" The Second Sino-Japanese War/CBI Theater
" Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing
Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing
9 Dec 1937 - 31 Jan 1938
ww2dbaseJapanese troops marched for Nanjing, the capital of China, almost immediately after capturing the city of Shanghai on the coast. Along the way, the exhausted Chinese troops failed to hold positions east of Nanjing. The town of Kunshan in Jiangsu Province was lost in two days, the Wufu defensive line had collapsed by 19 Nov, and the Xicheng Line was overrun on 26 Nov. Among the Chinese leadership, two sides existed regarding the defense of Nanjing. General Li Zongren thought deploying troops to Nanjing would be a waste of resources; he proposed declaring Nanjing an open city, meanwhile the troops should be tasked to destroy anything that could be used by the Japanese after Nanjing became captured. General Bai Chongxi and advisor General Alexander von Falkenhausen of the German Army voiced support for Li's plan. Chiang Kaishek, however, overruled his officers, citing that a lack of effort to defend the political capital would have severe consequences to the morale of the troops and China's international prestige; "I am personally in favor of defending Nanking to the death", said Chiang, placing former rival General Tang Shengzhi in charge of the city's 100,000-strong defense. Tang, who knew well that most of his troops were untrained recent conscripts, was not confident in his newfound responsibilities, but he put on a strong public face. In a press conference on 27 Nov, he enthusiastically announced that his men would stand the ground against any Japanese attack, but urged the westerners in the city to depart. Meanwhile, he also ordered all buildings and wooded areas to be cleared about a mile from the perimeter of the city, to eliminate any cover for the Japanese troops; this would prove to be a controversial order as it increased the number of refugees crowding the city, and the charred walls of hastily burned homes offered as much protection for the Japanese as intact ones. Behind the scenes, however, Tang sought alternative means to save the city, including a busy week working through the westerns in Nanjing to both persuade Chiang to allow him to declare Nanjing an open city and negotiate a truce with the Japanese; both efforts would fail.
ww2dbaseOn 1 Dec, the Chinese government left the city, setting up the temporary capital at Chongqing several days later; Chiang and his family did not leave Nanjing until 7 Dec. As the troops prepared the defenses, the civilian side of government was left to the international committee headed by German businessman John Rabe. As the Chinese government left, the troops continued to destroy buildings and infrastructure within the city just as they had done outside the city walls days earlier; in total, this scorched earth policy caused between US$20,000,000 to US$30,000,000 worth of damage during the period between the fall of Shanghai and the start of the Battle of Nanjing. After the government officials departed, the civilians began fleeing the city en masse, creating mass panic. Tang controversially closed off all routes to the civilian to stem the panic, going as far as burning the boats on the Yangtze River to prevent further unauthorized evacuations.
ww2dbaseBattle of Nanjing
10-13 Dec 1937
ww2dbaseWhen the Japanese troops arrived at the outskirts of Nanjing in early Dec, Tang realized that his defenses, untrained and demoralized to the point that many were simply abandoning their posts, had no chance of winning. Chiang maintained that Tang, previously enthusiastic but now realizing the impossibility of winning, should continue to stage the defense. On 7 Dec, the Japanese Army announced internally that soldiers who commit "illegal acts" and "dishonor the Japanese Army" during the conquest of Nanjing would be severely punished. Early on 9 Dec, the Japanese Army arrived at the Nanjing's city wall, and demanded surrender within the following 24 hours. No Chinese envoy appeared, and at 1300 hours, General Iwane Matsui and Lieutenant General Prince Asaka (Yasuhiko) concluded that the Chinese were not interested in negotiating, and gave the order for attack.
ww2dbaseThe Japanese 36th Infantry Regiment of the 9th Division attacked the heavily-defended Guanghua Gate at 1400 hours, which was manned by some of the few experienced troops at Nanjing. During the course of the afternoon, the Chinese troops at Guanghua Gate increased to 1,000. Concrete pill boxes, tankettes, and the usage of fire inflicted large numbers of casualties among the Japanese, but greater firepower eventually overwhelmed the Chinese. By nightfall, Japanese mountain guns had destroyed part of the gate, and the Japanese troops poured in and drove out the last of the defenders. Knowing that morale had been low to begin with, Tang gathered his divisional commanders at his headquarters, and the group unanimously decided that winning was impossible. Tang refused to be the sole blame for losing the battle, thus he had everyone sign the document from Chiang noting that retreat was only permitted when absolutely necessary. On 12 Dec, Tang decided to extract himself later that day, Yijiang Gate in the north was the only gate still in Chinese control; he left the city without officially announcing the surrender of the city, and the uncertainly soon led to the retreating completely breaking down. Many men found their commanding officers disappearing, and began to flee in all directions in panic. As organization broke down, so did discipline; American journalists Frank Tillman Durdin of the New York Times and Archibald Steele of the Chicago Daily News reported witnessing Chinese troops looting shops, while others threw away their uniforms and weapons in an attempt to disappear into the civilian population. The retreat became even further disrupted when the troops of the Chinese 36th Division at Yijiang Gate, still holding on to orders to block any retreat (Tang never revoke his previous order before he fled the city), confronted the units attempting to pass through the gate. Thousands of Chinese troops crowded inside the Yijiang Gate, and it was not before long that many began to force their way through, and the 36th Division troops opened fire on those they considered deserters. Some began to push in even greater panic, and many were trampled to death.
ww2dbaseAt 1327 hours on 12 Dec, American gunboat USS Panay and three tankers were in the Yangtze River, upstream from Nanjing. Though Panay flied American flags, they came under attack by three B4Y Type 96 bombers and nine A4N Type 95 fighters. Panay sank at 1554 hours with three deaths. The gunboat was the first American ship lost in WW2. The Panay Incident caused some tension between Japanese-American relations, though officially it was settled on 24 Dec 1937 when the Japanese government apologized and paid over US$2,000,000 for what was said to be the result of a mis-identification.
ww2dbaseAt 0300 hours on 12 Dec, Tang met with his staff officers and ordered a small group of troops to evacuate across the Yangtze River while the remainder was to conduct a break out attack on the Japanese lines in the south. By the time he met with his officers again at 1700 hours, however, dire situations changed his mind, and he increased the size of the river evacuation to include 5 divisions worth of men. At 1800 hours, the evacuation was in full swing, but in utter chaos. Thousands of troops and even more refugees crowded the routes to the docks, with the movement slowed even further by abandoned military equipment and civilian carts. Hundreds, if not more, were trampled to death, while accidental fires consumed many others. Tang, having been ordered to leave the city by Chiang, made it to the docks in a staff car at 2100 hours and boarded a small coal-powered launch, safely reaching the opposite shore.
ww2dbaseIn the morning of 13 Dec, men of the Japanese 6th and 114th Divisions entered the city, followed by the men of the 9th (via Guanghua Gate) and 16th (via Zhongshan and Taiping Gates) Divisions; these four divisions numbered about 50,000 men. That afternoon, two small Japanese river flotillas arrived at Nanjing's ports. By nightfall, the Japanese had declared the battle a victory.
