Massacre In Nanjing

On a clear winter day you can see from Tokyo The snow-capped volcanic cone of Mount Fuji. Towering to a height of 3,776 meters on Honshu Island, About 100 kilometers south-west from the capital, The majestic mountain is a staunch symbol Of the Land of the Rising Sun. During the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-1945, Hirohito's armies invaded China, carrying along A fascist banner of samurai honor and pride. The Japanese Imperial troops Advanced with brutal force, Committing dreadful atrocities Against prisoners and civilians. They reinterpreted bushido virtues and believed That their war crimes elevated the splendor and glory Of Mount Fuji to new heights. Articles published in November and December 1937 In the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun reported the exploits Of Japanese Imperial Army officers Toshiaki Mukai and Tsuyoshi Noda, who on the road to Nanjing competed, For being the first to behead 100 Chinese with a sword. Okumiya Masatake, a Japanese officer, Was a witness to the atrocities. He was a principled aviator in the Imperial Navy, Serving in Jiangsu. He was shocked by the carnage he saw in China. On December 12,1937, He participated outside Nanjing In the bombing and sinking Of the American Gunboat USS Panay In the Yangtze River. A few days after the sinking of the Panay, Okumiya rode a chauffeur-driven car, Searching for the bodies of downed Japanese pilots. It was then that he had witnessed His Majesty's Imperial Troops Perpetrating gruesome Massacres. In the streets of Nanjing, Japanese soldiers Were slaughtering indiscriminately Chinese men and women, young and old. On December 25 and 27 of 1937, Okumiya photographed in the capital Piles of innumerable bodies of Chinese people, Lying unburied along the Yangtze River And on the shores of Xuanwu Lake and Xuanwu Gate. Once he came upon a terrible scene of executions. About twenty soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Army Forced a large group of Chinese to sit on the river bank. The prisoners' hands were bound behind their backs. The soldiers beheaded their victims by the sword. One warrior after the other approached A kneeling prisoner and drew his sword. The soldier raised the weapon with both hands, Its blade glittering in the bright daylight. And then with a swift and savage sweep He struck at the prisoner's neck. The severed head rolled into the river. When Okumiya asked why the troops execute The prisoners by sword instead of shooting them, An officer replied that killing by sword Saved ammunition. Okumiya was immersed in his homeland In the violent culture of the sword. He was well-aware of its pivotal role In Japanese history. Nevertheless, he was shocked by the executions. The officer's explanation lingered on in his mind With an unnerving persistence. Although he was a disciplined naval officer, Loyal and ready to die for the Emperor, He still felt that what he witnessed compromised The samurai way of the warrior, dishonored the spirit And soul of the bushido. The reign of terror in China began in 1937, When the Fascist Imperial Army of Hirohito Invaded the country. After three months of brutal fighting, The Battle of Shanghai ended in late November. Then the Japanese army marched all the way to Nanjing, The historical capital of Six Chinese Dynasties. On December 10,1937, the Japanese mounted A fierce assault on the walls of the city. After two days of heavy artillery fire And aerial bombardment The Chinese army retreated from Nanjing. Gunboats of the Japanese fleet were cruising In the Yangtze River. By nightfall, on December 13, the historical capital fell. The Emperor's forces entered Nanjing Through the ancient city gates. The masses of defenseless civilians Trapped in Nanjing Became prey and pillage of Fascist bestiality. Brutal crimes of looting, arson, rape and murder Were perpetrated everywhere. Soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Army Roamed savagely the streets. They entered every household, Searching door to door for females. And it did not matter If they were young or old or pregnant. The troops gang raped thousands of women, Stabbed them to death with their bayonets And then mutilated their bodies. Entire families had been murdered in cold blood. Men were shot through the head or the heart. And the soldiers killed even the babies. They also used young men for bayonet training Stabbing the screaming victims repeatedly, Or beheading them by their swords. Historians estimate that in the horrible war crimes Committed at Nanjing The Japanese army slaughtered Between 200,000 and 300,000 people. The soldiers raped tens of thousands of women. Yet in this tragic epoch of Chinese history There were still beacons of light that shone through The long and cruel nights of barbarism. Confronting the bloody maelstrom of atrocities A few courageous foreigners in Nanjing Risked their lives and came to the rescue. These righteous Europeans and Americans Helped many people to escape. They hid and protected Thousands of Chinese men, women and children From the massacres. One of the rescuers was Bernhard Arp Sindberg of Denmark. When the war broke out Sindberg worked as a driver For the British journalist Pembroke Stephens. One day in Shanghai, They climbed a water tower to observe the fighting And Stephens was killed by a machine gun salvo Fired from a Japanese airplane. Shortly before the occupation of Nanjing, Sindberg moved to the capital. Here he was employed as a guard At a concrete factory in the city, Owned by a Danish firm. During the massacres he flew the swastika flag To protect approximately 6,000 Chinese refugees Camping on the factory lot. Another foreigner Who saved thousands upon thousands From Japanese brutality Was the German businessman, John Rabe. Employed by the Siemens AG China Corporation, He helped to establish the International Safety Zone Of Nanjing. The Safety Zone had sheltered Approximately 200,000 Chinese men, women And children from the massacres. Ironically, Rabe was a member of the Nazi Party. However, he was a conservative man fostering Traditional values and he had a compassionate heart. Displaying the swastika at his house And presenting his National Socialist documents, Rabe negotiated, argued and protested With the Japanese military in order to keep Hirohito's troops out of the Safety Zone. He even wrote Hitler a letter Requesting him to interfere With the Japanese authorities To stop the bestial bloodbath. The Fuehrer did not reply. When Rabe returned to Germany, The Nazis forbade him To lecture about the Japanese war crimes. Another angel during the dreadful days Of the Rape of Nanjing was Minnie Vautrin, An American missionary and Dean of Jingling College. She harbored and protected up to 10,000 women At the school. She kept a diary in which she had recorded The horrors of Nanjing. Once, late on a winter evening, She saw an army truck in the street, Carrying a group of young Chinese girls. As the truck passed by, the girls called out: 'Jiu ming, jiu ming', 'save our lives, save our lives'. A Buddhist monk once told me That rivers and mountains have their own soul. Nature is alive. And so, in this terrible time of history, Those who had listened carefully enough, could hear The mountains and the rivers of the earth sigh. And then in the glorious Land of the Rising Sun The snow-capped peak of sublime Mount Fuji Hid its head in the clouds, ashamed.