The line of psychological defence of the Chinese people became fragile during the massacre. Is it clear to see in the following example: While Chinese prisoners were being lined up and about to be killed by the Japanese soldiers in a “killing competition”, one pregnant women began to fight for her life when a soldier tried to take her away to rape her. Although the Chinese largely outnumbered the soldiers and could have easily overwhelmed them, nobody even tried to help the women, everybody just watched how she was killed on the spot. This example shows that the Chinese had no courage, were intimidated and lived in great fear and stress during the period of the Japanese occupation due to the devastating killings and the raping of women.
Although the executing began under the pretext of eliminating Chinese soldiers disguised as civilians, a large number of innocent men were identified as enemies and executed by Japanese soldiers. They did not only kill those innocent men, but also women and children, even unborn children, without any reasons; it is said, that more than 300,000 unarmed soldiers and innocent civilians were murdered by Japanese troops during the six-week Nanjing Massacre, but in the internet and in different books occur different numbers as well. The Japanese did not simply murder the people, but they tortured and humiliated them in different ways. Some Japanese soldiers also considered the killings of people to be a form of amusement and also had “killing competitions”.
Raping of females from pre-teen to elderly ages and even pregnant women was one of the most tragic acts the Japanese made. They often killed the women after the rape, others were kept as “comfort women”. The women who learnt that they will be the latter often took their own lives in order to prevent themselves to undergo that torture; others died from disease or murder.
Often the women were raped in front of other people or Japanese soldiers as well as by more than one person. This open display of sexuality was a damaging act for the people, who lived in a country with a strong emphasis on traditional morality with regard to sexual behaviour. That means, for those who survived, suffered a lifetime of shame and isolation, sterility or ruined health. It is impossible to find out the exact number of women being raped. One can find the number of twenty thousand as well as the number of eighty thousand.
Another result of the rape of women are the pregnancies. Many of the children were secretly killed when they were born or the women killed themselves before even giving birth. One can only guess what the women went through when they had to make a choice, either giving birth to a child they could never love or committing infanticide. Many women could not make that kind of decision and committed suicide.
After the six weeks or this horror, Nanking was left in ruins and the Chinese people, who survived, were left with irreparable physical and mental wounds. These people did not know much about the overall event, the only thing they knew was that family members, friends, neighbours and other people suffered a lot and lost everything because of the Japanese soldiers.
Those traumatic experiences – either physical or psychological – are especially long lasting in the people’s memories and they pass on all those stories, what happened to them and others, to their children and grandchildren. With that, the fear, horror and hate lived on in the minds of the people.
The effects of the Nanking massacre on the Chinese people are the most obvious ones. There is a dissatisfaction with the trials and a feeling that there has not been done enough to recognise Japans responsibility and to punish Japanese for the crimes they committed in that time. In the people arose a hate against the Japanese and everybody, united to fight against Japan.
Some time after the massacre, it transformed from the war atrocity which Chinese people experienced in Nanjing to an international symbol of suffering. This is bringing together all who identify with China and/or oppose Japan. Since then, the memory of the massacre has been a stumbling block in the Sino-Japanese relations. Although the bilateral exchanges on trade, culture and education increased greatly since the two countries normalized the bilateral relations, many Chinese people still have a strong mistrust towards Japan, which originates from these memories of the Nanking massacre.
The event also became a political tool, which the Chinese government used to keep the public attention focused on development and unity. For example it was used during the Korean War to stir up the patriotism against the United States.
During the Japanese occupation a small group of Western businessman, mostly American, stayed despite the thread and that most other foreigners were leaving the country. They organized the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone and created the Nanking Safety Zone, to provide Chinese people shelter, safety and food. The German businessman John Rabe was elected chair of the Committee, not only because of his character, but also because of the fact that he was a member of the NSDAP and the existence of the German-Japanese bilateral Anti-Comintern Pact.
John Rabe was a loyal supporter of Adolf Hitler, in Iris Chang’s book “The Rape of Nanking” he was called “Oskar Schindler of China” due to his efforts to stop the atrocities of the Japanese army and, failing in those efforts, his work to protect Chinese civilians during the event. As a result, he is credited with saving the lives of 250,000 Chinese people from the Japanese troops. Rabe did not only help to establish the Safety Zone, but also sheltered 650 refugees in his own properties.
The by citizens former called “foreign devils”, where now knows as saviours and wherever they went, they were surrounded by many Chinese people.
The Sino-Japanese relationship was largely affected by this event. If the Japanese would not have left such devastating path of destruction and fear, the relationship between China and Japan would not have been that problematic. These two countries could have had the relationship they have today already years ago. Also the mistrust of the Chinese people against the Japanese would not be present and the memories of the people who survived this massacre would not be filled with the traumatic memories which they passed on to their children and grandchildren.
CONCLUSION
Although the Nanking massacre is not well known to the rest of the world, it had a great impact on the Chinese people and the relationship between the two countries. The way the Japanese treated innocent Chinese people stuck until today in the heads of the Chinese, especially the ones affected by the event. Beside the negative influence of the Japanese, it was also the source of the Chinese unity.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Brock, Timothy, ed. Documents of the Rape of Nanking. Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1999.
Chang, Iris. The Rape of Nanking. New York: Penguin Books, 1997.
Ertel, Manfred, “Der Schindler von China”, Spiegel Special 3 (2008): 65-67.
Fogel, Joshua A., ed. The Nanjing Massacre in History and Historiography. London: University of California Press, 2000.
Yoshida, Takashi. The making of the ‘Rape of Nanking’. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Internet
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/56208/lucian-w-pye/the-nanjing-massacre-in-history-and-historiography
http://www.nanking-massacre.com/Home.html
Joshua A. Fogel , ed., The Nanjing Massacre in History and Historiography (London: Univerity of Colifornia Press, 2000), Site 3
Erwin Wickert, ed., The Good German of Nanking, The Diaries of John Rabe, (London: Little, Brown and Company: 1999) , Site 26
Iris Chang, The Rape of Nanking (New York: Penguin Books, 1997), Site 85/86
Iris Chang , The Rape of Nanking (New York: Penguin Books, 1997), Site 53
Joshua A. Fogel , ed., The Nanjing Massacre in History and Historiography (London: Univerity of Colifornia Press, 2000), Site 56
Joshua A. Fogel , ed., The Nanjing Massacre in History and Historiography, Site 57
Joshua A. Fogel , ed., The Nanjing Massacre in History and Historiography, Site 24
Iris Chang , The Rape of Nanking (New York: Penguin Books, 1997), Site 109