15 Jul Nanjing Memorial Hall
History
NANJING, CHINA – Nanjing Memorial Hall, also known as the Nanjing Massacre Memorial for Compatriots killed in the Nanking Massacre by Japanese Forces of Aggression. This hall is to memorialize those who were killed in the Nanjing Massacre by the Imperial Japanese Army. Nanjing (formally called Nanking) was China’s capital at the time when the Japanese forces invaded China. On December 13, 1937, the Japanese army occupied Nanjing for several months. During their first six to eight weeks of their occupancy, the Japanese committed numerous crimes including rape, arson, looting, mass executions, and torture. The numbers of casualties during the massacre are still being debated between China and Japan, however, the Chinese estimate that 300,000 unarmed civilians were brutally slaughtered. Stories of children being speared in the head with nails and beheading games performed by the Japanese resonate to this day in China. It has been reported that the Japanese soldiers conducting killing competitions and bayonet practice using live Chinese prisoners. Thousands of corpses littered the streets and rivers, while many buildings were looted then burned down. Approximately 20,000 cases of rape occurred in Nanjing including young girls as young as 8 years old. Children, the elderly and nuns were all subject to this brutality.
This is still a part of history that is largely unknown throughout the world, but the Chinese people are still living with the effects of this tragic event in history.
Location & Hours
Address: 418 Shuiximen St, Jianye, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Hours: 8:30am-4:30pm Tues-Sun
Written By: Johanna
