Why the hell isn't the Rape of Nanjing required learning in public schools?

I just learned about this horrible incident last week in my eleventh grade history class. What a despicable event in human history. Apparently its not required curriculum for public schools, but my teacher thought the event so disgusting that he teaches on it for a few days anyway. In case you didn't know, the Rape of Nanjing (appropriately labeled) was an incident that occurred in 1937 I believe, when Japan invaded Nanjing, China over a territory war. China's army wasn't well prepared, and the Japanese quickly overwhelmed them when they ran out of ammunition. The Japanese then occupied the city for over a year all the while slaughtering over a million innocents in the most brutal ways possible. All women were raped daily, but the beautiful ones were raped up to 50 times a night, for weeks tied to a chair, where they would eventually die of the rot the STD s on their insides caused. The Japanese would play games based around killing as many innocents as they could by slicing their heads off with bayonets, or cutting off their penises and forcing them to eat them. Children weren't spared. Babies were ripped from their mothers arms, tossed 20 feet in the air, and sliced in half by bayonets as they came down. Bodies in the city piled up, literally thousands were littered across every square mile, all killed in the most brutal way the Japanese could conceive. It was nothing but a game to them. These aren't just stories, as the slide-shows my teacher showed had accompanying pictures. You can see them on the net, but I'd recommend you didn't as they're possibly soem of the most disturbing pictures I've ever seen. It was just horrible.

My question is simply, why is this not required learning? The bombs killed around 25,000 - 30,000, and we all learn about those by 7th grade. Here, over a million people are raped and killed BRUTALLY, yet you likely won't even hear of it unless you take a class on Chinese history in college. What do you think? Has anyone here learned of this event?

I first learned of it by accident while doing a WW2 paper for a History class.

There was like 1 paragraph about it in the History book we had, but no details.

Then I looked it up online... pretty disgusting what those Japanese Soldiers did.

Makes dropping the Atmoic Bomb look VERY MUCH JUSTIFIED.

Yeah, i talked to some chinese about it. And some japanese. It´s a highly political topic. That´s why.

Yeah, i talked to some chinese about it. And some japanese. It´s a highly political topic. That´s why.

BiancaDK

Yes it is a very sensitive subject but quiet interesting. Two of my teachers revived the subject in class because no one in school covered it. Even my history book in someway covered.The only recounts it made aboutThe Rape of Nankingwaswith atext that said something like"Many Chinese died from bombs, and others starved". I think that was a poor attempt to cover a massacre that led to mutilation, rape, and dicapitation. I E-mailed the publishing company because I read history books to learn history, not BS.

they don't really go into detail about this in school I remember them calling it theoccupancyof japan or something like that

Yeah, i talked to some chinese about it. And some japanese. It´s a highly political topic. That´s why.

[QUOTE="Ontain"][QUOTE="BiancaDK"]

Yeah, i talked to some chinese about it. And some japanese. It´s a highly political topic. That´s why.

BiancaDK

I personally don't understand why some Japanese denied that it happened.Lonelynight

The repercussions or consequences of admitting what happened to its full extent is something the japanese economy couldnt handle at it´s current state tbh

I personally don't understand why some Japanese denied that it happened.Lonelynight

[QUOTE="Lonelynight"]I personally don't understand why some Japanese denied that it happened.BiancaDK

The repercussions or consequences of admitting what happened to its full extent is something the japanese economy couldnt handle at it´s current state tbh

I personally don't understand why some Japanese denied that it happened.Lonelynight

[QUOTE="Lonelynight"]I personally don't understand why some Japanese denied that it happened.jamejame

[QUOTE="Lonelynight"]I personally don't understand why some Japanese denied that it happened.AgentA-Mi6

I first learned of it by accident while doing a WW2 paper for a History class.

There was like 1 paragraph about it in the History book we had, but no details.

Then I looked it up online... pretty disgusting what those Japanese Soldiers did.

Makes dropping the Atmoic Bomb look VERY MUCH JUSTIFIED.