ww2dbaseThe Rape of Nanjing
13 Dec 1937-31 Jan 1938
ww2dbaseAfter the Japanese sacked Nanjing, the conquering troops engaged in a six-week long orgy of violence. Depending on various sources, somewhere between 50,000 to over 300,000 Chinese, mostly civilians and prisoners of war, were killed. Those who had bullets ripping through their bodies as they ran away could have been said the lucky ones, as many other victims suffered worse fates. Deaths resulted from bayoneting, burning, crushing by tanks, burying, and decapitation were common. Even worse were those who bled to death by after being nailed to telephone poles or doors, castrated, delimbed, or disemboweled. And then there were the over 20,000 cases of rapes, victims of which crime ranged from girls under 10 years of age to over 80 years of age; many of those who were raped, itself a grotesque crime, were further tortured by the Japanese troops by impalement of their vaginas with everything from beer bottles to bayonets. Few but not unseen atrocities were committed by the most sadistic, who tore out fetuses from pregnant women with bayonets and forced sons to rape their mothers. In 1938, a 16-millimeter film made by Episcopal missionary John Magee was smuggled out of China and eventually made its way to the United States. It was shown anonymously to certain US Congressmen, US Army, and Red Cross members. The original films were found in the 1990s after being lost for more than fifty years, documenting aftermath of the atrocity. Over time, many Japanese veterans of the war stepped forth and admitted to the atrocities that took place, confirming the widespread violence.
ww2dbaseJournalist Edgar Snow provided the following eyewitness account:
Thousands of men were led out of the [Nanjing International Safety] Zone, ostensibly for labour battalions, and lined up and machine-gunned. Sometimes groups were used for bayonet exercises. When the victors grew bored with such mild sport they tied their victims, poured kerosene over their heads, and cremated them alive. Others were taken out to empty trenches, and told to simulate Chinese soldiers. Japanese officers then led their men in assaults to capture these 'enemy positions' and bayoneted the unarmed defenders.
ww2dbaseProperty damage to the city of Nanjing was also extensive. Unlike the many other cities that were devastated during WW2, which were largely damaged by either aerial bombing or by fierce fighting, only about 1% to 2% of the damage done at Nanjing were caused by military actions. Almost all of the damage were done during after Chinese troops had departed, and most of the damage were caused by systematic torching of entire neighborhoods by Japanese troops.
ww2dbaseMany of the women who survived the rapes would commit suicide. Months later, many infant babies, drowned or choked to death, were found around the city; speculations held that they were children conceived by the raped women.
ww2dbaseThere were some who claim that the atrocities were not as widespread as reported by the Chinese and the westerners. There were eyewitnesses from Nanjing's International Safety Zone who said that the atrocities were isolated (even Rabe estimated only 50,000 to 60,000 deaths), while interviews with Japanese junior officers and soldiers present at Nanjing during these months sometimes resulted in testimonies that either noted the city of nearly deserted thus the death toll could not have been as high or claimed that the conduct of the Japanese troops in general were honorable. While the true death toll could never be verified, it would still be likely that, in the span of a few weeks, the number of Chinese deaths rivaled the number of Japanese killed by the two atomic blasts near the end of the war.
Iris Chang, The Rape of Nanking
WWW Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre
Last Major Update: Apr 2009
Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing Interactive Map
Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing Timeline
15 Aug 1937 Japanese Army General Iwane Matsui, en route from Tokyo, Japan for China where he would pick up his newly assigned command over the Shanghai Expeditionary Force, noted to War Minister Hajime Sugiyama that "[t]here is no solution except to break the power of Chiang Kaishek by capturing Nanjing. That is what I must do."
21 Sep 1937 Prince Naruhiko ordered the Japanese Army Air Service to begin a renewed air offensive against the Chinese capital of Nanjing.
11 Nov 1937 The Japanese army began to advance on Nanjing, China.
16 Nov 1937 Chiang Kaishek ordered Chinese government ministries and agencies to depart from the capital city of Nanjing within the next three to four days.
19 Nov 1937 The Wufu defensive line between Shanghai and Nanjing in China was overrun by Japanese troops. to the rear, Lieutenant General Shun Tada ordered Lieutenant General Heisuke Yanagawa to stop the Japanese 10th Army's advance toward Nanjing, but Yanagawa did not comply with the order.
20 Nov 1937 The order for Chinese government ministries to evacuate the capital city of Nanjing to Hankou, originally ordered by Chiang Kaishek on 16 Nov 1937, was publicly announced at 1200 hours.
22 Nov 1937 The Japanese Central China Area Army requested Tokyo the permission to assault Nanjing, China.
25 Nov 1937 From Nanjing, China, German businessman John Rabe sent a message to Adolf Hitler, appealing for the German leader to voice concern over the atrocities committed by the Japanese in China.
26 Nov 1937 The Xicheng defensive line between Shanghai and Nanjing in China was overrun by Japanese troops.
27 Nov 1937 During a press conference, Tang Shengzhi, the Commander-in-Chief of all forces in Nanjing, China, advised foreign residents in Nanjing to depart but stressed that his troops would defend the city against the impending Japanese attack.
1 Dec 1937 The Imperial General Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan ordered the Japanese Central China Area Army to advance toward Nanjing, China. On the same day, several top Chinese cabinet level advisers departed from the capital.
2 Dec 1937 The officials of the Nanjing Branch of the Palace Museum of China ordered the treasures stored at the Taoist monastery Chaotian Gong, which had arrived from Beiping and Shanghai in Dec 1936, to be moved westward ahead of the Japanese attack.
3 Dec 1937 Japanese 16th Division and 9th Division began an attack on Chinese 83rd Corps and 66th Corps east of Nanjing, China.
7 Dec 1937 Chiang Kaishek departed Nanjing, China by plane. The civilian administration of the city was left to an International Committee led by John Rabe. Outside the city, several villages were set ablaze by Chinese troops to prevent them from being used by the approaching Japanese troops.
7 Dec 1937 Iwane Matsui suffered a bout of tuberculosis while in China. Nevertheless, he ordered the siege of Nanjing, China.
8 Dec 1937 Chinese Air Force squadrons departed Nanjing, China for airfields to the west, leaving the capital city without fighter defense and with little modern communications equipment.
9 Dec 1937 In the morning, Japanese troops reached the outskirts of Nanjing, China. At 1200 hours, Japanese aircraft dropped leaflets into the walled city, urging surrender within 24 hours, with the offered terms expiring at 1200 hours on the following day. Chinese commanding officer Tang Shengzhi publicly rejected the demand, but in private he, urged on by the international community in Nanjing, considered negotiating for a ceasefire; such negotiation would be pending Chiang Kaishek's approval.
10 Dec 1937 Chiang Kaishek rejected Tang Shengzhi's request to negotiate with the Japanese for an evacuation of Nanjing, China. Having received no response to the ultimatum issued on the previous day that expired at noon, the Japanese began the assault at 1300 hours. General Iwane Matsui's order to attack included the wording "[y]ou are to observe military regulations to the letter, to set an example for the future.... Anyone who loots or starts a fire, even accidentally, will be severely punished."
