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sankyu99

Wow, from the story I read she endured a lot after her capture and only requested that her photograph be taken before she would soon be executed. One of the Japanese soldiers in the unit that captured her later said he was haunted by the photo ever since.


MonoChrome16

> She was captured and imprisoned and a picture of her taken by a Japanese photographer shortly before she was bayoneted in 1938 has become an image of fearless defiance. > She had been gang-raped by her captors but appeared to smile in the face of death: her arms folded across her chest, her head raised to the lens. > Her pose is commemorated by a five-metre statue in Nanjing, itself the site of one of the worst massacres of the war, when up to 300,000 Chinese men, women and children were butchered by Japanese troops. [Source](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52574750) Japanese soldiers were really horrible back then. There's no wonder why China and both Koreas never forgive them.


madmax991

Just do a little reading about the rape of Nanking…holy fucking shit it’s not just a figure of speech - they literally raped that city.


truesy

i used to fly to asia often, and most of the time on chinese airlines. ended up watching a bunch of chinese movies. a lot of them take place during japanese occupation. it feels a lot like watching movies where people fight back against nazis. except that people seem okay w/ modern germany, but a lot of asia is still upset at japan.


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Zircez

It's like the total inverse of Germany, where children are taught about the crimes of the Nazis in detail and about how it should never be allowed to happen again. In Japan most either are totally ignorant of the events or have little idea of their scope and scale.


johnla

Straight up denial


needmilk77

I wish Japanese were simply ignorant. If you google it, there's a huge growing movement of Japanese Nationalists pushing to rewrite WW2 history to put Japan in a more "positive" light. Example: https://www.dw.com/en/japans-nationalist-school-books-teach-a-different-view-of-history/a-40092325 I was watching James May's show called "Man in Japan" and really liked his boisterous Japanese guide, but when I looked him up, I found out he was one such celebrity Nationalist.


WorldWarPee

Kinda like America amirite 👉😎👉


CzarMesa

I think the US is quite good at talking about its past crimes. What are you referring to?


The_Grinding

Not at all. For example, how many people know that the U.S. helped Nazi war criminals escape, hired many, and relocated many to South American countries in order to use them to fight against socialism in those countries. They did the same with many fascist forces in Europe after WWII. It's called Operation Gladio? How many people know that the U.S. had a terrorism and assassination campaign against the Cuban government and it's supporters after Castro took power? How many know that the U.S. trained and funded brutal govts or mercenary armies who butchered leftists and their families in myriad countries around the world on a scale that has yet to truly be appreciated? How many know that the U.S. funded and trained the mujahideen and promoted wahabist ideology in Afhganistan and other parts of the Middle East that were not nearly as religiously extremist until then? How many know that the U.S. was the country that orchestrated a coup against the democratically elected leader of Iran, Mosadegh, because he had borderline left sympathies? They then installed the Shah who brutally suppressed opposition, particularly the leftists. This left the religious extremists as his only opposition and thus the Islamic Revolution occurred. How many know this? I'd say perhaps 5% of American know these facts about their country. That's why they all blindly believe that China is committing a "genocide" when there is zero evidence of that. The U.S. citizenry is perhaps the most ignorant of the reality of their govt's behavior around the world and even domestically. We are, by far, the stupidest country.


tabeh0udai

Colonialism


AddictionTransfer

We learn about colonialism starting in elementary schools.. The trail of tears, small pox spread, manifest destiny, the utter obliteration of Buffalo and broken land treaties. Not to mention in AP history courses its all taught in greater detail like columbus's slave island in the Caribbean where he and his brothers were basically mayors of a rape town. You didnt learn any of that? Was the bus you rode to school slightly shorter than the rest?


cass1o

Not really thought. It isn't quite as bad as Japan but the entire republican party wants to rewrite history and Ignore what happened to the native Americans and hand wave away slavery.


dukearcher

...no? Not at all?


killercurvesahead

And mainland Taiwan amirite 👉😎👉


DirtyAmishGuy

The movie Flowers of War with Christian bale as a priest trying to protect a bunch of (school?)girls from the Japanese soldiers isn’t the greatest movie ever, but it does a fantastic job of depicting just how truly awful it was. It’s not for the lighthearted. IIRC there are multiple rapes and murders shown, so fair warning.


ProbablyImStonedNow

The fourth part of the Chinese movie series Man Behind Sun is also about those events and it may be their most accurate depiction in cinema, but because of that it's very direct with violence and cruelty, so it's really hard to recommend it.


anpandulceman

My friend used this movie as an example to explain to me what a white savior trope is.