Netherscourge

agreed i dont even think this was mentioned in my history book

but its cool now cause the gives us anime and video games:P

It was part of our curriculum, but then again, I went to a magnet school and was in the IB program. I have no idea what they teach at regular high schools.

For the record, the Japanese were just as bad as the Nazis, possibly worse.

The Nazis at least killed in a systematic fashion. The Japanese behaved like uncivilized barbarians, the Bataan Death March being another good example.

I don't feel bad that we nuked them. Those animals deserved it, and worse. I also don't understand people who admire Japanese culture, and can fully understand why the Chinese and most of the people in East Asia still hate the Japanese to this day.

What's worse - Nanjing or Unit 731?

Yes, I've heard that the soldiers also cut open pregnant women and took bets on whether the fetus would be a boy or a girl.

In Germany, talking about the Holocaust in completely banned. In Japan, basically the same thing with the Rape of Nanjing. In the U.S., some things are never taught in schools, like American soldiers killing AMERICAN, yes American, women and children, and men, because they went on strike because of working conditions during the late 1800's and early 1900's. THE ******* 1900's! They gunned them down with Browning machine guns and set their hoems on fire. Also, the war/massacre in the Philippines at the turn of the 19th century is never talked about. The U.S. killed at least 1,500,000 Filipino people, but no one will ever really know how many were killed. In 1902, the San Francisco Argonaut printed, and I quote,

"Let us all be frank. WE DO NOT WANT THE FILIPINOS. WE DO WANT THE PHILIPPINES. All of our troubles in this annexation matter have been caused by the presence in the Philippine Islands of thr Filipinos.... The more of them killed the better. It seems harsh, But they must yield before the superior race."

Seriously, what the ****. They're even thinking about not teaching the Holocaust in schools anymore because it's "too disturbing". Yeah...

Yes, I've heard that the soldiers also cut open pregnant women and took bets on whether the fetus would be a boy or a girl.

In Germany, talking about the Holocaust in completely banned. In Japan, basically the same thing with the Rape of Nanjing. In the U.S., some things are never taught in schools, like American soldiers killing AMERICAN, yes American, women and children, and men, because they went on strike because of working conditions during the late 1800's and early 1900's. THE ******* 1900's! They gunned them down with Browning machine guns and set their hoems on fire. Also, the war/massacre in the Philippines at the turn of the 19th century is never talked about. The U.S. killed at least 1,500,000 Filipino people, but no one will ever really know how many were killed. In 1902, the San Francisco Argonaut printed, and I quote,

"Let us all be frank. WE DO NOT WANT THE FILIPINOS. WE DO WANT THE PHILIPPINES. All of our troubles in this annexation matter have been caused by the presence in the Philippine Islands of thr Filipinos.... The more of them killed the better. It seems harsh, But they must yield before the superior race."

Seriously, what the ****. They're even thinking about not teaching the Holocaust in schools anymore because it's "too disturbing". Yeah...

Surprised my genocide class has never mentioned this.

Yes, I've heard that the soldiers also cut open pregnant women and took bets on whether the fetus would be a boy or a girl.

In Germany, talking about the Holocaust in completely banned. In Japan, basically the same thing with the Rape of Nanjing. In the U.S., some things are never taught in schools, like American soldiers killing AMERICAN, yes American, women and children, and men, because they went on strike because of working conditions during the late 1800's and early 1900's. THE ******* 1900's! They gunned them down with Browning machine guns and set their hoems on fire. Also, the war/massacre in the Philippines at the turn of the 19th century is never talked about. The U.S. killed at least 1,500,000 Filipino people, but no one will ever really know how many were killed. In 1902, the San Francisco Argonaut printed, and I quote,

"Let us all be frank. WE DO NOT WANT THE FILIPINOS. WE DO WANT THE PHILIPPINES. All of our troubles in this annexation matter have been caused by the presence in the Philippine Islands of thr Filipinos.... The more of them killed the better. It seems harsh, But they must yield before the superior race."