12 Dec 1937 At 0300 hours, General Tang Shengzhi, commanding officer of Chinese forces in Nanjing, China, having learned that Japanese naval vessels were heading up the Yangtze River, ordered his officers to prepare a small group of men to retreat across the river while the bulk would gather for an offensive to break out of the Japanese line. During the day, troops of the Japanese 114th Division wooed 1,500 Chinese troops into surrendering at the southern side of the city wall, promising to spare them their lives; they were all executed by the end of the following day. In the afternoon, Japanese bombers sank the American gunboat USS Panay in Nanjing, China at 1554 hours. At 1700 hours, Tang met with his officers again (several of whom were absent, having fled the city without permission) and was told that the Japanese were advancing faster than anticipated. He decided to increase the size of the Yangtze River evacuation to 5 divisions of troops. Tang would depart via the Yijiang Gate on the northern side of the city at 2100 hours, crossing the river on a small launch.
13 Dec 1937 The Japanese Sabae Regiment occupied the Guanghua Gate in Nanjing, China after two days of heavy fighting. In the afternoon, Chinese forces twice attempted to attack the headquarters of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force at Tangshuizhen, but the Japanese was able to repulse the attacks. Later in the day, Zhongshan Gate and Taiping Gate were captured by the Japanese as well, while Japanese Navy warships began to arrive to provide support. By nightfall, the Chinese capital city was declared as captured. German businessman John Rabe, who was in Nanjing, noted the diary entry on this date "It is not until we tour the city that we learn the extent of destruction. We come across corpses every 100 to 200 yards. The bodies of civilians that I examined had bullet holes in their backs. These people had presumably been fleeing and were shot from behind. The Japanese march through the city in groups of ten to twenty soldiers and loot the shops.... I watched with my own eyes as they looted the café of our German baker Herr Kiessling. Hempel's hotel was broken into as well, as almost every shop on Chung Shang and Taiping Road." On this day, troops of the Japanese 16th Division massacred over 3,000 Chinese people, military and civilian, attempting to flee the combat near Guanjiangan and Jiangli areas of Nanjing. Troops of the Japanese 114th Division captured over 1,000 Chinese during its mop up operations, most of whom would be executed within days. Vessels operated by the 11th Task Force of the Japanese 3rd Fleet fired on Chinese refugees attempting to cross the Yangtze River.
14 Dec 1937 Japanese 9th Division began to conduct mop up operations in secured areas of Nanjing, China, occupying, among other buildings, the National Central Hospital. Nearby, at Xianhe Gate and Yaohua Gate of the city wall north of Zijin Mountain, 38th Company of the Japanese 16th Division killed 7,200 Chinese people, military and civilian, during mop up operations; those who were able to flee claimed that some sections of the moat were filled with dead bodies. Near Xuanwu Gate, troops of the Japanese 16th Division executed 500 Chinese civilians. Second Lieutenant Nakamura of the 6th Cavalry Company of the Japanese 6th Division executed 300 prisoners of war. As reported by the International Committee later, Japanese troops entered civilian homes in Nanjing and raped or took away women.
15 Dec 1937 Troops of the 23rd Company of the Japanese 6th Division executed over 1,000 captured Chinese military and civilians and over 400 police personnel (all captured in the city legislature building area where a temporary refugee camp was located) outside of Hanzhong Gate of Nanjing, China; their 2,000 bodies were burned. At Yijiangmen at about 1400 hours, Japanese troops rounded up 300 residents of the Jiang estate, killing them by machine gun fire and buring. On the Yangtze River, gunboats Futami and Seta of the Japanese Navy 3rd Fleet fired on Chinese refugees attempting to cross the river; nearby, Japanese naval personnel began executing many of the 9,000 captives they held. As reported by the International Committee later, "a number Japanese soldiers entered the University of Nanking buildings at Tao Yuen and raped 30 women on the spot, some by six men."
16 Dec 1937 Japanese 9th Division killed about 6,500 Chinese people, both military in civilian, in Nanjing, China during two days of mop up operations. 20th Company of the Japanese 16th Division massacred more than 7,000 Chinese east of Zijin Mountain. Chinese troops launched a failed counterattack at Qilin Gate of the city wall; 200 Chinese troops who were captured during the failed counterattack were executed by bayoneting by men of the 38th Company of the Japanese 16th Division. On the shore of the Yangtze River, the Japanese 13th Division began to execute large numbers of the 20,000 Chinese captives it held. As reported by the International Committee later, "seven girls (ages ranged from 16 to 21) were taken away from the Military College"; only five of them were able to return on 18 Dec; some of them reported being raped six or seven times daily by Japanese soldiers.
17 Dec 1937 At the Sancha Fangsheng Temple and the nearby orphanage in Nanjing, China, Japanese troops massacred 400 to 500 civilians. At a dock on the Yangtze River, Japanese troops massacred over 3,000 prisoners of war, civilian workers of the power plant, and other civilians. German businessman John Rabe, who was in the Chinese capital of Nanjing, noted the diary entry on this date "In one of the houses in the narrow street behind my garden wall, a woman was raped, and then wounded in the neck with a bayonet. I managed to get an ambulance so we can take her to Kulou Hospital.... You hear nothing but rape. If husbands or brothers intervene, they're shot. What you hear and see on all sides is the brutality and bestiality of the Japanese soldiers."
18 Dec 1937 Japanese troops executed over 300 Chinese people, military and civilian, on a road outside of Nanjing, China by machine gun. As reported by the International Committee later, at 1600 hours on this date, "at No. 18 I Ho Lu, Japanese soldiers wanted a man's cigarette case and when he hesitated, one of the soldier crashed in the side of his head with a bayonet. The man is now at the University Hospital and is not expected to live."
19 Dec 1937 Men of the Japanese 13th Division, having executed tends of thousands of refugees and prisoners of war in Nanjing, China by machine gun, bayonet, and fire since 16 Dec 1937, began to burn the remains; the ashes were dumped into the Yangtze River. Reverend James M. McCallum, who was in Nanjing, noted in his diary "Never I have heard or read such brutality. Rape! Rape! Rape! We estimate at least 1,000 cases a night, and many by day.... Women are being carried off every morning, afternoon and evening. The whole Japanese army seems to be free to go and come as it pleases, and to do whatever it pleases."
20 Dec 1937 The Japanese Domei News Agency reported that life in Nanjing, China, which was recently captured by Japanese troops, was returning to normal, and refugees who had fled the city prior and during the battle were starting to return.
28 Dec 1937 The Japanese occupation forces in Nanjing, China began registering men.
31 Dec 1937 The Japanese occupation forces in Nanjing, China began registering women.
8 Jan 1938 A Japanese-controlled newspaper in China published that the residents of Nanjing, China welcomed Chinese troops with joy, and the Japanese Army offered food and other aid to those in need.
17 Jan 1938 Japanese Foreign Minister Koki Hirota's message to a diplomat stationed in the United States was intercepted by the Americans. In this message, he made note of the atrocities happening in Nanjing, China and compared the Japanese Army in Nanjing to those serving under Attila the Hun.
19 Jan 1938 George Fitch, an American missionary, departed Nanjing, China for Shanghai with 16-millimeter film containing scenes of Japanese atrocities secretly sewn into the lining of his jacket.