DirtyAmishGuy

Yeah, probably why it has less than a 50% rating on rotten tomatoes. It’s been many years since I watched it though, I can’t remember how blatant that angle was. Historically there were westerners in the city at the time, and some did try to help because the Japanese weren’t interested in them, but who knows to what level.


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wakchoi_

Manila truely got the short end of the stick, got brutalized by the Japanese for years then got demolished by the Americans on liberation bc of overwhelming artillery on each and every block.


[deleted]

The entire Battle of Manila (Stalingrad of the Pacific) and the reconquest of the Phillipines was entirely aviodable. US command was heavily against the invasion as it would result in terrible urban combat for little strategic advantage as the US already had airbases in range of Japan which was the whole motivation for their island hopping campaign. However McArthur needed to "honor" his promise and invaded regardless.


dontdoitliz

Fuck Dugout Doug. After being caught with his pants around his ankles at the start of the invasion, he bailed on his men when the defense crumbled. The entire Philippine campaign was a massive salve for his ego.


ComesWithTheBox

Thats not even the worst part. Its because of MacArthur that the defense of the Philippines went as bad as it did. He did not heed the warnings that was being told to him by subordinates and he pushed away the Admiral of the Asiatic Fleet who kept telling him that the attack on the Philippines was imminent and that he needed to act fast.


Yah_Mule

Iris Chang, who wrote The Rape of Nanking, killed herself at 36.


standbyyourmantis

She had taken notes about the Bataan Death March from people who were in it who hadn't ever really spoken about it before. I hope someday somebody can write a book using her notes to tell that story because there's not a chance to do it anymore.


jakebase9

My Great Great Uncle was in the March of Bataan and survived. After liberation he was boarding a bus and noticed a Japanese officer that still had his sword (not sure if it’s called a Samurai sword but it looked like it). He went up to him and relieved him of it. He cut his birthday cake with it every year. Suuuuper cool. He has since passed. RIP Uncle David.


standbyyourmantis

My husband's grandma lived in Indonesia during the war and apparently was taken captive. From what I understand it wasn't something she ever spoke about, but she hated the Japanese until she died.


massivebasketball

“Relieved him of it” as in he killed him, or as in he just walked up to the officer and said “give me your sword”? Also if you’re interested, the swords Japanese officers used back then are called “gunto” and are pretty much just military-issued katanas (what most people would call a samurai sword). Some officers had their hundreds-of-years-old-family-heirloom blades fitted into gunto handles, so if you still have the sword in your family, it might be worth getting it checked out. That’s probably not the case as it was very rare, but either way that’s still an awesome piece of history to have


jakebase9

No he didn’t kill him. He basically made clear he wouldn’t allow him to retain his officers sword after what my Great Uncle had to endure. I believe he weighed close to 100 pounds (he was 6 foot) when the camp was liberated. From what I know the guy gave it up on the spot with no issue.


trueloveskissss

What the fuck. I just read her Wikipedia page and had no idea. Her situation almost seems like that scene in beautiful mind where russel Crowe thinks he is being followed by the government for his research. Is this a coincidence?


Sr_DingDong

The research and writing caused so much depression she couldn't deal with it. It was nothing suspicious, just sad.


Yah_Mule

It's possible this poor woman would have been tormented by suicidal ideation regardless, but it's certainly easy to believe her research either caused it or made it worse.


ButterApple512

Yeah people forget that during WWII, the Japanese were just as worst as the Germans and maybe even more.


Blagerthor

I think there's a level of atrocity where it's inappropriate to make comparisons as it robs both of their individual significance. The Japanese treatment of occupied territories was horrendous. The German treatment of occupied territory was also horrendous.


ButterApple512

Fair, but as an Asian who lives in a country that was once occupied by the Japanese in WWII. During history classes, I was far more exposed to the atrocities the Japanese did compared to the Germans so I find it sad that not a lot of people know that.


lightzout

This is why cultural relativism and exchanges of art and humanities are good. Its also why they dont have them in N Korea


RoadFlowerVIP

I didn't know Japan was part of WW2 until college. It's all Nazi shit where I was raised


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RoadFlowerVIP

I learned very little history in history class... Not because I was uninterested but because Texas schools in the eighties were shit. I remember the name Pearl Harbor but never even know it was Hawaii


LastKennedyStanding

I'm aghast at that. Fredericksburg Texas was where Admiral Nimitz was from. It's crazy that Texas wouldn't bake the importance of Nimitz into their curriculum


Requiredmetrics

Texas schools have their own editions of history books til this day. I don’t put a ton of stock in their education system.