Seriously, what the ****. They're even thinking about not teaching the Holocaust in schools anymore because it's "too disturbing". Yeah...

I refuse to believe a single word on Japanese cruelty. Any nation that creates so many adorable cartoon characters with such wide eyes couldn't possibly be capable of anything sinister.jimmyjammer69

But think of all the unspeakable acts they then inflict upon those adorable characters.

I just read about the Nanking Massacre on wikipedia. Its horrible :?

[QUOTE="jimmyjammer69"]I refuse to believe a single word on Japanese cruelty. Any nation that creates so many adorable cartoon characters with such wide eyes couldn't possibly be capable of anything sinister.Oleg_Huzwog

But think of all the unspeakable acts they then inflict upon those adorable characters.

[QUOTE="jimmyjammer69"]I refuse to believe a single word on Japanese cruelty. Any nation that creates so many adorable cartoon characters with such wide eyes couldn't possibly be capable of anything sinister.Oleg_Huzwog

But think of all the unspeakable acts they then inflict upon those adorable characters.

Modern history class is basically meant to be a guilt trip for Americans. It makes sense to leave out the rape of Nanjing because it lessens the justification of using nuclear bombs. CraftTeutonic

[QUOTE="CraftTeutonic"]Modern history class is basically meant to be a guilt trip for Americans. It makes sense to leave out the rape of Nanjing because it lessens the justification of using nuclear bombs. sSubZerOo

Yeah, i talked to some chinese about it. And some japanese. It´s a highly political topic. That´s why.

BiancaDK

yea, from what Ive read the Chinese still resent the Japanese for it, specifically because the Japanese dont acknowledge or apologize for it.

[QUOTE="sSubZerOo"][QUOTE="CraftTeutonic"]Modern history class is basically meant to be a guilt trip for Americans. It makes sense to leave out the rape of Nanjing because it lessens the justification of using nuclear bombs. jimmyjammer69

yea I definately see where he is coming from, just worded it poorly.

We are just taught that the dropping of the atomic bomb was a horrible, horrible thing and its definately one of the greatest moral debates of the 20th century. Its not "poltically correct" to support the dropping of the atomic bomb, yet at the same time one comes off too liberl if they say "Oh we should never have done that". Its a morally grey area with equally good arguments for both sides, but history books are generally black and white so they omit things in order to have their cake and eat it to.

Plus, parents are lawsuit-happy, publishers dont want to get sued for being "biased" (even though "biased" in this case means portraying both sides).

God forbid we think rationally about the issue and try to justify the dropping of the bomb.

I guess, in Japan's defense, some could argue that with events as horrible as that, it is better to forget they occurred and to try to move on in life and living. Some people believe that traumatic events should be closed off and forgotten, while others believe that it is best to talk about them and never forget. It depends on the personality, and in the case of countries, the traditional attitudes toward such events. Japan is a traditionally conservative country overall, and keeping such things out in the open is not the accustomed manner of dealing with such issues.muthsera666

I know you're trying to bring this in a neutral point of view here, but even the international community doesn't really seem to highly mediatize the Rape of Nanking. In comparison, the Holocaust is considered an international tragedy while the Rape of Nanking was made to look like a national tragedy. In other words, the Rape of Nanking is often overlooked by the rest of the world.

Same could be said of the Armenian Genocide, Cambodia, Balkans etc. Very unfortunate.

Well it was not totally forgotten cause after the war I think there were 5 ranking officers tried and convicted by a tribunal over the incident and sentenced to death by hanging. This is a appalling incident in world history but it isn't the only one that happened during WW2 that isn't talked about a lot. The Japanese Army did the same thing in Korea and the Philippines during that time frame. My girlfriend is filipino and her grandmother has told her stories about what the Japanese did to their village. Pretty scary stuff but thats what happens during wars.