30 Jan 1938 As reported by the International Committee later, in the Chinese capital of Nanjing at about 1700 hours, Mr. Sone of the Nanjing Theological Seminary was overwhelmed by several hundred women seeking shelter. "One old woman 62 years old went home near Hansimen and Japanese soldiers came at night and wanted to rape her. She said she was too old. So the soldiers rammed a stick up her. But she survived to come back."
4 Feb 1938 Japanese troops inspected the buildings of Ginling College, a school for women, in Nanjing, China, and took at least 20 women for their comfort houses.
5 Feb 1938 By this date, the International Committee had forwarded to the Japanese embassy a total of 450 cases of murder, rape, and other crimes committed by Japanese soldiers which were observed by American, British, and German nationals in Nanjing, China and reported by their respective embassies.
7 Feb 1938 Japanese General Iwane Matsui made a speech during a memorial service for troops of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force who were killed in combat. The speech included his order to "put an end to various reports affecting the prestige of the Japanese troops", referring to reports of atrocities committed by Japanese troops in Nanjing, China. Later on the same day he made an entry in his dairy noting that "I could only feel sadness and responsibility today, which has been overwhelmingly piercing my heart. This is caused by the Army's misbehaviors after the fall of Nanjing and failure to proceed with the autonomous government and other political plans."
18 Feb 1938 The Nanjing Safety Zone International Committee was renamed the Nanjing International Rescue Committee.
7 Mar 1938 American surgeon Robert O. Wilson of the American-administered University Hospital in the Safety Zone in Nanjing, China wrote to his family, noting that "a conservative estimate of people slaughtered in cold blood is somewhere about 100,000, including of course thousands of soldiers that had thrown down their arms".
8 Jun 1938 German businessman John Rabe sent a letter, a detailed report, and a roll of film (shot by US missionary George Fitch) to Adolf Hitler in the hopes that Germany would be able to influence Japan to cease the brutal treatment of the Chinese population. Rabe was unexpected threatened by the Gestapo several days later, warning him to remain quiet on this topic.
See all 53 photographs of Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing
Visitor Submitted Comments
1. Anonymous says:
17 Apr 2007 01:30:37 PM
18 Apr 2007 10:54:45 AM
3. Thank You says:
24 May 2007 06:53:09 PM
4. Kana says:
18 Jul 2007 07:49:31 PM
I like this! Amazing !! Good Work !!
13 Jun 2008 04:51:22 PM
Give show links for this history:
4 Feb 2009 08:40:51 PM
to bad
7. Gregg Heilman says:
11 Dec 2009 10:08:38 AM
I have read the book written by Iris Chang. She asked that you read it and pass it on and on. Also I have both the DVD the movie and the documentary. This link has everything you could know about this terrible crime against the Chinese and humanity. The second worse crime is that so many got a way with this crime. Its' path of guilt and knowledge went all the way to the Emperor of Japan. He had family involved with the occupation of Nanjing. The third worse crime is the United States and our Allies did little to bring justice for this poor victims.
11 Dec 2009 05:41:33 PM
John Rabe, the Oskar Schindler of China The Nazi Leader of Nanking who Saved Over 200,000 People Apr 4, 2009 Michael Streich A newly released German film recounts the heroic exploits of John Rabe as the Japanese occupied Nanking in China, popularizing a forgotten part of history. In the annals of twentieth century genocide and atrocities, heroes emerged that put their own lives on the line to save others. Men like Raoul Wallenberg and Oskar Schindler are well known for their courageous attempts in saving Jews. The newly released German film on the war-time activities of John Rabe in China during the infamous "Rape of Nanking" offers yet another portrait of selfless courage, yet this time the hero was the leader of the Nanking Nazi organization. John Rabe in China At the time Japanese forces entered Nanking in 1937, Rabe had been in China for thirty years as the chief manager of Siemens. Born in Hamburg in 1882, Rabe had traveled to Africa before settling in China. Revered in China as "the living Buddha of Nanking," Rabe was also, however, the leader of the Nanking Nazi organization. In many ways, this helped him to eventually save the lives of over 200,000 Chinese civililians that had taken shelter in his "International Safety Zone." As a Nazi and a citizen of Japan's ally, Rabe was respected by the Japanese military and suffered no indignities, unlike those of other western nationalities like the Americans. According to his diary entries, just the flash of his swastika armband was often enough to stop acts of cruelty taking place by small groups of marauding soldiers. Writing in the German news magazine Spiegel, Lars-Olav Beier recounts how Rabe's German-speaking chauffeur was killed by Japanese soldiers. Bargaining with a Japanese officer, Rabe demanded twenty men, "who had already been sentenced to death..." thereby saving twenty lives. Rabe's meticulous diary entries remained unknown until Historian Iris Chang, author of the monumental Rape of Nanking, found them with Rabe's grandchildren in Germany. These writings recount the chilling days of late 1937 when a forgotten holocaust began in China, and Rabe's tireless role in trying to save as many civilians as possible. Rabe Returns to Germany Returning to Berlin in 1938, John Rabe made the mistake of sending his findings of the atrocities, including a film made by a colleague in China, to key Nazi leaders including Adolf Hitler. Arrested by the Gestapo, he was eventually released and sent by Siemens to work in Afghanistan. As the war ended and Rabe returned home, his Berlin residence was destroyed by allied bombing. Following the defeat of Germany, Rabe was interrogated by the Soviets and the British in conjunction with his role as Nazi leader in Nanking. Eventually de-nazified, Rabe found himself unemployed and destitute. As his story reached the people of Nanking, a massive effort was undertaken that resulted in financial support and regular packages of much needed food. The Chinese had not forgotten John Rabe who was now in great need himself. Rabe died in 1950. John Rabe, the Movie For an international community still outraged by the Holocaust, any movie positively reflecting the Nazis is understandably suspicious, particularly in Germany. As Iris Chang wrote years ago, "...in the immediate postwar years it was simply not politically correct to...boast about his accomplishments, however worthy they might have been." This is also the gamble Beier analyzes in his piece, "The Good Nazi?" Beier argues that although "Schindler's List" was about a German who saved Jews, it is "the sort of subject only American directors have taken on in the past." He also cites the success of "Valkyrie," which lionized Claus von Stauffenberg. John Rabe joins the ranks of men like Raoul Wallenberg, people that find themselves in the midst of great human calamity and put aside all personal matters in order to confront evil. For this reason alone, films like "John Rabe" should continue to be made. Sources: Lars-Olav Beier, "The Good Nazi? German Films Delve Into Difficult History," Spiegel Online, April 3, 2009. Iris Chang, The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II (Basic Books, 1997) see pages 109-121 and 187-197. Susanne Nolden, "Ein Mann mit vielen Talenten," Frau Im Spiegel, No. 14, March 25, 2009, p 54-55. Read more at Suite101: John Rabe, the Oskar Schindler of China: The Nazi Leader of Nanking who Saved Over 200,000 People | Suite101.com
When I read Iris Chang's book "The Rape of Nanjing" I did a Internet search and the Chinese News Digest came up.  It has a complete site of the photos and first hand stories from the Rape of Nanjing. I wrote them that my father was shown some of these films smuggled out of China before his 11 BG H left for the Pacific Theater. His Unit had survived the Attack on 12/7/1941 at Hickam in Hawaii. Their Commanders thought it was important their crews knew what to expect from the Japanese if captured. My father never forgot the images of the Chinese Solider POWs being used for live bayonet dummies. Nor did he forget the thousand being buried alive and the be-headings. This was posted on the CND site, even worse was how the Japanese were never brought to account for this and their Unit 731. Unit 731 did dissections of awake and living American and Allied POWS and thousands of Chinese citizens and soldiers. Instead the American Authorities traded the results of Unit 731's hideous medical experiments for the freedom of those who carried them out. These things were known to the Emperor of Japan who remained after the War as a result of the American Authorities at that time.