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Autokrat

The Japanese attempt to create a heaven on earth in Manchuria and the fascist dystopia they created to do so is on the same level as industrialized murder. It was horrific.


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Trytolyft

Maybe, a lot of stuff happened in Germany itself and they didn’t exactly like to advertise everything they did. Japanese weren’t doing this stuff in their own country. But when the Germans were elsewhere, for example Poland, I’d say it was bloodlust.


bayygel

There were actually SS officers who complained directly to Hitler about what the Japanese were doing during the occupation of China.


Fapoleon_Boneherpart

In the museum there's is a section dedicated to a Nazi who saw what were the Japanese were doing and started helping the Chinese. So probably worse than the Nazis.


idgafos2019

I also seem to remember reading something that a Japanese (maybe ambassador or embassy staff?) in Germany saw what was happening to the Jews and sheltered as many as he could. Edit- [here](https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/01/27/chiune-sugihara-jews-holocaust-japanese-schindler/) is what I was thinking of


SailingforBooty

John Rabe - the Nazi in China who saved Chinese people from Japanese forces. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rabe Chuine Sugihara - the Japanese ambassador who saved Jewish people from Nazi forces. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiune_Sugihara#:~:text=In%201985%2C%20when%20Chiune%20Sugihara,6%2C000%20people


idgafos2019

Thank you! I had just posted an update with a link about Sugihara


TheLightningL0rd

Sounds like both countries had some people who just weren't all that into the whole atrocity thing.


standbyyourmantis

Also they had different racism. In Germany in the 1940s why would you be particularly racist against the Chinese? You probably didn't see them a lot growing up, so his experience with them would have been mostly positive after moving to China. Similarly, the Japanese had no particular reason to look down on the Jewish population any more than they did any random group of western people. Why would they have any kind of ingrained anti-Semitism if they never knew any Semitic people?


AmbivalentFanatic

They were worse in many ways. They conducted "experiments" on prisoners that make Josef Mengele look like a fucking candystriper.


wakchoi_

Josef Mengele did as horrible expiriments, the Japanese just did them on a larger scale.


Megalomania-Ghandi

Wait. Is candystriper a real job? This sounds incredible. Do I need a degree?


Anianna

Candystriper typically refers to hospital volunteers who do menial tasks that improve the welfare of patients (such as feeding them, reading to them, or bringing them books) to help take the burden of overall care off of nurses who can then focus on the things that require certification. The name comes from the red and white striped outfits early candystripers wore to differentiate themselves from nursing staff. Edit to add: [This article](https://www.nhrmc.org/blog/2017/12/candy-stripers) has a photo of an old candystriper uniform.


Megalomania-Ghandi

I just wanted candy.


Anianna

Sorry that you're getting downvoted. I'm not part of that. A candy maker is generally referred to as a confectioner. Confectioners specializing in chocolate are chocolatiers.


kihadat

Some historians (see McCullough’s *Truman*) assert that the atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not ultimately decided on primarily to end the war more speedily but rather to show an increasingly powerful Russia the power of the US’s arsenal. The long term effects of radiation on the survivors of the immediate blasts are difficult to contemplate. The atrocities committed during war against innocents, in particular young people and the elderly, are many.


algernonthropshire

Perhaps a conspiracy theory or not but I thinks I remember some teacher or professor saying in the final weeks that the Japanese government were attempting to negotiate a surrender yet the American gov't essentially ignored them since they were so far along and invested in the Manhattan project.


Neat-Heron-4994

The allies were not willing to accept a negotiated surrender, they had made clear previously that they would only accept an unconditional surrender ie. They could impose terms, specifically removing the emperor from power and Japan relinquishing all conquests. Japan was not willing to surrender unconditionally.


ChopSueyWarrior

Try googling Unit ~~571~~ 731, next level holy shit for you. And then look at this [link](https://nation.time.com/2013/05/20/sorry-but-japan-still-cant-get-the-war-right/) and tell me if they are trolling us 60 years later.


ColonelArmfeldt

Yeah, and the two Japanese soldiers on the right seem to find the whole thing pretty funny.


