The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II.

[Bbbananas]

I'm reading a biography at the moment and it has just decribed the Rape of Nanking. I must admit I knew all about the atrocities of the Nazis & the gas chambers etc, but I was fairly ignorant of the above event in 1937.
20 - 80,000 females raped then killed, including the elderly & infants. Families forced to commit incest. Monks forced to rape. Killing contests between officers as to who could kill the most in one day. Over 10,000 people burned or buried alive. A total of around 200,000 in all murdered in the most terrible and cruel of ways.
It brought me to tears, terrible.
Who else, say under 40 on here, has actually heard of the Rape of Nanking or knew much about it? They teach all about the 'other' holocaust in history lessons, as they should, but do they teach schoolkids all about this one these days?

[pa___ul3]

I never have, and I'm glad, that sounds too horrific to fully comprehend. Maybe that's why, a bit too sensitive to teach to 13/14 year olds.
Reminds me of the boy in the striped pyjamas, I've never really been much into history, geography was my thing, so I was quite blinkered from it but that image at the end woke me up, although even that still seems beyond what I'd naively see as capable of mankind.

[redcrx]

i agree with Paul, its not something I'd want my children to hear about at that age.
Ive never heard about it but then history was never a subject i studied beyong what i had to.

[squarebear]

I too have not heard of it. Quite glad I hadn't.

[zzxxee]

i have never heard of this before salla
and im shocked what a horrific story !!!!!!

[mccfluff]

horrible and i remember hearing or reading something but not to that extent

[Bbbananas]

But, like the 'other' Holocaust, schoolchildren should be taught about it, perhaps not in too much detail, but informed of its existence. The world should not forget about these atrocities, or any one nation allowed to hide or deny. Maybe 13-14 is too young, but certainly at 'o or 'a level. (Even though it was called the Rape - it was murder in general of all ages, sexes and nationalities.)

Paul - I was very affected by the story of the Holocaust when I first became aware of it about 14. It has interested me ever since. I read, and then watched, the boy in the striped pyjamas. I think it is a film that should be showed in schools from, say, the age of 14 onwards.

Lest we forget......

[tiggerblue10]

It does ring a bell but I didn't know what it involved. That is horrific!

[DTCwordfan]

I lived in Shanghai for four years so I more than know about the Japanese and their exploits in Nanking, as well as in Manchuria.

However, you ought to also realise the extent of the damage Mao did in the late 50s and 60s..... White Swans (which was popular over here) was a sanitized version of reality - a bit like the film Gandhi didn't really reflect the poverty and filth of India..... For a moving account of this era, I recommend Life and Death in Shanghai - by Nien Cheng. She was technically my predecessor in the global Co we worked for - I was their first regional director back into Shanghai back in 1993...... Nien Cheng had her only child, a daughter, raped and murdered by the Red Guards, only one small example in millions.

My staff were very reluctant to talk about those day; however one of my staff was very anti the Communists and I had to have a quiet chat with him not to put the rest of his colleagues at risk.....I couldn't blame him.....his father had been Surgeon General and he lost his life along with his wife (mother). As to my employee, he and his brother were sent to Sichuan to tread nightsoil (human Sugar etc) - but the real misery came in the late 60s when he returned to Shanghai. He was forced to work as a human donkey pulling iron ingot trolleys around the steel works and he ended up partly 'hump-backed' from the over-exertions he had to endure......

[zzxxee]

im truly shocked !!!!!!!!!!!!!
that is one of the most evil barbaric stories i have ever heard of .

[SUSPECT]

Is this book you are reading by Iris Chang

[I.Don No]

and until recently I had not heard of Irish Slavery. It seems the Irish were just given away to the plantation owners i.e. not paid for, unlike the Black Slaves who had to be paid for. As a consequence they were treated far worse than the Black Slaves as there was a continuous free supply.

Records of Irish Slavery date back to before Black Slavery, so it is probable that it was flourishing before any records were kept.

If anyone is interested.......

http://www.giftofireland.com/IrishSlaves.htm

is one source of info.

[Bbbananas]

No - but I am aware of that one suspect - the subject interested me, so I went onto Amazon to research books on the massacre, and that was the first one recommended.

The book I am actually reading is Unbroken - the story of US athlete, airman, survivor of things no man should ever be expected to survive, and Japanese POW. It's fascinating. If you didn;t know it to be a true story, you would not believe it.

[Bbbananas]

(sorry - the man himself was Louis Zamperini and the book is by Laura Hillenbrand, the author of Seabiscuit).

[SUSPECT]

Thank you for that information

[Bbbananas]

I.Don No - that was news to me too. I should have stuck with history lessons at school, assuming we would have been taught about these events anyhow. I got to the 3rd year of High School and was bored with Phidippedes and the Romans - so gave up history long before it got to the interesting bits.

[LoftyLottie]

I was like you with history Salla. Absolutely hated it and gave it up. I like modern history a lot more and find it far more interesting. I did economic history at college and found that really great! I find war time history really interesting - I was born only one year after it finished and it is incredible to me that these events were almost in my lifetime.

But there are still such attrocities going on in the world!!

[jackthehat]

I think it is to do with proximity.
In 1937, whatever news of it found its way to UK would have been over-shadowed by Spanish Civil War, etc. together with the progession of Nazism an Mussolini's Fascists, and was doubtless seen as a 'little local skirmish' between Japan and China.

In a very short while European attention was wholly consumed with hostilities on their own doorstep.

[Bbbananas]

I know Lottie - and that is truly terrible in this so called 'civilised world'. But these events should never be forgotten or die with those old enough to remember them.

[sandyRoe]

I knew a little about it. I think the Chinese will never forget it, and they won't let the Japanese, either.