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Before I came to China (which was more than twenty-five years ago), I stumbled across this ‘rare’ piece of history which nearly made my heart stop. I say ‘rare’ because I was not (and I am ashamed to say) taught in school in my history subject (in South Africa where I grew up) about the Asian side of the war and as the late Iris Chang rightly put it, it was and still is for many The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II. Her website can be found here.
About six months before I came to China all those years ago, I was sitting in what was then known as a cyber bar or internet cafe. I was seeking employment to go and work in China. In short, I was looking for a job to go and teach English in China. Whilst I was busy searching the Internet, a large advert kept on moving horizontally back and forth across the screen. I was trying to do my research trying to read in between the advert that was bouncing backwards and forwards, in my quest to try and get rid of the advert (as it was blocking my view) I accidentally clicked on the advert and a huge pop up materialised and opened on my screen. The headlines read something to the effect that this lady called Iris Chang had committed suicide. My first and natural thought was that people all over the world were killing themselves every day due to suicide (and not to minimise, belittle or think less of this woman or her death) so what made this woman’s death so special?
As I read on, I scrolled down the page, photos came up that made my mouth and jaw hang open as I read in shock about this very subject, the Nanjing Massacre. I was stunned. Literally. As I read on with utter disbelief about what the Japanese did when they invaded China, it dawned on me that what Hitler did to the Jews in the Holocaust (not to minimise this either), what he did was not the only epitome of evil (as I had originally thought). In fact, what the Japanese did was also unthinkable and unimaginable, to think that one race or group of people would treat another group of people the way they did is really from the pit of hell. It was then that I had my question answered and learnt that Iris Chang who was really the only woman in the world who had the guts and the foresight to reveal what had happened in her book which she wrote called The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II. To date, no one has come forward with a more accurate depiction of what happened during that time. To date, no one had the guts to reveal further what happened.
Further research revealed that the book was subsequently made into a movie as well. I was so moved and touched by watching both the movie and reading the book that I reached out to the publishing company of the book and literally begged them to give me the contact details of any of the surviving members of her family. I later learnt that she was survived by her husband and son. After making contacting with her husband, I also learnt that the proceeds made from the film went towards medical expenses and such like towards their son who was disabled.
The book is available in PDF format online at the Internet Archives, and (can be downloaded for free) though I have noticed that the images that are in the physical hard copy of the book have been removed from this online PDF version, for whatever reason which remains to be seen. Some of the images can be seen here, thanks to the courtesy of Dr Google. I must warn you in advance though that the images are disturbing.
Before her passing she revealed in an interview, (of which the video recorded is below) as to why she felt it was necessary that she come out and reveal to the world in a book format of the atrocities that had been committed.
Today, (in fact this morning during Beijing time) the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre held a ceremony (as they do each year) as it is the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Day . The article for the memorial service can viewed here.
Additional Links & Info:
The Official Website of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre.
Date of Publication of article: December 13th, 2023
The text(s), image(s) and/or video(s)used in this article were correct at the time and date of publication. Unless specifically expressed, all texts, images, and videos (if any) used in this article are copyright and the work & property of 5iShenyang.com and Wayne Viviers at wayneviviers.com
We regret that the video links shared below (at the end of this article) cannot be viewed on the Chinese Mainland and therefore the videos can only be watched or seen overseas, outside of China.
Video 1: Writer Iris Chang exposes the Nanjing tragedy to the world.
Video 2: The Nanking Massacre Facts, Pictures, WW2, Documentary Photos, Women 1997. Iris Chang is being interviewed.
Video 3: City of Life and Death/Nanking! Nanking! (The movie about the NanJing Massacre)
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