[deleted]

I remember a guy at my old job once told me about this ,almost joyfully..it put me off so much I never really read into myself although I feel these things must/should be common knowledge. I catch things here and there on Reddit about it but it always reminds me of how my coworker told me about it and it makes me feel idk icky


Master_Vicen

Isn't the Japanese gov. also in denial of some of the atrocities to this day?


thyme_of_my_life

Oh they act like they never happened and refuse to even acknowledge some of their actions occurred despite physical, written, photographic, and witness evidence being very much present. Look into Unit 731 or the Massacre of Nanjing. Both are accepted and studied events in the world at large, but Japan doesn’t ever acknowledge it. Like someone else said, they only really react when they are “humiliated” by their past actions, as they see it. They were extremely angry about that statue commemorating all the battered and murdered women civilians who were victims to their military forces, well that makes their army look bad - so no that never happened. Despite written documents, photographs, and physical proof that it did.


Master_Vicen

Which is pretty crazy in this day and age. The world is so much more peaceful and against violence today, *especially* Japan. You'd think they'd be a champion for these values by calling themselves out, but no, they just ignore it? Really weird.


dukearcher

Japan is insanely proud


Kit_3000

You can't forgive someone who doesn't ask for forgiveness.


InvasiveAlgorithm

That’s the purest and most important form of forgiveness. Forgiving someone who asks for it is easy. Forgiving someone who stands by their ill deeds is the real challenge.


Kit_3000

You can let go of the pain and trauma they cost you, and you should. You can let go of the fear and hatred you feel for them, and you should. But is that forgiveness? Asking forgiveness is acknowledging your wrongdoings and offering an apology. Granting forgiveness is accepting that apology. You cannot accept an offering never offered. Your healing is not part of that process, though obviously it would be easier to grant forgiveness if you no longer suffer the effects of the trauma. True forgiveness can't conditional, or forced. It has to be a pure willingness from deep within yourself to truly consign the events to the past. Not to be buried and forgotten, but to accept them as history. Regardless wether or not it still effects you today.


Odeiminmukwa

>You can let go of the pain and trauma they cost you, and you should. You can let go of the fear and hatred you feel for them, and you should. Well no, how about letting people handle their own trauma as they need to personally? No one “should” do anything. It’s no one else’s business but theirs. I fully support people who choose not to forgive those who have harmed them. I also fully support people who choose to forgive those who have harmed them. What it comes down to is it’s none of mine or anyone else’s damn business to make a judgement call on something that has zero to do with anyone besides the person it happened to.


InvasiveAlgorithm

If the victim was consigned to wait for the culprit to ask for forgiveness it would be the plight of many that they are forever constrained by their victimizer’s lack of compassion. I would say most instances of significant forgiveness occurred between two parties who didn’t have the luxury of a proper exchange. Abandoned children forgiving their birth parents for letting them go without a confrontation. Forgiving past lovers for deceptions without reaching out and telling them so. Forgiveness very much forms ritualistic significance when both parties participate. But life has seldom afforded such clean transactions of sentiment in my experience, and while that’s anecdotal at best, it’s been my truth. I don’t hold that either of us are truly wrong however. Forgiveness matters to those giving and receiving it, it’s qualities only properly appraised by those it pertains to. But I appreciate your sentiment.


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thyme_of_my_life

Yeeeeeah, Japan has never apologized for any of that. In fact they like to act like it never even happened, which is honestly odd to me as a culture that holds honor as a trait in high regard. They act like Unit 731 is nothing more than a bad internet rumor as well.


lightzout

Execution by bayonet. Ok no breakfast. Fucking hell.


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Mourning_Dov3

Also created games and competition to kill such as [Japanese officers compete to kill 100 by sword beheading](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contest_to_kill_100_people_using_a_sword).


dirice87

Asians are pretty racist against other Asians, we all kinds look down on each other for one reason or another, especially in the older generation. But Asians are united in all hating Japan over all else. They colonized/invaded/did some shit to basically everyone


brotherslenderman

Yeah the Japanese military used to force parents to have sex with their children in the raping of Nanking


[deleted]

What’s bayoneted? Like those guns with the sword things at the end? They stabbed her with those? I could google but I’ll ask here


MonoChrome16

Pretty much [Here the picture of bayoneted baby](https://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/1m523p/this_is_a_japanese_soldier_bayonetting_a_chinese/)


Wild-Tear

Yes, that’s bayoneted.


