No sooner had victorious Japanese troops marched into China’s capital, Nanjing, on 13 December 1937, than atrocities were committed to civilian residents and disarmed Chinese soldiers in and around the city. The world’s attention was drawn to the incident known as the “Rape of Nanking” or the “Nanjing Massacre” not only because of its enormous scale, but also due to the fact that in the fallen city there were twenty-seven western nationals, five of whom were American and British correspondents. The reports by these journalists gave instant prominence to the event even when the massacre was in progress. For the...

The Marco Polo Bridge Incident, which took place on 7 July 1937, near Beijing, marked the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War. More incidents soon ensued down south in the Shanghai area, including a skirmish at the Hongqiao airfield, which inevitably led to hostilities in Shanghai on 13 August. After heavy and desperate fighting, Shanghai was captured by the Japanese in mid-November, and China’s capital, Nanjing, fell on 13 December 1937. What Japanese soldiers did in Nanjing after its fall subsequently became known in history as the “Nanjing Massacre.”

In late November, after Shanghai fell to the Japanese, the Chinese...

The five American and British journalists, who stayed in Nanjing to cover the siege and the expected fall of the city, subsequently observed more than bloody battles and disorganized retreat. They were shocked by the Japanese atrocities committed in and around the fallen city, though they responded swiftly to include the atrocities in their news coverage.

The journalists were desperate to have their reports sent and published in a timely manner. However, with the collapse of the Chinese municipal authorities, mail, telegram, water and electricity were all out of service in the city. The chaotic situation made it impossible for...

When Sino-Japanese hostilities broke out around the Shanghai area in August 1937, Father Jacquinot, a French priest, established a safety zone to provide shelter for refugees in the war torn areas. Father Jacquinot’s safety zone inspired the western nationals in Nanjing when the Japanese forces were heading toward China’s capital city. The Safety Zone was first conceived on 16 November 1937,¹ and the 15-member International Committee for the Nanjing Safety Zone was formally organized on 22 November.² The first priority was the establishment of the Safety Zone and the selection of a favorable site. “After careful inquiry and much discussion,...

During the massacre days, the Americans in the city took an active role in either organizing and maintaining the Safety Zone, or taking care of refugees and the wounded. Many of them worked aggressively to protect refugees against Japanese atrocities. Living at subsistence level, they worked under great pressure, oftentimes at the risk of their personal safety. Several of them were even attacked, slapped, threatened, or abused by Japanese soldiers. Due to the fact that they were prohibited from leaving Nanjing, and no mail service was in existence, the only way they could vent their feelings, anxieties, and frustrations was...

The fourteen Americans who remained in the city, along with other western nationals, played an important role in offering shelter and food for Chinese refugees, and protecting them against Japanese violations through their work on the International Committee for the Nanjing Safety Zone. At the same time, the Americans endeavored to protect American property and interests in the city. They repeatedly made protests to the Japanese Embassy over violations committed by Japanese soldiers on American properties, but to no avail. They felt it urgent that American diplomatic representatives should return to Nanjing immediately to provide adequate and effective protection over...

After Nanjing fell to the Japanese, the Western nationals within the city functioned as neutral observers to keep watch over the Japanese. Whenever it was possible, the Americans tried to defend Chinese refugees against Japanese brutality. Undoubtedly, without the efforts of the Americans and other western nationals, the situation in Nanjing would have been much worse. The attitude of the Japanese military authorities, on the other hand, was very hostile to this group of foreigners.¹ Some Japanese army officers complained that no conquering army had ever allowed neutral observers.² What the Americans had done in Nanjing naturally further aroused strong...

While incidents of personal attacks took place one after another, damage to American property and interests in Nanjing was enormous. The Japanese soldiers made unauthorized entries into American property, ransacked the contents, and tore down and trampled upon American flags. Allison reported upon arrival on 6 January 1938 that there had been considerable vandalism of American property by Japanese soldiers. The contents of buildings left unguarded had generally been looted. Several automobiles had been stolen from Embassy compounds.¹ No sooner had the diplomats arrived than they found themselves busy dealing with the property cases. Espy drafted a memorandum concerning the...

With the hostilities getting closer to Nanjing, the British Embassy chose to relocate to Shanghai, leaving Consul H. I. Prideaux-Brune in charge of the Nanjing embassy. When the Japanese troops surrounded Nanjing, Prideaux-Brune ordered all British subjects in the city to evacuate either to British gunboats or merchant vessels on 8 December 1938. At the time, there was a large concentration of British ships in Nanjing waters, including HMS Cricket, HMS Scarab, SS Whangpu, SS Wantung, SS Tseangtah, ST Taikoo, MV Tienkuang, Jardine’s hulk Chinwo, several lighters and other vessels.¹

Before the Japanese launched the final assault and the fall...

Sixty-six years have elapsed since the Nanjing Massacre occurred. In 1948, the International Military Tribunal for the Far East reached the verdict that over 200,000 civilians and prisoners of war were murdered in Nanjing and its vicinity during the first six weeks of the Japanese occupation,¹ but controversies over issues surrounding the massacre have long existed. Outcries were mainly voiced by some Japanese scholars who challenged the Tribunal’s judgment. Some disputed the sentence of Iwane Matsui who was hanged in 1948 for his alleged failure in controlling the troops under his command in Nanjing. Some questioned the burial records and...