In 1937, open war began... by swanmey
In 1937, open war began between Japan and China. One of the most infamous events of this conflict (World War II in the Pacific arena) was known as the Nanking (Nanjing) Massacre or the Rape of Nanking. In December of 1937, Japanese troops entered the city of Nanking, already decimated by the looting and violence of Chinese troops fleeing fighting in Shanghai. For seven weeks Japanese soldiers assaulted, robbed, and murdered civilians and troops in the city. One recent study suggests that over 350,000 Chinese were murdered, other studies have argued considerably less, from 30,000-60,000 people. One of the largest groups was composed of women who died after repeated rape and mutilation. Attempts to explain such an extreme example of destruction have been largely unsuccessful; even more disturbing is the lack of a public apology or even an acknowledgement by the Japanese government of the heinous nature of these war crimes.Between December 1937 and March 1938 at least 369,366 Chinese civilians and prisoners of war were slaughtered by the invading troops. An estimated 80,000 women and girls were raped; many of them were then mutilated or murdered.