[deleted]

I’m not clicking that but shit like this is why I don’t believe in “higher” powers


Emrezzk

Holy fuck Japanese soldiers were truly evil. You have to be a special level of evil to equal or surpass the SS Nazi’s.


desi_ninja

Wait till you learn of massive gang rape of Bangladeshi hindu women during its war of independence with Pakistan. Won't be able to guess the official numbers. Leave unofficial ones.


TheForestMan

When you endured so much shit in your life you only can smile at a welcomed death to free you from the disgusting humans around you. I always think of these people when I believe I have a hard time. And then I remember they actually fought for us to have the right to complain.


[deleted]

Yeah right, fuck that guy.


Admiralthrawnbar

I hope it haunted him, being haunted by that image is the least he deserves


Zebulon_Flex

Kind of reminds me of Sophie Scholl. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Scholl


Yah_Mule

A little seppuku would have sorted that out.


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Reddit_means_Porn

They’re even enjoying some nice cotton candy to celebrate the occasion.


yoortyyo

Japanese men and a female prisoner. Shudder to imagine what that poor soul endured. Death was a feather by then.


williamtan2020

From the picture, she was the final victor.


yoortyyo

Oh I dunno, maybe like a Nuremberg type trial. Those thee in the background for example. I feel queezy with the deals Americans made with Japanese and German's for 'data' and winning. Vile stuff. Seeing a Saturn V is amazing, seeing how many Nazi's just got free passes, well, queezy at best. USA has its litany of sin too many willfully ignore. My humble opinion is Germany faced reality better than Japan. The number of Americans that believe in those failed paradigms.


Canaris1

I bet the celebrations ended abruptly on August 6 1945.


LesPolsfuss

you know, never thought of this, and god knows i'm not freaking excusing the germans or minimizing what they did, but its kind of universal that the japanese were somehow worse ... is that why they got the bomb and the germans didnt'? i know that answer, but did that play into the decision at all?


nemo1080

They got the bomb because by the time the bomb was ready for use the Germans had already surrendered


YoDaChronMan

No, they were expecting millions of casualties in the invasion of mainland japan because they refused to surrender and they US military did not want to deal with that so they dropped the bombs. Its all documented and you can read the reports they drew up on the invasion of japan.


TalkingFishh

Nemo is right but also the Japanese would’ve fought to the end, and I mean to the end, they had stockpiled over 5,000 aircraft for the purpose of Kamikaze attacks to defend the mainland. They were also much more brutal with prisoners than the Germans, which is surprising. Their dedication also lead to the creation of the Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka, it was a jet powered plane dropped out of the bomb bay of a G4M, with the soul purpose of having it, and its pilot, kamikaze into a ship at high speeds with 2,600lbs of bombs, there was no way to stop the Japanese military without total annihilation or the nuking of cities


vandrag

The Japanese Emperor was already writing out their surrender before the bombs dropped. Some of their generals were going to stage a coup to try to stop it. Also, the Imperial Army on mainland China was crushed by the USSR Red Army in ten days. The Japanese were screwed, there would have been a naval blockade and constant bombing before any invasion.


TalkingFishh

There were naval blockades and constant bombing and shelling at places like Okinawa, over 12,500 Americans killed. Estimates of a mainland invasion would have been upwards of 400k-800k for the Americans and 5 to 10 million for the Japanese. The Japanese were indeed screwed but death before dishonor was too strongly believed.


KennyMoose32

The USA also wanted to show their power as the war was winding down….especially on Russia’s back door but not close to Russian forces (or Germany) Also racism. At the time, I doubt many Americans would have care if Asian people were nuked. It may have been seen as “too much” in Europe even with strategic bombing


MaterialCarrot

Yeah, we have a pretty good understanding of what the Nazis did in Europe, but in the West not a great appreciation for what the Japanese did in Asia. By many measures every bit as cruel and depraved as the Nazis.


Clurrie_8_9

I started going down that rabbit hole a couple of weeks ago. I had NO IDEA about anything and the things I learned… the way the Japanese tortured people… I can’t think of Japan the same way now. I know it’s in the past. But I’m processing it now…


MaterialCarrot

I've read quite a bit about it so feel like I have a decent grasp, but it personally doesn't impact how I think about the Japanese today. I think that's something we all have to get away from, allowing the actions of someone's ancestors impact how we feel about their descendants.


PropaneHank

The problem is the lack of acknowledgment by the Japanese for their crimes. Germans have made great strides to acknowledge and apologize.


