Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 14. november 2004 / Timeline November 14, 2004
Version 3.513. November 2004, 15. November 2004
11/14/2004
The Rape of Nanking
By: professor Ronald Hilton
The World Association of International Studies (WAIS)
http://wais.stanford.edu/
On November 14, 2004, a very bright and attractive woman who lived
near here in Sunnyvale, committed suicide at the age of 36. She was
Iris Chang, whose best known book, The Rape of Nanking: The
Forgotten Holocaust of World War II (Basic Books) shocked readers;
her suicide may be attributed to the fact that she was traumatized
by what she had discovered. There has been a conspiracy of silence
about the rape of Nanking. The Japanese have tried to suppress the
story. It receives only brief, indirect mention is history
textbooks, and a Japanese historian has been involved in a long and
as yet unsuccessful lawsuit to have this virtual ban removed. No
Japanese publisher would bring out a Japanese edition of Iris
Chang's book, but she hoped that some small, off-beat published
would take a chance. The US has shown no interest in publicizing
the story because it does not wish to complicate relations with
Japan. However, a group in Congress is pushing for the affair to be
given publicity. It is rather like the US government not wishing to
discuss the Armenian genocide for fear of damaging our relations
with Turkey. Incredibly, the Chinese government has taken the same
attitude for the same reason. Chinese who tried to publicize the
rape of Nanking were expelled from the country. When Iris Chang
went there to study the case, she was careful to hide the motives
behind her trip. The story should be publicized in Japan and China,
and we hope that Basic Books will be able to make the necessary
arrangements.
The title, The Rape of Nanking, is appropriate in both the literal
and metaphorical senses. Gruesome photographs show women who were
strapped down, raped repeatedly and then killed. Many of those who
survived committed suicide or killed the babies born of Japanese
fathers. The men got even worse treatment. The Japanese would have
competitions to see who could kill 100 Chinese prisoners most
quickly. Some were buried up to their necks, and then dogs would
eat their heads. In all, 300,000 were killed. How does Iris Chang
explain the Japanese behavior? She has an appropriately realistic
view of human nature. She says the ordinary Japanese soldiers were
treated by their superiors as little better than animals, and they
took out their pent-up resentment on the Chinese.
It is useless for the Japanese to deny the rape of Nanking. The
documentation is overwhelming. Some is contained in the records of
the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, known officially as the
International War Crimes Tribunal for the Far East. There was also
a tribunal in Nanking itself; I believe the documents are still not
public. The Chinese dictum that a picture is worth a thousand words
is abundantly illustrated in the chilling illustrations. One slight
consolation for the death of Iris Chang is that it has called the
attention of the world to the forgotten holocaust. Jews wrongly
asserted that the Jewish holocaust was unique, and holocaust
museums are devoted exclusively to it. In fact there have been many
holocausts, that of Nanking being one of them. The Holocaust
Museums should be expanded to include the other examples of man's
inhumanity to man. The numerous holocausts in history should be
given prominence, even though the documentation about them is
limited. This would force mankind to face the reality of the human
condition and of original sin.
The importance of our "Learning history" project in the promotion
of peace has been amply demonstrated in the case of Iris Chang, to
whom The Economist (11/27-12/3/04) devotes its obituary page. The
Nanking Massacre, long a taboo subject in Japan, has now given rise
to two bitterly opposed schools, the Great Massacre school and the
Great Illusion School. The latter are like those who deny the truth
of the Jewish holocaust in Nazi Germany. It is literally a matter
of life and death. Iris Chang committed suicide, as had Minnie
Vautrin, the American missionary who saved thousands of Chinese
lives and to whom Iris Chang pays tribute. The Economist says " the
Nanking "incident" is central to a wider debate about teaching
history in Japanese schools. The problem goes far beyond the scope
of professional historians, who gave Iris Chang little support. It
involves educators and diplomats. It is a problem central to the
issues of war, revolution, and peace, the study of which is the
mission of the Hoover Institution.
 |
 |