10. CHINESE says:
THANKS FOR YOU SELL THE WESTERN PEOPLE KNOW WHAT HAPPENED IN CHINA DURING WW2! THE JAPS WERE MUST EVIL AND CRUEL THAN THE NAZI DURING WW2!
11. Anonymous says:
17 Aug 2010 10:10:11 AM
12. Factfinder says:
In WW2, the Australian and Dutch soldiers captured in Java by the Japanese are treated in a special way. With their wrists tied together behind their back they are kicked and pushed into bamboo baskets designed to transport Pigs. Then they are stacked on trucks and transported long distance in the full tropical sun without any water to drink. When these convoys stop and take a break somewhere, eyewitness heard the captured soldiers begging for water. The experience was that if someone else gives them water, the *** will shoot him dead after he give them to drink water. Probably this is their manner to say thanks. This life cargo is finally taken on a boat or taken to the coast where they are being dumped into the sea to feed the sharks. This atrocity is dubbed and known as "The Pig Basket Affair" which Japanese also denied. They are very good at denying, even up to now when they slaughter the Whales near the South Pole under the disguise of "Research Whaling". Maybe it is time to stop buying Sony & Toyota and switch to Samsung & Hyundai.
13. ASM says:
9 Nov 2011 09:37:13 AM
Just watched City of Life and Death. Was totally unaware of the Rape of Nanjing until watching this film. Regardless of how accurate the context of this film, it still brings home the true nature of war, in particular the atrocities to both women and children. I do believe in going to war for the correct reasons (if there ever are!) but maybe Im just naive to think that war could be settled without involving innocents,alas I suppose both go hand in hand. Just makes you think about the madness that takes over people during war! Would recommend that people watch the City of Life and Death if intrested in this subject and I challenge anyone not to be moved by some of the scenes in the film.
when was this written?
16 Nov 2012 07:59:40 PM
Japan should not occupy china island again. This recall world war 2. If they do it again. they are just like begining of word war 2. They might start to occupy other countries. why US helping them?
Babarian Government. selfish and racism.
23 Nov 2012 10:39:27 AM
it's sad that now after all this, china's heading towards imperialism... (tibet, south china sea, senkaku/diaoyu island dispute)
18. CB says:
So sad to read of these atrocities by the Japanese. With the time table given, where was the American help? were the Flying Tigers there to stop this invasion? Why so is America at odds with China to this day? I know most (if not all) wars are fought by Bankers and Businesses but for America to let China go through this massacre over so many years? As well, China and Japan are like the Hatfields and McCoy's, fighting for centuries and probably centuries to come.
19. JIRO says:
Poor pretty Iris Chang committed suicide after some of the mistakes in her book were exposed. She was betrayed by her Cimmunist sources. EVERY Japanese textbook admits a massacre at Nanking, and about 800 Japanese Class B war criminals were executed for war crimes after the war. Conversely, no source that is not Chinese affirms "300,000" Chinese dead at Nanking -- there were about 200,000 people in Nanking, and photographs and thank-you notes indicate that many of them were actually FED by the Japanese Army. The beheading photo in Chang's book shows the sun casting shadows in two different directions at the same time. Could it be fake? The bayoneting photograph shows Chinese civilians in SUMMER clothes CHEERING while the Japanese bayonet Chinese soldiers. Nanking fell in DECEMBER. Could this photo be a fake too? What actually happened? Chiang Kai-shek ran out on his own men but ordered that Nanking be defended against the advice of his NAZI military advisor, Alexander von Falkenhausen. Chiang's designated Chinese commander also ran out on his men. When the Japanese attacked, some of the Chinese soldiers out up a good fight while others ran and hid. The Japanese killed everybody who even looked like a soldier, except for some Chinese who had the presence of mind to surrender in full uniform. (A half-million former Chinese soldiers turned coats after their own officers had run out on them and soldiered for the Japanese, who said that many of them were excellent soldiers once they received pay and leadership by men who were not cowards. In the aftermath, dim-witted Japanese drunks raped several HUNDRED -- not thousand -- Chinese women and murdered a handful of them. These were crimes against humanity -- but burial parties who reported to Americans and Germans, including the NAZI John Rabe, said they buried about 25,000 Chinese, most of them killed in battle, and that only 1.2 per cent of the dead were women. Eiropeans counted 360 actual rapes, some multiple, and about 40 homicides against obvious civilians. The Japense loe iof they say there qwas NO murder or rape at Nanking but the Chinese numbers are crimes against history to cover a flawed defense or to explain away the vastly larger number of Chinese murdered by other Chinese. As the the Japanese being "worse than the Nazis," this is dumb white racist hokum. The Japanese accepted and protected 40,000 Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany and refused to hand them back even after Hitler declared war on the United States. Many Korean men were murdered during demonstrations where Japanese were al;sop killed and many girls were raped in Korea -- but the Japanese also built Korea's first public schools and railroads and chaotic, strife-torn Korea citca 1905 was handed to Japan by Theodore Roosevelt as the price of having the Japanese help control China and keep the Russians out of the Pacific. There are now aboutr two million Koreans living in Japan and they have no desire to go home. A million bright, productive Chinese also live in Japan and feel the same way. Count the numbers in the Philippines and you will find that the Americans circa 1898 - 1903 and the Japanese circa 1941 - 1945 murdered about the same number of Filipinos. Troops from both nations raped a lot and tortured too. Nothing Japan did to whites justified the napalm and nuclear bombings of 1945 -- recognized as war crimes in every country of the world except China and the United States. I once asked a Chinese girl two yeara out of Beijing what she thought about the Rape of Nanking. "Some of the rapes were real but the numbers are fake," she said. "You can't trust us with numbers -- we know nobody outside China cares what happens to us, so whenever something bad happens we inflate the numbers." She said it -- I didn't.
20. Bob says:
3 Jun 2013 05:31:38 AM
I am sorry, Jiro, but your outrageous and lie packed comment attempting to absolve the Japanese of their murderous behavior in WW2 and then try to say everyone else did the same thing and by the way since America bombed Japan so everything is even. Nonsense! Japan, like Germany, started a world war and murdered millions. I repeat this for you again, millions. They were a killing machine and had to be stopped at all costs. The fact that Japan had to be bombed to end the war, your country brought about all on its own. The murderous regime was over. The fact that you can't admit the reality of what happened says volumes about you, not history itself. P.s. it is likely the owner of this website is Chinese, and so your wacky denial is doubly insulting.
