Contrasting the convivial star that rises in the East, the Rising Sun Empire of Japan rose over Eastern China and radiated terror, advancing into Asia with a goal of Japanese Imperialism. After a successful victory in Shanghai during late November of 1937, the Japanese Central Front Army, lead by Matsui Iwane, continued their advance into China, with eyes set on the capital of Nationalist China ― Nanking. Through frequent slaughter, acts of sexual abuse and defacing of the environment, the Japanese inflicted tremendous destruction to the city of Nanking and its inhabitants. This Japanese military conquest brought on a United States trade embargo, which eventually led to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. This began warfare, which the United …show more content…
The Japanese utilized chemical strips to burn down houses, stores and churches. By the end of the first few weeks of the Nanking Massacre, 33% of the entire city was incinerated, with an approximate 75% of stores destroyed. Studies estimate damage to public property amounted to $836 million (in 1939 USD), and loss of private property was at least $136 million . Moreover, streets piled with dead bodies, and the smell of trash and decaying human flesh cast a feeling of despair throughout Nanking . The destruction done by the Japanese obliterated the environment, turning it gruesome and exceedingly unappealing. The physical wreckage did not leave any homes for citizens to live in, nor any chance for the economy to re-establish itself and proliferate. It instead left a heavy liability, costing millions of dollars to rebuild the …show more content…
Through massive slaughter and fleeing to escape the Japanese, the population of Nanking dropped from one million to 275 thousand by March of 1938 . Those who survived were constantly terrified of the Japanese, and could only resort to taking refugee in the safety zone of Nanking . In January of 1938, only a military store and International Committee’s rice shop were open. Additionally, local farmers had their yield and livestock stripped away . With the exception of those who collaborated with the Japanese, almost all Chinese were unemployed, leading to no economic improvement nor potential. These factors eventually destroyed the progression of the post-massacre economy in Nanking. Despite Japanese violence significantly diminishing after January of 1938, conditions in Nanking never achieved pre-war levels for years. One year since the massacre, crop yield had not reached the pre-massacre level. The population of Nanking grew to 700 thousand in 1942, when it plateaued, with no growth until after World War Two . The Nanking Massacre left citizens crippled, dead, and mentally scarred, the economy in shambles, and not recovering until years
Thus, the Japanese began to resort to ghastly measures to prevent a humiliating defeat. Japanese aggression originated in the fall of 1931 when the explosion of a section of the South Manchurian Railway in northern China occurred, causing Japan’s Kwangtung Army, who was guarding the railroad, to exchange fire with the Chinese Army and then proceed to occupy all of Manchuria. Soon after, the Kwangtung Army set up a puppet government and renamed the region Manchukuo. The Chinese Army claimed that the Japanese purposely blew up part of the railroad to initiate a confrontation and therefore a reason to occupy Manchuria.2 Later, in 1937, Japan decided to go ahead with plans to further invade China, and conquered most of the northern and eastern regions within a year. This was later termed the "China Incident" because Japan had never formally declared war on China.... ...
Despite having the horrific Nanking Massacre occur 70 years ago, its history is barely buried like many of the dead were at the time. The Nanking Massacre (also known as the Rape of Nanking) occurred as a part of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War, which would then become part of World War II. This war involved the Republic of China defending against the invading Japanese forces. Unfortunately, China was weakened due to a civil war between the Communists and the Nationalists, so it was easily invaded. The Nanking Massacre shows the negative elements of Human Nature and should be taught in schools because it portrays the brutality of the Japanese in Asia.
Seung-Hui Cho was a 23 year old senior that studied English at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. On April 16, 2007 Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and injured 17 others in two separate attacks before taking his own life. This event is known as one of the deadliest shootings by a single gunman in the United States and worldwide.
When most American people think of Germany, they think of sports cars made for the autobahn, sauerkraut, Adolf Hitler, and the Holocaust. Compared to Germany, when most American people think of Japan they think of sushi, Godzilla movies, Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. World War II was such a significant event in history that almost 70 years after it came to an end, today’s younger generations often associate former Axis controlled countries with the war. People around the world are filled with disgust and immense hate when they hear the name Hitler, mainly because of his leadership under the Holocaust; which was the discriminatory mass genocide of 11-17 million people, the vast majority of which were European Jews. Hirohito, former Emperor of Japan, should strike a similar bell with people when they hear his name because Japan carried out genocide on Chinese civilians and soldiers in World War II. Japan’s attack on the Chinese city of Nanking, was one of the most atrocious events in history. This event has been named both the Nanking Massacre and the Rape of Nanking. The torturous, violent techniques used by the Japanese army upon Chinese civilians and soldiers including dehumanizing them, addicting them to drugs, and other perverse and violent acts, are some of the most grosteque methods ever recorded that could only be thought of by sadistic Japanese soldiers. The events committed by the Japanese army in Nanking, are equally as disgusting as the acts that Nazi Germany committed and should become a major topic involved with World War II in the future, despite the lack of light shed on it in the past for various reasons.
Japan figured if it wanted to survive, it would have to expand to get more materials. o neal 410-413. Japan started trying to take over Asia. They landed on the east coast of China in Manchuria and stationed troops there in order to try to take over northeastern China. ("Japan Launches A Surprise Attack on Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941").
Japan was a small nation that was in dire need of resources so it could flourish. They need iron for weapons, rubber for tires, and coal and oil for fuel. In July 1937, to capture its coal and iron reserves, Japan launched a successful and brutal attack against China. This would be the start of an assault on the Pacific region by Japan. This assault would last for three years without anyone getting involved because tensions were growing futile in the European theatre.
