Book Review: The Rape of Nanking

The Rape of Nanking (The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II) by Iris Chang is a book that I will never forget. First off Iris states that she is Chinese and that there will be some bias to the book, but I believe that that just adds more fire and passion to the book to help the reader get more involved. Many have not heard of the Rape of Nanking and very few know the horrific events that happened from 1937 to 1938. The Japanese invaded the city, Nanking, which once was a beautiful, prospering place described to have had literature and arts, until the Japanese came in and ransacked the city. Women were raped in ways unthinkable and men, women, children, old and young alike were killed brutally. The Japanese soldiers were not shocked by what they saw and nor did the torture stop anytime soon. Killing and shooting contests were a sport to them. Safety Zones were set up by a small group of Americans and Europeans who chose to stay back and help the people of China. For those who were able to make it to the Safety Zones their lives were saved, those who did not were not so lucky. Three Safety Zone leaders are spoke about in the book. John Rabe, a European Nazi, who kept many journals during the atrocities at Nanking and hid Chinese in his home. Robert Wilson, a surgeon, stayed back in Nanking to help the wounded and worked for hours on end to help save lives. Also, there was Wilhelmina (Minnie) Vautrin who defended thousands of women from the from the grubby and grimy hands of the raping soldiers. The war with the Japanese ended with the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagaski by the United States. After the war, Nanking did not gain much from the Japanese, they did little to acknowledge what they did and tried to cover up as much as possible from what was written in textbooks to what was shown on television. Also, they never recieved an official apology. It saddens me that many do not know about what went on but I am glad that I read this book so I can educate others on the unknown massacre that went on during World War II.