Rape of Nanking, written by Iris Chang, is a documentary style book that offers inside previews to the horrifying atrocities that occurred in Nanking, the capital of the Republic of China, between December 1937 and February 1938. Chang’s writing style is straightforward and unfiltered, offering no barrier between the reader and the horrific events that are unveiled in the text. The book begins with a brief introduction of Chinese and Japanese cultural background, explaining the beliefs of the Chinese Confucianism and the Japanese Samurai; both of which greatly affect the reasons the war was so gruesome. It also opens the eyes of the reader as to why Chang would want to pursue such a gripping and controversial topic. One reason for this
Many people have heard of the Holocaust but have never thought about how it affected an individual who went through it. The Holocaust is the most well-known genocide, although there are many other instances of mass killings, including the Bosnian Genocide. Bosnian Serb forces, with the backing of the Serb-dominated Yugoslav army, targeted both Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) and Croatian civilians for wicked crimes resulting in the deaths of some 100,000 people (80 percent Bosniak) by 1995. It was the worst act of genocide since the Nazi regime’s destruction of 6 million European Jews during World War II. In the memoir, Night, Elie Wiesel reveals the negative impact the Holocaust had on his identity.
Evan Bautista Ms. Valdez English 10 27 March 2023 The Art of Genocide In the 20th century, an estimated 200 million people died due to genocide. Genocide is the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or group with the intention of destroying them. The novel Night written by Elie Wiesel follows him and his father’s journey during the Holocaust, moving from concentration camp to concentration camp.
War Without Mercy “Ultimately, it brought about a revolution in racial consciousness throughout the world that continues to the present day.” (Dower 4). During World War II, besides morbid deaths, racism was one of the ultimate factors which sparked this tragic period of time. With the use of propaganda such as cartoons, films, and several other media induced strategies, the extreme hatred between the Americans and Japanese was increasing.
The Rape of Nanking was a total massacre of the Chinese because at the time it was a glorified city that stood testament to China’s wealth and beauty. Within a
It was truly a horrendous crime with mass killings of Chinese men, women, and children. Not only was it the mass killing of countless Chinese citizens, but the raping of numerous chinese woman and young girls. During this period of imperialism the Japanese committed many atrocious acts without considering the possible consequences.
Walker does not just take the reader on a tour of the decision-making process of President Truman and shows what made him to order the use of Atomic bombs on Japan, but he also provide an exploration of the historical situation that prompted the decision. He also examines the viewpoint of the Japanese, not only regarding the impact of the bombings on their ultimate decision to surrender, but also how their Allies called for an unconditional surrender. This call could possibly have led to the Japanese Emperor, Hirohito, being tried on counts of war crimes, which may have possibly made the Japanese to be reluctant on surrendering even in light of a crushing defeat (Huczko). Samuel Walker also provides useful insights into contribution made by the decision to use Atomic weapons on Japanese decision to surrender.
The Japanese carried out the extermination by rape, burning people alive, torn apart by dogs, tortured by needles, decapitation, and stabbing by bayonet. (The Nanking Massacre.com) Denial is the final step of Genocide. The Japanese and several other people still deny that this event ever happened and that it was propaganda by the Chinese for support in their fight against the Japanese. They claim the were exaggerating and the death counts were not that high. Today in
Experts claim that the title of the most inhumane event in human history goes to the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night describes the horrors of the Holocaust from the very eyes of a young man who, in the present, has lost everything he once had to this unfathomable tragedy. Wiesel demonstrates how powerful evil can become if it remains undiscovered, by sharing his experiences in the hands of the wretched Nazi Germany. Wiesel’s account conveys this message clearly from the original threat, deportation, and through the eventual deaths of millions of inmates. This hidden threat originated with fanfare and without resistance when the Germans marched into town.