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​Episode 28: The Rape of Nanking, Controversy and Coverups

Aug 3, 2020
As the name itself implies, The Rape of Nanking is no light subject. It is one of many of Japan’s extended list of war crimes committed by commanders and their troops during World War II. Throughout the seven-week pillaging of what was once Nanking, an estimate of 20,000 to 80,000 Chinese women raped and forced into a life of prostitution as “comfort women”, and 50,000 to 300,000 Chinese civilians were brutalized and savagely murdered. ​Despite the fact that the massacre was carried out by the Japanese, the Chinese government could partially be blamed as well, due to the Nationalist leader, Chiang Kai-Shek’s inadequate handling of the event, and Communist leader Mao Zedong’s following coverup. The Rape of Nanking has been a topic of debate for historians in the past few decades as no one can seem to pinpoint the exact amount of people decimated, the extent of the acts committed by the Japanese Imperial Army, and whether it was comparable to the Holocaust.

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