# Rape of Nanking **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 13, 2003, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846 "2003-12-13T23:09:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rampage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Rampage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rampage)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846/1 "2003-12-13T23:09:58Z")
Does anyone know about the Rape of Nanking, or the Chinese Holocaust of World War Two? Does anyone know of the brutality of the Japanese Massacres in China and Korea and other nations during WW2? I am curious about this because most westerners dont know of this atrocities. Please be honest and open. Thank you guys 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MAFA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc79bd/32.png) [@MAFA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MAFA)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846/2 "2003-12-13T23:16:16Z")
I’ve heard about it. Then again, I’m not a Westerner. Iris Chang’s book is really good. Iris Chang is a good writer, in general. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846/3 "2003-12-13T23:16:16Z")
So, this is like a poll to ask who know about it, not a request for information about, right? I’ve heard of it, but I admit I don’t know details. I don’t think it was mentioned in any of my history classes, but I cannot say for sure. ---
**Author:** ![MAFA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc79bd/32.png) [@MAFA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MAFA)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846/4 "2003-12-13T23:16:20Z")
I’ve heard about it. Then again, I’m not a Westerner. Iris Chang’s book is really good. Iris Chang is a good writer, in general. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846/5 "2003-12-13T23:18:01Z")
yes ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846/6 "2003-12-13T23:27:20Z")
Are you asking for information? You already posted quite a bit here: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=229130](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=229130) If you’re just trying to get us to know about what you already do, may I humbly suggest that one thread may have been enough? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846/7 "2003-12-13T23:31:55Z")
Either the History Channel or A & E had an extensive documentary on these subjects within the past year. Complete with pictures, statistics, and the eventual fate of those responsible. I knew about it before that. I lost some relatives in U.S. military service in the Pacific theatre in WW2, and maybe have more interest in that area than others do. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846/8 "2003-12-13T23:44:45Z")
Wait, let me do this again. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rampage \* > **Does anyone know about the Rape of Nanking, or the Chinese Holocaust of World War Two?** Yes, of course. A lot of people do. > [@](#): > > **Does anyone know of the brutality of the Japanese Massacres in China and Korea and other nations during WW2?** Yes, of course. A lot of people do. > [@](#): > > **I am curious about this because most westerners dont know of this atrocities.** Says who? It was kind of secret for a few decades after WWII but when the book came out and subsequent television documentaries with very graphic and disturbing photos and videos, it became common knowledge. You could also say that most westerners don’t know that Brazilians speak Portuguese, but most _educated_ people do. > [@](#): > > \*\*Please be honest and open. > Thank you guys 🙂 \*\* No problem, you’re welcome. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846/9 "2003-12-13T23:49:39Z")
Yes, you will find many posters here are generally more aware of things than the general public. Generally. ---
**Author:** ![Gulo\_gulo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@Gulo\_gulo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gulo_gulo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846/10 "2003-12-14T00:00:53Z")
I’m embarrassed to admit that this board is where I first heard of the Rape of Nanking. When we learned about WWII in school, the teachers mainly taught the European side of the battle. We did learn about the Japanese internment camps though. I will be looking for that book recommended above. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846/11 "2003-12-14T01:56:33Z")
That is precisely why we are here, **Gulo gulo**. ---
**Author:** ![karomon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@karomon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/karomon)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846/12 "2003-12-14T02:23:01Z")
I knew it. But then I attended a very Asia-centric school. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846/13 "2003-12-14T09:13:48Z")
Rampage, the Rape of Nanking made American papers at the time. It’s never been a secret in the United States. You can find it any general history books and the encyclopedia. Wonder where you are and who you hang with to find that most Westerners don’t know about Japanese atrocities in WW2, or pre-WW2 for that matter since the Rape of Nanking predates at least the US entry into WW2. ---
**Author:** ![marky33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@marky33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marky33)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846/14 "2003-12-14T10:54:29Z")
1937 predates WWII, period. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846/15 "2003-12-14T13:00:31Z")
On the UK version of the History channel ,just a couple of days ago , there was a short feature about the Geman who was a high Nazi official who tried to help the Chinese people and protect them from the Japanese. When he returned to Germany and reported the facts he fell out of favour with the Nazis and ended up a pauper. I believe that Madam Chiang Kai-shek gave him assistance after WW2 ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846/16 "2003-12-14T14:42:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by marky33 \* > \*\*1937 predates WWII, period. \*\* I’m very suprised to hear that from someone living in Hong Kong. I’ve long been of the opinion that World War II began for the Chinese people on July 7, 1937, with the Marco Polo Bridge incident; just as WW2 began for Europeans on September 1, 1939, with the invasion of Poland. Not to mention that I’d say the popular American conception of the WW2 beginning on December 7, 1941. (No matter how errant that perception may be.) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846/17 "2003-12-14T18:30:15Z")
I’m friends with the people behind this book, so I have to give it a plug: [Nanking 1937: Memory and Healing (Studies of the East Asian Institute.), by Feifei Li (Editor), Robert Sabella (Editor), David Liu (Editor)](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0765608170/qid=1071426538//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i0_xgl14/002-4583569-7144040?v=glance&s=books&n=507846). ---
**Author:** ![netscape\_6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8c91f0/32.png) [@netscape\_6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/netscape_6)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846/18 "2003-12-14T19:30:17Z")
I learned of it from outside sources. In school they glossed over alot of the terrible things in the last hundred years. My guess is parents just want to sheild their kids from the bad stuff. While their heart is in the right place, thier actions do not have a good effect. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846/19 "2003-12-14T20:40:08Z")
Yes. We covered it in my 10th grade World History class in a unit on World War II. This was in a public high school. I can’t say that I am an expert, but I’m certainly aware that it occurred, during the Japanese occupation of China. I’ve been meaning to read Iris Chang’s book on the subject for a couple years now but haven’t gotten around to it yet. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846/20 "2003-12-14T21:01:04Z")
Heard of it, read about it. Terrible. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rape-of-nanking/218846.md?page=2)