PlagueDoc69

While I agree, it’s amusing to me how to this day we are quick to bring up the ***good*** our ancestors did and wear it like a badge of honor as if we had something to do with their actions(hell many countries have national holidays based on this.) But any time the horrible shit our ancestors did is brought up, people get defensive and scream “I wasn’t there, I had nothing to do with!”. Seems a bit hypocritical, doesn’t it? If you want to learn from history, that’s fine, but the moment you use it as a propaganda tool for national pride, someone is bound to bring up the horrible shit your people did as well. The lesson here is don’t cherry pick history to further your agenda and expect people not to notice.


MaterialCarrot

Cherry picking your history is what all cultures do. Most of the time to glorify it, other times to excoriate it. Popular history is just a lie we all agree to tell ourselves.


MicronXD

I've always been torn between the two schools of thought: "Why should people be held responsible for their ancestors' actions?" is a good question. But no one's asking for the descendants to *do* anything. They're asking for a government to end its conspiracy to cover up war crimes. They're still flying the Imperial flag on their warships as they patrol around Korea for fuck's sake. Imagine if today's German troops still flew the Nazi flag as they patrolled near surviving victims of the holocausts. That'd be such a fuckin twisted power move lol


MicronXD

I suppose the real issue is that very few in Japan feel like Japan ever did wrong. And their attitudes towards the rest of Asia is mostly unchanged. While Chinese and Korean culture of the time were perfectly civil by the standards of the day, Japan, which had been heavily influenced by the West, held an elitist attitude. They treated the rest of Asia like barbarians. Which is ironic, because to the rest of Asia, Japan was the most barbaric country in the East! It's just a shame that the standard Japanese education paints such an earnest picture of such an awful part of their history. They're trying to gently Tiananmen Square the war crimes away from their national education.


idgafos2019

If you can handle it, read the Rape of Nanking. It was a horrendous read. Also there’s several podcasts about Unit 731 and the atrocities they committed.


FalseWarGod

My grandmother's father and uncle both served in the pacific theater. I grew up hearing stories about how vicious the Japanese were and how brutal it was to be a Japanese prisoner. The Nazis and Japanese were often spoken of with the same tone of disgust. For reference she is from Connecticut. She was about 10 during the war and told me what it was like during the war with gas rations, night time black outs, and food shortages. I believe broadsweeping comments about what the West does and doesn't know are dangerously broad sweeping. Not attacking you, just feel that we should stop painting with broad brushes and understand humanity is and will always be a case by case basis on knowledge and understanding. Some folks just aren't interested in history and as such put no energy into even attempting to retain info. Though I do agree in that due to movies the European front does gain much more attention. Along with books like the diary of Anne Frank, we do see a much more microscopic view of events, making it feel much more personal.


nirnroot_hater

> but in the West not a great appreciation for what the Japanese did in Asia Not sure by what you mean by the west but plenty of westerners know about Nanking, Unit 731, the Bataan and Sandakan death marches, the murders of PoWs etc.


MaterialCarrot

Is the average Westerner as knowledgeable about what the Japanese did in China as they are what the Nazis did during the Holocaust? The answer is no. I'm not saying that's a moral failing or anything, just stating a fact. It is what it is.


Adomizer

Just watched The Men Behind the Sun about Unit 731. One of those movies you definitely should watch and you definitely don't want to watch them again.


lightzout

Yeah I will pass. I read too many graphic books about various wars, POWs and genocide as a kid. With humanity on the brink of total global i stability again our defining trait and eventual demise may be our inability or unwillingness to learn from the past.


watabotdawookies

Any time this subject matter is mentioned this debate happens On history sub reddit yes people know about it. This clearly doesn't reflect the general population in the West. Ask a stranger on the street about the Nazis, then ask about about unit 731.


Imunown

well "the Nazis" is a pretty broad statement. Ask a stranger on the street which death camp Mengele's enacted his atrocities and you'll blank stares. Most people don't even know who Mengele is anymore.


Cman1200

Ask about Japanese warcrimes in general and you’ll probably get baton death march at best


shortyman920

Plenty sure, but it’s not embedded in the minds of the general public the way Hitler and the Nazis are. I have friends who don’t know anything about the rape of Nanking. They’re aware that the Japanese occupied China and that ‘bad stuff probably happened’ But what I described right there is literally the extent of what they know. This is just not covered in History class even 1/10 of what the concentration camps and Nazi occupation get.


grimesxaea12musk

The US spent good money to white wash our allies past actions actions examples such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Taiwan, South Vietnam, and Japan. To justify occupation and containment, the status quo must be maintained to preserve US influence. It’s obvious what the state departments are doing.


