The Rape of Nanking

I knew almost nothing about this event, although I had heard of it vaguely. Reading this was eye-opening. Not only for the incredible brutality of the event, but how well it had been hidden from most people's knowledge of history of the WWII era.

The book tells a lot of interesting stories of people who were there, and what they experienced. One of the most ironic was the Nazi who was dedicating himself to saving as many Chinese people from the Japanese as possible.

It's a well-written book, and covers a lot of the bases - both of the even itself, and how the event was kind of buried in history. The one quibble I have with the book is that it is very repetitive in describing the brutality of the event. I think the author thought this was necessary, and I could see how you could argue that - but it made the book a very difficult read.

This is a terrible and important book. Iris Chang is certainly right in her estimation that few Americans know about the Rape of Nanking but that Americans almost universally know something about the Holocaust. I can't recall having encountered anything in public school regarding the subject, probably because it's relegated to non-U.S. History and not officially considered part of World War II in most public school curricula.

Either way, in lieu of actual memoirs or diaries (in English) documenting the harrowing experiences of the Japanese pillaging and mass murder in Nanking, this book will have to suffice for most readers. Be warned, though, that as the title suggests this book does not sugarcoat the events that transpired in Nanking and discusses the atrocities in brutal, visceral language that will unnerve and trouble many, as it should.


I believe that Chang gave the basic events and narrative of what happened a fair treatment and put it into prose that is lucid and understandable for any interested reader. However, she goes into some detail criticizing the United States and other powers for not intervening in Nanking to stop the atrocities. I am not sure this is a fair criticism, considering it is hard to imagine the United States intervening in the Second Sino-Japanese War under any circumstances less than something akin to Pearl Harbor. On the other hand, European powers who had colonial interests in the region were already preoccupied with the rise of the Nationalist Socialist Party in Germany. There are some Westerners who play a prominent role in Chang's narrative—especially John Rabe, a Nazi Party leader in Nanking who believed in Nationalist Socialism for its benefits to the working class and did not imbibe the anti-Semitic rhetoric that led to the Holocaust. Rabe was an indefatigable defender of the Chinese that he pulled into his safe zone created in Nanking. It is also saddening that Rabe, an individual who probably helped saved 200,000 lives in Nanking, became a penniless beggar after World War II because of his affiliations with the Nazi Party.

Highly recommended, especially to read alongside primary or secondary sources of the Holocaust.

This is a freakin intense book. I can't really say which other book made me as physically uncomfortable while reading. In terms of fiction it may very well have been The Painted Bird, in terms of non-fiction it could be Escape from Camp 14.

The Rape of Nanking is in its first half a pretty detailed account of just this: How the Japanese forces occupied Nanking during WW2 and proceeded to kill, torture and rape the civilian population, making it one of the largest atrocities of war ever committed. The accounts are pretty intense and are told from three perspectives: The Japanese aggressors, the Chinese population and some German & American foreigners living in Nanking and how they helped saving the Chinese population. Amongst others, the story of John Rabe is told, a Nazi living & working in Nanking, who became the 'Oskar Schindler of China', saving thousands of people.
Did I already say, it's pretty intense and I recommend taking breaks while reading.

The second half of the book goes on to explain why you most likely never heard of Nanking (I for one never heard about this before reading this book), how the different nations dealt with the aftermath and also what became of some of the people who survived the Rape of Nanking. Which for the most part is also pretty frustrating and bleak. Just in case you should have believed that everything will be fine in the end.

Recommended for: Everyone should suffer through this great book, lest we forget.