20 Jun 2013 01:33:42 AM
No.12 The pig baskets Affair In 1941 I saw a transport of 5 open trucks loaded with bamboo baskets. In those baskets were military screaming for water and help. I gues that they were Australians and Dutch. I was 15 yrs old and with my father.
22. Elizabeth says:
Refering to No 12: I grew up in the former D.E.I. and was 15 yrs old (1942) when my father and I saw five open trucks loaded with bamboo baskets. In the baskets we could see military and they were crying for water and help. I have the Dossier 5284 in Dutch and I translated it all in "my" English. Please answer?
23. Victor says:
1 Aug 2013 12:26:08 PM
To Jiro: Comment # 19 Filipinos know what the Japanese did in World War II. We know that few of the people from that generation are still alive up to now. Because of this I do not blame the people ( Japanese ) who are living now (post world war 2) for the sins of their grandfathers or fathers. Now, I am mostly concerned regarding your governments attempt to white wash the extent of Japan's war crimes. The real facts of World War 2 are not being taught in Japanese schools. Instead they are being taught only a fraction of the Pacific War. In some places composed of three events 1. The Japanese attack in Pearl Harbor 2. The Battle of Midway and 3. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Whatever is happening to Japan is most alarming Jiro, you must relaize that we have to learn from history to avoid making the same mistakes allover again.
1 Dec 2013 05:01:01 AM
should have nuked all of japan,the *** are still arogant,like the nazis...complete low life
In honor of the people who protect the homeland! At the rape of Najing 74th anniversary
All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.
More on Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing
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Ship Participant:
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Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing Photo Gallery


Peter Erskine
Snapchat (with Lars Danielsson & Peter Erskine)
Iiro Rantala 2016
Each Breath (feat. Peter Erskine, Vardan Ovsepian & Damian Erskine)
Peter Erskine New Trio 2017
Voyage (with Lars Danielsson & Peter Erskine)
Bob Mintzer, Gerald Veasley, Jaco Pastorius Big Band, Peter Erskine & Randy Brecker 2006
Choral (with Lars Danielsson & Peter Erskine)
Little Wing (with Lars Danielsson & Peter Erskine)
About Peter Erskine
A highly skilled, versatile drummer, Peter Erskine has anchored big bands and jazz-rock fusion groups. He's known for sophisticated rhythms, distinctive accompaniment, and powerful, rippling solos. Erskine began drumming at three, and participated in Stan Kenton's National Stage Band Camps from the age of six. He studied with Alan Dawson and Ed Soph, attending the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan and Indiana University. He played with Kenton from 1972 to 1975, then from 1976 to 1978 with Maynard Ferguson. Erskine joined Weather Report in 1978, and was their drummer and percussionist until 1982. He also did several West Coast sessions in the late '70s, and was a member of Steps and Steps Ahead. During the '80s he worked with John Abercrombie's groups and the quartet Bass Desires. He's also worked with Joe Farrell, Marc Johnson, Mike Brecker, Randy Brecker, John Scofield, Bob Mintzer, Lew Soloff, Kenny Kirkland, Mike Mandel, and Kenny Werner, among others. As a leader, he debuted with Peter Erskine in 1982 on Contemporary, followed by several well-received efforts for Denon. During the '90s, he developed a good relationship with ECM, releasing such albums as 1992's You Never Know, 1995's As It Is, and 1998's Juni. Also during the '90s, Erskine founded his own Fuzzy Music label, delivering such albums as 1995's From Kenton to Now with tenor saxophonist Richard Torres and 1998's Lava Jazz. In the 2000s, Erskine continued to release albums via Fuzzy Music with 2002's Badlands, 2005's The Lounge Art Ensemble: Music for Moderns, and 2016's Dr. Um, which introduced his Dr. Um Band featuring keyboardist John Beasley. In 2017, Erskine reunited Beasley and the Dr. Um Band for Second Opinion. ~ Ron Wynn
Somers Point, NJ
Tony Williams Trio
Mike Mainieri


The Princess 2012
The Sun (feat. Graham Candy)
The Demon Diaries 2014
Step Two (feat. Lilja Bloom)
The Burning Spider 2017
Booty Swing
The Paris Swing Box - EP 2010
Demon Dance
The Burning Spider (feat. Lightin Hopkins)
About Parov Stelar
During the '90s, Marcus Füreder DJ'd in nightclubs, which led to production and label operation. Under the name Plasma, he released the 2001 album Shadow Kingdom on his Bushido label. A few years later, the Austrian first used the new and more lasting alias Parov Stelar, the name credited with an impressive quantity of recordings released during the 2000s and 2010s, primarily on his Etage Noir label. His "electro swing" sound, enhanced with clever sampling, proved to be popular in the compilation and DJ-mix market, including Stéphane Pompougnac's Hôtel Costes series. During the mid 2010s, Stelar took home several Amadeus Austrian Music Awards, including a trio of them in 2013 for Best Electronic Act, Best Live Act, and Best Album, the latter for The Princess. The Parov Stelar Trio and Parov Stelar Band continued to tour extensively and performed at festivals such as Glastonbury and Zurich OpenAir. Stelar linked with Island for 2013's The Art of Sampling, his second album to peak within the Top 10 of the Ö3 Austria Top 40 chart. The Demon Diaries followed in 2015. ~ Andy Kellman
Klangkarussell
Sam Irl
AKMusique
Tape Five


Andre Schurrle to undergo a medical at Fulham
July 25, 2018 July 25, 2018 Triple A 0 Comments fulham, transfer news
Borussia Dortmund forward Andre Schurrle is flying to London on ahead of a medical at Fulham on Wednesday, according to Sky sources.
We understands that Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic has secured the signature of Schurrle ahead of a number of interested clubs, including Crystal Palace and AC Milan.
The Germany international was released from Dortmund's tour of the United States to discuss the move.
We have been told that the 27-year-old chose Fulham having been an admirer of the team's passing style during last season's successful Sky Bet Championship campaign.
Schurrle has experience of playing in the Premier League, winning the title with Chelsea in 2015 after joining from Bayer Leverkusen in 2013.
He spent a season and a half at Stamford Bridge before a return to the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg in February 2015. He moved to Dortmund the following year.
He was part of the Germany squad that won the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.
← Malcom joins Barcelona
Diego Rico signs a four-year deal with Bournemouth →


MIMO Home
'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.'-Cheesiness At Its Best
Yes, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is cheesy. Yes, it's totally a throwback to the 1960s, not just in content but in style. Yes, it's predictable and unrealistic. And yes, if you like spy movies, you should totally go see it. Not because it's artful, but because it's fun-as was the 60s TV series from which it hails. If you want a movie with style, action and a bit of comedy, [...]
The Emmys Don't Matter
The Emmy's have long been the strange, slightly gangly, socially awkward cousin in the award show family. They don't really matter. They're there. They're at the table. They're frequently seen around at family functions. But most people don't like them. They're certainly not the Oscars. The pride and joy of the family. The accomplished and good looking favorite child. They're not even the Golden Globes, the stocky, slightly less accomplished [...]