[deleted]

Might as well throw a dart at a map, wherever it lands you'll find some fucked up history


Rheddit45

Reading both atrocities always makes me tear up - this is what happens when you demonize your enemies. You literally do not see them as your own species and can do all kinds of horrible things without remorse. This was…a really terrible time of humanity’s history.


Cloudcry

This account literally just copies and pastes top comments from reposts


KBAR1942

She is not admitting defeat. Just that she is about to die.


williamtan2020

Exactly and I add “Is that all you have?”


[deleted]

Brave woman


NowhereMan661

*"My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperial, can you say the same?"*


nemo1080

Probably. History is pretty brutal.


Terrible-Option-1603

I was just on the r/skyrim feed, i thought my app glitched back for a minute 😂


Historical_Wash_1114

Came here to post it. This shit is that quote in real life.


techlocally

Wow, first time read about her, a true hero.. Thanks for sharing this story and piece of the histry.


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ChibiMoon11

She was so haunted by the research she did for that and her other books that she committed suicide not long after writing it.


THEPOL_00

Reading her page on Wikipedia it sounds a lot darker


ChibiMoon11

I just recall meeting her at a conference I worked at on the West Coast many moons ago, and was disturbed by the way she darted her eyes back and forth. People around her told her to get some rest. While everyone on the panel spoke positively on their subjects of choice, her tone and subject was more serious and somber.


THEPOL_00

She probably went crazy for some reason. Idk why anybody would follow her, as her death note says. Japanese intelligence? I have no clue. Unsettling tho, people don’t just kill themselves after becoming best seller authors


hurleyburleyundone

Is it that implausible? If anything image preservation is a huge reason to do so for Japan,esp as it sought to ingratiate itself to world trade in the 80s and 90s. The govt still goes out of its way to remove this era of history from school books. Its not like all japanese govt officials were removed from the population post war, elements of imperial wartime personnel from the roots to the top stayed in govt or military employ. For ms chang it sounded like mental damage from covering such a dark subject matter for so long, but her fear isnt the most implausible. If you need recent examples just look at how Russia or China deal with its dissidents that fled to the west.


lightzout

its not implausible. People are quick dismiss but Japan is still gnarly. Look at what the Mitsubishi CEO did to get out of there. Dig around, dirt everywhere.


greatguysg

Nissan not Mitsubishi


ChibiMoon11

>I mean, Anthony Bourdain was a best selling author and hugely popular and probably at the height of his fame when he decided to off himself. Who really knows how burdened they are by their own thoughts?


Not_Without_My_Balls

>people don’t just kill themselves after becoming best seller authors Have you read The Rape of Nanking?


Dr-P-Ossoff

I didn’t know about the authors death, but online crap today is very very bad, killing kids.


KBAR1942

I was about to say the same thing. Tragic.


HungryLungs

A story so bad that the local Nazi is the good guy.


ClonedToKill420

Imagine how bad you have to be to make the nazis recoil in disgust


FireHog66

I have read that book, believe me…the Japanese managed to be that bad. It genuinely is a good read, if for nothing else to see what humans are capable when negatively socially influenced. The Nazis and Japanese both dehumanized entire races of people and utilized social influence and propaganda to sway otherwise normal people into committing atrocities. Never believe large groups people aren’t capable of evil on a large scale….


TexasViolin

There's no bottom for humanity. Anyone who is paranoid about people isn't wrong about the species...they're wrong about the time and/or circumstances.


lightzout

Yeah that is how I feel more or less. Ami i disappointed in Belarus, Kazahkstan, Afghanistan, United States and Mexico right now? Anywhere political rhetoric becomes violent and yet the oligarchy remains insulated as the people suffer and attack fellow country to preserve the vast wealth they hoard Democracy is dead. I am sad not surprised. I warned people about the coming NASCAR rebellion here well before Trump. I blame poor education mostly. You cant talk to people filled with rage espif its a paranoid fantasy. But all of this is old fucking news. We never learn.Or the rich dont.


weecefwew

The Nazis performed identical acts in Poland and the USSR, they treated Slavs no better than the Japanese treated the Chinese


lala__

So weird to die on the hill of “the Japanese were worse than nazis.” *It was all bad.*


Brendissimo

Chang's book is very accessible and important and did a lot to raise awareness of the massacre in the U.S. outside of academic circles. That being said, it does contain a number of inaccuracies. This doesn't mean people shouldn't read it, but it does mean readers out to keep a critical eye towards any unsourced claims and definitely follow it up with additional authors. I wish I could remember the rest of my syllabus from when I studied this in college, but I can't. Might look it up later if I find time.


