English & American documents · Safe area documents · Autonomous committee documents

Author: Zhang Sheng et al.
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: This volume is the 12th in the "Nanjing Massacre Historical Materials Collection." The "Nanjing Massacre Historical Materials Collection" is divided into several thematic sections, gathering historical materials from various sources. It includes archival materials of the Chinese army's fierce battles to defend the capital Nanjing against the invading Japanese forces; a large number of diaries, letters, memories, and testimonies of Japanese officers and soldiers who committed the atrocities; a substantial collection of written historical materials about the Nanjing Massacre by Westerners; testimonies of Nanjing Massacre survivors; and materials from the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and the Military Court of the National Defense of China for the Prosecution of War Criminals, among others. This volume mainly consists of three parts: Anglo-American Documents, documents from the Safety Zone, and documents from the Nanjing Municipal Self-Governing Committee. Additionally, it includes materials related to the National Government and its propaganda efforts regarding the Nanjing Massacre.
The Anglo-American Documents are divided into two parts. The first part is American Documents, primarily composed of telegrams and correspondence between the U.S. Embassy in China and the U.S. State Department, as well as uncompiled materials by John Rabe and accounts from other individuals. The second part is British Diplomatic Archives, all sourced from the National Archives of the United Kingdom. They similarly prove that the Japanese forces conducted indiscriminate bombing on Nanjing, that China explored peaceful possibilities through various channels, and that the Japanese forces, under the watch of Westerners, committed rape, murder, and looting, with Japanese merchants rushing into Nanjing to seize the spoils of victory.
The Safety Zone Documents consist of two parts and an appendix. The first part is the "Nanjing Safety Zone Archives," edited and published by John Rabe in 1939, originally in English. These archives were preserved under extremely difficult circumstances by John Rabe and others, primarily documenting the negotiations between Safety Zone officials and the Japanese forces, as well as their accounts of Japanese atrocities. The second part is the Nanjing International Relief Committee report. After the Nanjing Safety Zone International Committee was reorganized into the Nanjing International Relief Committee in February 1938, Westerners and a small number of Chinese continued their efforts to aid Chinese refugees, which lasted until spring 1939. The third part is the archives of the Nanjing Self-Governing Committee. The Self-Governing Committee was a puppet organization supported by Japan, which, by calling for refugees to register, led to a significant number of civilians being captured and killed by the Japanese forces. The fourth part concerns the National Government's propaganda efforts both domestically and internationally regarding the Nanjing Massacre. It can be seen that the National Government spent a great deal of human and material resources promoting John T. Boyle's "The Japanese Brutality Witnessed by Foreigners," with many units and high-ranking political and military officials receiving copies of the book and being educated by it.