Check Out The First Seven Minutes of Star Wars Rebels
A few months ago news broke that almost all of the Star Wars Extended Universe material was going to be discarded by the now Disney owned Lucasfilm. Yes, that's right. Yes, Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command are now out of continuity. Along with countless other video games, novels, and comics. Disney has decided that only the six feature films, and the cartoons will be [...]
Mad Max: Fury Road Appears To Be Worth The Wait
Reboots, rehashes, relaunches, and remakes are a dime a dozen these days. They're everywhere. Every major studio is attempting to grab another piece of whatever franchise you loved as a younger human. Sometimes these remakes are good, sometimes they're bad, and sometimes they're VERY BAD. In the case of Mad Max there have been rumors and failed stop and start attempts at breathing new life into the franchise for years [...]
Ridley Scott Is Irrelevant
Ridley Scott has been the reigning overlord of the movie industry for almost thirty years. He's been haled as a visionary director and one of the last true auteurs in western cinema. He's created some of the most important films of this century. He's an uncompromising man with an uncompromising view on narrative. And now... he's old. Ridley Scott is so very, very old. Ridley Scott has officially stepped over [...]
New Doctor Who To Go 'Into Darkness'
Dr Who fans have been waiting for a long time to see some real footage from the new series. Well, now they have it. Dr Who series 8, starring Peter Capaldi, is about to be released on the world and this trailer showcases just how awe inspiring it is going to be. The tone of the next series of the long running Who franchise appears to be slightly darker than [...]
Ridley Scott Talks Prometheus and Blade Runner Sequels
August 26, 2014 by Dave Baker
Ridley Scott has a line of projects that seems to circle the block. He's wrapping up Exodus: Gods and Kings, then he's moving on to The Martian, with Matt Damon, and then he'll finally be getting around to the films that everyone wants him to make Blade Runner 2 and Prometheus 2.
Scott recently sat down with EW and had a few things to say about each of the upcoming sequels.
First up he discussed Blade Runner:
"It's written and it's damn good," of course it involves Harrison, who is a survivor after all these years - despite the accident (referring to Ford's "Star Wars" injury). So yes, that will happen."
And then of course moved on to Prometheus, which is still a ways away. Scott still has The Martian and Blade Runner 2 to get off his plate.
"That's the problem, I've got a lot of ducks in a row. But they're all written."
I'm nervous about both of these sequels. Ridley Scott is aging and he's not the director he once was. It's slightly worrisome. But like every other Blade Runner and Alien/Prometheus fan, I'll show up in the theater and hope that the films are good. Fingers crossed.
Dave Baker on MUSIC IS MY OXYGEN WEEKLY.
Dave Baker, originally from the drug-infested wasteland that is Arizona, lives in Los Angeles. He has a degree in Visual Communications with an emphasis in Illustration. Logically, he makes a living as a writer. Dave has written comic books and the moving pictures. Dave also enjoys talking about himself in the third person, not cooking, and taking long walks around his apartment. If you'd like to read more of his writing or comics they can be found at
Posted in: Film, Miscellaneous, Movie Rumors, Sci-Fi Movies
Film Is My Oxygen is funded by The Film Connection Film Institute as a public service.


Home / 2017 / June / Astronomy
Lick Observatory kicks off popular Summer Series
An eminent UC astronomy facility for research and training, Lick Observatory has been offering an annual summer series for the public for three decades
By Jennifer Pittman
Natalie Batalha earned her doctorate in astrophysics from UC Santa Cruz. She was recently name by Time magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people
Once the sun set on amateur astronomers enjoying solar flares from their tailgate parties atop Mt. Hamilton last weekend, scientists from NASA and University of California Observatories invited the public to peer into distant worlds. They announced new discoveries of potentially habitable earth-sized planets at the edge of what can be known.
If our galaxy, the Milky Way, was the size of the United States, one of these planets would be just a few minutes walk from here, said Natalie Batalha, a research astrophysicist for NASA Ames and project scientist for the exoplanet-finding Kepler Mission. It's not, of course - the real size of the galaxy is estimated at between 100,000 and 200,000 light-years in diameter and the distance of one of these Earth-like planets is closer to 10 light-years or 60 trillion miles from the mountaintop.
Batalha, who earned her doctorate in astrophysics from UC Santa Cruz, was the keynote scientist on the second evening of the 37th annual Summer Series at the Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton, a popular evening program that includes Evening with the Stars on Fridays and Music of the Spheres on Saturdays. Both nights include astronomy lectures and views through the telescopes. Friday programs add lectures on the history of the observatory and its contributions while Saturday programs include live music and, for VIP ticket holders, a walking tour. Tickets for the event, which went on sale in April, sold out within hours.
For visitors, the evening started with a bit of history about the iconic facility, the first observatory built at high elevation that, for many years, harbored the biggest telescope of its kind. For decades it was the world center for observational astronomy.
On Saturday, VIPs joined a tour with resident astronomer Paul Lynam and Batalha, who was recently named by Time magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people. The group wound along the ridgetop home of several white, rounded observatory buildings and scientists' dormitories. They toured the dome of the 3-meter Shane Telescope, the mountain's largest telescope, and shared dinner before settling in for some live music. The White Album Ensemble, a popular Beatles cover band, sang "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" while the sun set over Silicon Valley.
After Batalha's humbling, mind-bending astronomy talk, visitors were invited to peer at Jupiter through the 40-inch Nickel Reflector telescope and at Messier 5, a globular cluster visible through the historic 36-inch Great Lick Refractor telescope.
Observatory offers hands-on learning
Lick Observatory, atop 4,265-foot Mt. Hamilton, overlooks the east side of Silicon Valley. It is primarily a research and technology development facility and remains the premier UC training
observatory. It is operated by UCO with headquarters in the Interdisciplinary Sciences Building at UC Santa Cruz. UCO is also a managing partner of Keck Observatory in Hawaii, operates technical labs at UC Santa Cruz and UCLA, and is the center of UC participation in the multinational Thirty Meter Telescope project.
Student astronomers can use the equipment from a remote observation station at UC Santa Cruz, as well as from other stations throughout the UC system, and even from further afield such as Seoul, South Korea. Grad students are eligible to apply for telescope time as principal investigators. From afar, they gain valuable hands-on experience that is difficult to come by anywhere else. This year, UC Santa Cruz researchers have been scheduled to observe, using multiple telescopes and cameras, an average of 20 times per month.
"I've been able to get a lot of observing experience which is really difficult to get on some of the larger sized telescopes," said Tiffany Hsyu, a third year UCSC doctoral student. Hsyu is using Lick telescopes remotely to confirm candidate dwarf galaxies that may offer insights into early conditions of the universe. "Every time I get to use a telescope I think, I'm one of just few people who get to do this. It's pretty awesome."
New UC Santa Cruz astronomy and astrophysics grad students make an inaugural pilgrimage to the mountain and enjoy an annual student campout atop the mountain as well.
