Published : 13/12/2024

On December 13, 1937, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Republic of China lost the Battle of Nanjing, leading to the eventual fall of Nanjing and the occurrence of the Nanjing Massacre.

The Nanjing Massacre was one of the most egregiously brutal events of World War II. After occupying Nanjing, the Japanese forces, under the command of Expeditionary Army Commander Iwane Matsui (松井石根) and the commander of the Sixth Division Hisao Tani (谷壽夫), engaged in a six-week massacre of civilians and surrendered soldiers.

Mass shootings, live burials, decapitations, and arson were just some of the brutal acts of the Japanese. They committed extensive war crimes and crimes against humanity, including large-scale slaughter, rape, arson, and looting.

According to the judgments and investigations by the post-war International Military Tribunal for the Far East and the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal, more than 200,000 to over 300,000 Chinese civilians and POWs were killed during the Nanjing Massacre.

The city was set ablaze and looted extensively, with one-third of its buildings destroyed and innumerable properties lost.