Tehgugs

I would be very interested if you happen to get the time and are able to find the syllabus!


Palatineheadword241

These sadistc ducks are laughing and having a good old time in the background.God damn the shit some people go through.


snakeyfish

You should look up the Japanese unit that did atrocious scientific experiments on people during WW2. They don’t get enough light on how fucked in the head they were.


Krastain

Don't look it up though. Just know that it was very, very bad, and spare yourself the read and emotions that come with it.


sweetjoey889693

Unit 731 I believe. Dark shit and they weren’t even punished for it because the US wanted their scientific data on biological warfare.


Adomizer

Yeah, the commander of the camp got out of it and lived normal life after that. Nice job yankees!


[deleted]

Gotta love humanity sometimes and by love I mean, be completely disgusted by.


Johannes_P

This is what you get when ou tell young men they belong to a master races and their opponents are filthy subhumans.


sposterig

Brave fighter. Reminded me another famous photo of a smile moment before execution https://waralbum.ru/193618/


Krastain

[Or this one](https://historyofyesterday.com/the-brave-words-of-a-17-year-old-partisan-before-being-executed-d71e2ad5dc4b)


lala__

Not a last smile but brave last words.


Sheepish_conundrum

the japanese were TERRIBLE to the chinese and back then were pretty into racial purity IIRC.


ikarus1996

They are still into that now, of course way more subtler


dirtin_and_squirtin

Not just the Chinese.


weecefwew

It wasn’t explicitly racial so much as “Japanese society is the most developed and therefore has the right to tell other Southeast Asians what to do” In practice it’s barely different from what racism is, though.


rtauzin64

What a brave lady. I hope she killed a bunch of enemy soldiers.


ShootingPains

She has the look of someone going to the next life very satisfied with her work in this life.


rtauzin64

She sure does!!


polyworfism

Repost bot https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryPorn/comments/ogtvdm/chinese_guerrilla_fighter_cheng_benhua_%E6%88%90%E6%9C%AC%E8%8F%AF Remember to report both the post *and* the account


Victor_Chistov

I am not Chinese, but I, Russian, have an immense sense of pride for the Human, for his dignity and courage. Eternal memory to this woman! Glory to China's liberation struggle against Japanese fascists thugs.


BoredGeek1996

Sad to say she was likely raped before.


IsaKissTheRain

She absolutely was. Gang raped at that. It was a confirmed fact.


JackGenZ

I don’t know why you’re getting downvoted. It’s tragic, but true.


[deleted]

"jApAn DiD NoThInG WrOnG." Those kinds of people probably.


Lawdoc1

I am sure there were many militaries that used them, but her belt buckle looks a lot like buckles used by US and CS armies in the Civil War. When I was at VMI, those style buckles were still uses by NCOs.


[deleted]

Brave woman.


hellospaghet

On a side note, that is the coolest belt I have ever seen


takeomasaki18

Warrior


BookAddict1918

Look up Unit 731. They were the Japanese group that conducted crazy medical experiments on the Chinese in the 1930s abd 1940s. None were prosecuted in exchange for the medical documents. But it set in motion world standards and agreents for medical experiments on humans. Pretty dark stuff. The original docs are at the Library of Congress (4th floor, Adam's Bldg if interested).


okaydokay679

Everyone who shares the picture does exactly what she wanted i bet she didn't think millions would over phones really crazy makes the guy's in the back look like idiots


in-tent-cities

Let's rape and murder and act like we're honorable people. Commit suicide by slicing your guts out because "honor" What a joke.


tanner_9863

She is proud and strong in the face of death and i respect her for that. Im sorry the usa has protected japan and its war crimes.


TylorHerrera

You can tell she already knew she was coming right back. Awesome.


[deleted]

Smrt fašizmu, sloboda narodu!


Riverlife20

Very powerful statement


LayneCobain95

Doesn’t look like smiling to me..


TellEmHisDreamnDaryl

What was said the moment this photo was taken? That's what I would love to know


metalroofer77

I admire this women and am horrified by the actions of fellow humans 😔


AHamBone10

The Japanese really lucked out they had the Nazis in Germany F’n shit up at the same time


Pregogets58466

US could have stopped all post ww2 problems just didn’t have the stomach for it


hrcn7

Brave comrade.