I don't know if visitors of this site know this but there is still great resentment towards Japan in China, Korea and the Philippines not just towards Japan but also towards the USA. They feel that after the war we invested so much money into Japan to help rebuild them and also turned them into a regional super power but never helped them and they were victims of the war.

There have been riots in South Korea already cause the Korean government wants certain things in class books taken out about WW2 as to not incite ill feelings towards Japan nowadays. In Japan a lot of WW2 history is not even in school books and a lot of school children don't even know that the United States and Japan ever were at war with one another and if they do all they know is that it was a long time ago and the USA dropped the atomic bombs to end it. They don't know specifics unless they actually look it up for themselves.

In my personal opinion I think everyone should know about what happened since it was a part of history even if it was a sad and horrendous part. What is the use of History if you can't learn from it is what I always say. WW2 was bad for everyone and a lot of different countries did horrible things including the USA but its in the past.......

(Sorry for the long post)

People are all different, except in our capacity to commit atrocities.

[QUOTE="muthsera666"]I guess, in Japan's defense, some could argue that with events as horrible as that, it is better to forget they occurred and to try to move on in life and living. Some people believe that traumatic events should be closed off and forgotten, while others believe that it is best to talk about them and never forget. It depends on the personality, and in the case of countries, the traditional attitudes toward such events. Japan is a traditionally conservative country overall, and keeping such things out in the open is not the accustomed manner of dealing with such issues.one_plum

I know you're trying to bring this in a neutral point of view here, but even the international community doesn't really seem to highly mediatize the Rape of Nanking. In comparison, the Holocaust is considered an international tragedy while the Rape of Nanking was made to look like a national tragedy. In other words, the Rape of Nanking is often overlooked by the rest of the world.

very true.

What really bugs me is that there are a lot of people out there that try to make it seem ok that his happened. Ive read many things saying "Oh, Japanese philosophy towards war is different.." and such, citing how Japanese military culture was still transitioning out of Bushido, and how according to Bushido the militant class of Japanese culture is superior to all. Also, this culture essentially said "we do not take prisoners" and that if someone surrenders to you its pathetic and it is better they die than live in captivity (this transitioned over into the war with the US and allies, i.e. Baton Death March, torture, etc).

I mean, I see the point they makebut the Geneva Convention had been around for decades at this point and the Japanese had access to Western culture, thoughts, and more. As much as I despise how the Japanese were interned in the US, we didnt exactly beat, rape, and kill them like the Japanese did to the Chinese.

In short, the Rape of Nanking is definately a crime against humanity, should not be overlooked, and if you want to compare this to the war after and the eventual outcome (the atom bombs) I dont think the Japanese have any grounds to defend themselves from a moral standpoint.

People are all different, except in our capacity to commit atrocities.

tocklestein2005

thats a very glum and misguided outlook on humanity...

[QUOTE="jimmyjammer69"][QUOTE="sSubZerOo"] ... The rape of Nanjing has nothing to do with the justification of using the nuclear bomb.mrbojangles25

yea I definately see where he is coming from, just worded it poorly.

We are just taught that the dropping of the atomic bomb was a horrible, horrible thing and its definately one of the greatest moral debates of the 20th century. Its not "poltically correct" to support the dropping of the atomic bomb, yet at the same time one comes off too liberl if they say "Oh we should never have done that". Its a morally grey area with equally good arguments for both sides, but history books are generally black and white so they omit things in order to have their cake and eat it to.

Plus, parents are lawsuit-happy, publishers dont want to get sued for being "biased" (even though "biased" in this case means portraying both sides).

God forbid we think rationally about the issue and try to justify the dropping of the bomb.

I first learned of it by accident while doing a WW2 paper for a History class.

There was like 1 paragraph about it in the History book we had, but no details.

Then I looked it up online... pretty disgusting what those Japanese Soldiers did.

Makes dropping the Atmoic Bomb look VERY MUCH JUSTIFIED.

Netherscourge

Yep, it does look justified. The japanese were way worse than the Nazis