Review of 'The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Absolutely gripping and incredibly sad.
平装, 313 pages
English language
Published April 30, 2007 by 东方出版社.
《南京浩劫:遗忘的大屠杀》的作者实地采访多位大屠杀幸存者,并佐以大量历史档案、第三方当事人的日记和书信,多视角回溯了南京大屠杀这一被遗忘的历史事件。 书中讲述屠杀发生时“中国人个体的故事:失败、绝望、背叛和幸存的经历”以及那些冒着生命危险帮助中国平民的西方人士的故事,并在书的最后部分探讨了某些势力意图将南京大屠杀从公共意识中抹去的行为。
Absolutely gripping and incredibly sad.
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 …
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 …
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.
I can't say this was enjoyable reading, but it was certainly shocking. It's a part of history that we should know about. In December of 1937, Nanking, China, fell to the Japanese. This book is a history of what the Japanese army did to the people of Nanking and how it still affects Chinese-Japanese relations. The Chinese people suffered hard and long during WWII, long before the US was involved.