On the 29th o April, 1977 Captain Cook, commander of a British fleet, landed on the eastern shore of Australia, in an attempt to claim the land under the name of Britain. The land was to be claimed by Britain as a land where the British government could send convicts; in an attempt to ease the struggle in the over flowing prisons. Upon Cooks arrival, he was ordered to follow three rules of claiming a foreign land. They were;
In July 1937, the second Sino-Japanese War broke out. A small incident was soon made into a full scale war by the Kwantung army which acted rather independently from a more moderate government. The Japanese forces succeeded in occupying almost the whole coast of China and committed severe war atrocities on the Chinese population, especially during the fall of the capital Nanking. However, the Chinese government never surrendered completely, and the war continued on a lower scale until 1945.
The Wounded Knee Massacre was final result of the growing problems between the Lakota Sioux and the American Government. After the Civil War tension began to escalate and ended on December 29, 1890. When the government took over most of the Lakota land and forced them into reservations the Indian way of life was destroyed and the large bison herds were hunted until they were endangered. The life in reservations was also difficult since many of the promises made by the government remained unfulfilled: “Promises to increase rations, made by U.S. officials in 1889 in order to secure signatures to reduce Sioux treaty lands by half, and to create six separate reservations, had proved false. Instead, rations had been cut precipitously, and the people were nearly starving.” (Robertson 1). Treaties which were signed to protect the reservations from outsiders were also ignored by the government. There were also other factors which led to the killing such as the Ghost Dance, Murder of Chief Sitting Bull, and the struggle with evolved into a massacre.
Many important turning points for America have occurred throughout its history. One in particular is when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In 1940, Japan had joined Germany and Italy in the Axis Powers. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor ever happened, the U.S. was in isolationism, which meant they were largely staying out of the war. The United States was unhappy with Japan’s increasingly belligerent attitude toward China. The Japanese government believed that the only way to solve its economic and demographic problems was to expand into its neighbor’s territory. Therefore Japan decided to take over China’s import market, which meant Japan would declare war on China in 1937. American officials responded to this aggression with a battery of economic sanctions and trade embargoes on Japan. The United States reasoned that without access to money and goods, and especially essential supplies like oil, Japan would have to rein in its expansionism.
The Rape of Nanking, also known as the Nanking Massacre was a six week period when mass numbers of Chinese men and woman were killed by the Japanese. Embarrassed by the lack of effort in the war with China in Shanghai, the Japanese looked for revenge and finally were able to win the battle. The Japanese moved toward the city of Nanjing also known as Nanking and invaded it for approximately six months. Even though the people of Nanjing outnumbered the 50,000 Japanese, they were not as masterful in warfare as their opponents. Chinese soldiers were forced to surrender to the Japanese and the massacre began in which around 300,000 people died and 20,000 women were raped. The Japanese leaders had different methods of killing that were instructed to the soldiers. However, the prisoners of this “City of Blood” soon found their liberation and their justice was served.
The Kwangju Massacre, also widely known as the Kwangju Democratic Uprising to those who support the movement played a significant role in the course of democratization of South Korea. This research paper focuses on why the Kwangju Uprising occurred and the role of the United States. Many South Koreans felt that the United States supported President Chun’s military government and outlook the injustice that was taking place in Kwangju. The Kwagju Massacre ended with the army seizing the Province hall once again on May 27th 1980. Even with the defeat, the Kwangju Uprising gave aspiration to the citizen that they are able to bring change in the government policies.
They murdered those they had raped and many more that dared to walk the streets. In fact, the Japanese soldiers had a contest to see who could kill a hundred people first. They couldn’t figure out who won, so their conclusion was to hold another contest to get to a hundred and fifty people. But in addition to physically harming the people of China, they also destroyed their homes and workplaces by lighting them on fire. Around a third of the buildings in Nanking were destroyed by the soldiers.
When 1937 arrived, Japanese soldiers raided China’s capital of Nanking and began to mass murder citizens. A sole leader of the Japanese Imperial Army was non-existent. There were many of people in power such as generals who allowed these behaviors to occur. Baron Koki Hirota, Foreign minister at the time, proceeded to do nothing while being well aware of the Japanese’s persecution of the Chinese. These unsympathetic murders of those who were thought to be Chinese soldiers as well as woman, children and elderly. This massacre lasted between the 1937 and 1938. Within this time 300,000 Chinese citizens were viciously killed. This genocide is called Rape of Nanking because of raping the woman before killing them. Most likely this group was selected because the second world war happened in Asia. This was significant because a country was able to kill half the population of another. I believe the reason of this Genocide was for Japan to take advantage of China while expand Japan. Most likely the Japanese wished to exterminate China’s entire population.
The Manchurian incident was a turning point in Japanese history in which it abandoned its somewhat general policy of cooperation and peace and instead chose to pursue their personal interests in Asia (S,191). The Japanese interest in China was evident even before its invasion in 1931. In both the Sino Japanese war from 1894 to 1905 as well as the Russo-Japanese War from 1904 to 1905 Japan secured specific locations in Manchuria and other areas in China (U,351). Overall, the consensus for the extensive needs of the empire ultimately drove its policy making until the end of World War 2. To take control of what they believed to be the most mineral rich section of China in which they controlled expansive holdings in such as the South Manchurian Railroad, officers part of the Kwantung Army that were stationed there hatched a plan that would become to be known as the Manchurian Crisis. On September 18th 1931, Japanese soldiers located at the South Manchurian Railroad set off an explosive that they blamed on China (launching both nations into hostile relations for years to come.?? (P,115)) The Japanese invaded Japanese Invaded Chinese controlled Manchuria in 1931 because they wanted to accommodate the rising of the Japanese population, obtain more natural resources, and to stimulate their nearly collapsed economy.