Why did Japan decide to invade China?
They were discontent with Manchuria so they decided to invade China by taking first Tai jin and Beijing and later on Nanjing
Image of the Japanese troops in Nanjing after the city's conquest, 1937
Source: The Guardian
A retenir :
What isThe rape of Nanjing(December 1937- January 1938)
This was was between China and Japan and their relations were really tense as of right now.
A retenir :
Causes:
-The destruction of Nanjing was ordered by the Japanese commander Matsui Iwane
The Sino Japanese war was caused by the resisance of China to Japan's territorial expansion throughout their country which started in 1931. Despite the fact that Japan occupied most of the Chinese territories. China still remained motivated to fight through this battle.
-A buildup of rage
-A widespread desire for revenge after months of fighting the Chinese.
-The Chinese women were undefended, their menfolk powerless or absent. The war, still undeclared, had no clear-cut goal or purpose
What happened during the Sino Japanese war? (known as one of the most brutal massacre)
-Soldiers were killing civilians (unarmed farmers or refugees, chinese civilians non combattants, surrendered prisoners of war widespread rape by the imperial japanese army)
-200 000 were brutally injured
-340. 000 were brutally killed
-80 000 rape cases
Image of Dead civilians by one of Nanjing's gates: January 1st, 1938.
Source: Wikipedia: The Nanjing massacre
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What about women that experienced this war?
-Their babies were snatched from their arms as they were getting raped
-They saw their babies being burned by the flames
-Their best escaping solution would be suicide as they could not bare or dare to think of the extreme torture
-Their goal was to occupy the city of nanjing and they unfortunately reach this goal by slowly pacifying the chinese civilians .After all of these atrocities The Japanese Imperial Army would burn the village to the ground which was their way of pacifying the territory.
Genocide
The deliberate and systematic killing or persecution of a large number of people from a particular national or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.
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The Impact of the rape of Nanjing
-The impact of this massacre shows that even if the governments of Japan and China maintain a peaceful relationship the chinese civilians do not feel that they need to share respect
-Anti-Japan protests showing the hatred they still have against the Japanese especially ever since Japan has committed these atrocities and has refused to publicly apoligize to China.
-They hold memorials or the people who have died.
-They stand against them even currently to make sure they understand their anger and their dissapointment that they feel.
