Primary Sources: China: Nanjing (Nanking) Massacre

Association for Learning & Preserving the History of WW II in Asia
"Through the dedication of volunteers and supporters, B.C. ALPHA has come a long way in promoting awareness of crimes against humanity committed during WWII in Asia. This has been done by way of several educational initiatives. Since its establishment, B.C. ALPHA has cooperated with many ethnic and community organizations on these initiatives. In 2000, B.C. ALPHA began working with the B.C. Ministry of Education and with Canadian educators in an attempt to integrate this important but seldom known chapter of history and human rights into the provincial secondary school curriculum. B.C. ALPHA also supports just and honorable redress for victims of the Asian Holocaust. Our program and project funding come entirely from individual donors and charity foundations."

"The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), informally known as the Tokyo War Crimes trial, lasted two and a half years, from April 29, 1946 to November 12, 1948. In contrast, the far better known Nuremberg Trial lasted less than a year. Established to try Japanese officials involved with perpetrating World War II, the IMTFE set a greater precedence for international law than Nuremberg yet is relatively under-studied in comparison."

"The historical images in the International Mission Photography Archive come from Protestant and Catholic missionary collections held at a number of centers in Britain, Europe, and North America. The photographs record missionary endeavors and reflect the missionaries’ experience of communities and environments abroad. There are examples of the physical influence the mission presence brought –seen in churches and their surrounding settlements-- as well as examples of the cultural impact of mission teaching and Western influence, including schools, hospitals, training programs, Christian practices, and Western technology and fashions. The pictures document indigenous peoples' responses to missions and the history of indigenous churches which are often now a major force in society. They also offer views of traditional culture, landscapes, cities, and towns before and in the early stages of modern development."

"In this exhibit, you will find three sets of annotated documents from three different faculty members (Minnie Vautrin, Wu Yi-Fang, M. Searle Bates). In these letters, diaries, reports, and meeting minutes, they discuss what they witnessed during the Massacre. Each of these primary source documents is interactive, and you can click on the highlighted text to reveal background information as well as images and links to secondary sources. "

"The Atrocities section of the website focuses on the Nanjing Atrocities that occurred from December 13, 1937 through the end of March 1938. During this time soldiers from the Japanese Imperial Army ran riot in the captured Chinese capital, unleashing a spree of violence, murder, and rape on the population. At the same time, a small community of Westerners chose to remain in the besieged city and establish what became known as the Nanjing Safety Zone. These handful of individuals assembled the largest body of materials specifically documenting the Atrocities."

Oral histories by some people who experienced the Nanjing Massacre in 1937.

"A Digital Archive of Documents & Photographs from American Missionaries Who Witnessed the Rape of Nanking" Yale Divinity School Library