A rich history of discovery connects UC Santa Cruz, a leading center for observational and theoretical research in astronomy and astrophysics, and the Lick Observatory. To name just a few groundbreaking discoveries with significant UC Santa Cruz leadership, there is the Automated Planet Finder instrument project headed by UCSC astronomer Steve Vogt; the major upgrade to the Kast Spectrograph at Lick Observatory, made possible in part through the fundraising work of Michael Bolte, a UCSC professor and former director of UCO; the development of new standards relating to the evolution of galaxies by Sandra Faber, a UCSC astronomy professor and former UCO director; and Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics technologies, created by Claire Max, UCO director and UCSC astronomer.
Up to 200 astronomers are trained annually at Lick Observatory and about 40 scientific papers are published each year.
"We're training the next generation of world-class scientists and instrument builders," Lynam, said. "The other facilities are not training observatories. Lick Observatory gives students hands-on time to explore and also to tinker."
The event kicked off NASA's week-long Kepler conference during which Batalha and the Kepler team announced a catalog of planet candidates, 10 of which are near-Earth size and share several key characteristics that could potentially host microbial life.
Much stargazing also happens outside the observatories, thanks to amateur astronomers who are invited to set up their telescopes in the parking lot so visitors can glimpse into space. From one such telescope, viewers watched three moons circle Jupiter, making hundreds of millions of miles feel not quite so far away.
"I think Mr. (James) Lick would be very proud," Lynam said, of the benefactor who set up a trust in the 1870s to build the world's largest refracting telescope in 1888. It became operational in January 1888, 12 years after Lick's death. A completed Lick observatory was donated to UC in June 1888.


Two Pepperdine Regents Named Campaign Cochairs
Two University Regents will lead 110 alumni and community leaders as the Campaign for Pepperdine goes public on May 14.
George Pepperdine College alumna Marylyn M. Warren ('58) and former ambassador to Jamaica Glen A. Holden have been named the campaign's cochairs, representing volunteer ambassadors in support of the largest campaign in Pepperdine's 75-year history.
Warren, retired senior vice president of eHarmony.com and former vice president for financial development at the Huntington Library, has also worked in public relations and special events for the Los Angeles Music Center. Her husband and Pepperdine College sweetheart Neil Clark Warren ('56) founded eHarmony.com, one of the country's most popular relationship websites.
Holden, founder and CEO of The Holden Group, an insurance holding corporation, is active with the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, the Music Center of Los Angeles, and the Council of American Ambassadors. He and his wife Gloria are the generous benefactors to Pepperdine student scholarships and namesakes of the University's educational center in Argentina.
Pepperdine Magazine
Spring 2011News
Visionary in Chief
Evolution of a Mascot
Hearing Her Story


An Abundant Community
October 17, 2017 /in Contemporary Culture /by Linda Kurtz
Each month, we post a series of blogs around a common topic. This month, Jessica Tate is curating a series that will reflect experiences of living in diverse community. Over the course of the month, we'll notice practices that enable diverse communities to thrive and we'll reflect on the promise of Christ in whom there is no Jew nor Greek, no male nor female, no slave nor free and what that promise means for our lives today. We invite you to share your own thoughts on Facebook and Twitter!
by Sarah Dianne Jones
Community is, by and large, difficult. It doesn't matter what kind of community it is  -  anything built upon the basis of human reality is going to be difficult! And yet, community is what we long for. Brené Brown reminds us in her writings that all humans long to belong to something. It's within the very nature of who we are, and still it is difficult.
Throughout my year with the Young Adult Volunteer program, community was a theme that came up time and time again. As someone who finds comfort in the pages of a book, I found myself reading a book about the nature of community in John McKnight and Peter Block's book The Abundant Community. Published in 2010, the book looks at how we might engage in our communities differently than generations past have been able to. Where is the room for an abundant, diverse, thriving community in the midst of busier than ever schedules, technology that sometimes seems to have taken over our lives, and the expectation that one is available 24/7?
From the First Presbyterian Church, Arlington Facebook page.
The book, first and foremost, explores the idea of stepping back and reassessing an individual's role in community. We must be willing to encounter the world differently, at least in terms of expectations upon ourselves, in order to truly be in community with those in our midst. This means we cannot be content with the status quo when it comes to our communities, and must instead reach out to those around us in order to get to know them on a deeper level. McKnight and Block write that we must move from critique to possibility  -  it is easy to see the places in our communities that need to work, and certainly easy to make broad statements about the "fix" for a problem. McKnight and Block instead ask that one looks for the possibility in a situation, not just the problems.
Where is the possibility in a congregation that hasn't yet formed ties to its neighborhood? Where is the possibility in a neighborhood with a school that is struggling to get by, surrounded by families whose children have all grown up? Our communities are built up not by seeing these occasions as cause for alarm or as an example of scarcity, but rather as an abundance. Perhaps it isn't the abundance one was hoping for, but it is certainly enough as it is. There are countless possibilities for an abundant community in both of the above examples  -  think of the joy that could come from the steps a congregation can take to begin getting to know its neighborhood, recognizing that sometimes ministry doesn't mean trying to raise the numbers of attendees in worship but rather being present for all those encountered along the way? Or the possibilities for community in a neighborhood that feels its best days are behind it?
Our communities must be rooted in the desire to truly know those whom we encounter in our lives. Everyone carries their own story, their own experience that lends itself to the creation of an abundant, diverse, thriving community. Without creating the space to build these relationships, community will not have the chance to embrace its possibilities, and those possibilities are too great to let slip by.
Sarah Dianne Jones serves as the Director of Children and Youth Ministries at First Presbyterian Church in Arlington, Virginia. She previously worked with NEXT Church through the Young Adult Volunteer program.
Tags: abundance, abundant community, christian, community, congregation, diverse community, diversity, minister, ministry, neighborhood, neighborhood engagement, pcusa, possibilities, presbyterian, scarcity and abundance
 200 398 Linda Kurtz /wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.png Linda Kurtz2017-10-17 07:01:272017-10-16 15:26:35An Abundant Community
MINISTERIO AGAPE
Ministry: I Think We Need a Bigger Box
The Stupendous Promises of God
A New Reformation?
Trading Away God's Creation
Jobs Are a Holy Thing
Nurturing Diversity in Preaching A Safe Space to Gather


Hotel Mumbai (2019) Review!!
February 27, 2019 · by Mirza Baig · in Drama, History, Movie Review, Thriller. ·
Synopsis - The true story of the Taj Hotel terrorist attack in Mumbai. Hotel staff risk their lives to keep everyone safe as people make unthinkable sacrifices to protect themselves and their families.
My Take - For Indians all over the world, the date 26/11 has been marked with blood in recent history. As on the night of Nov. 26, 2009, a group of 10 young members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamic terrorist organization based in Pakistan, carried out a series of 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks that lasted four days across Mumbai, leaving 164 people dead and hundreds more injured.
While the rest of the world considered it a secondary news, for Indians, even a decade later, the ripple effect of the tragedy can still be felt. Premiering at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, and based on the 2009 documentary 'Surviving Mumbai' by Victoria Midwinter Pitt, here, Australian film director Anthony Maras, takes us through a fictionalized yet terrifying and powerful recreation of the events that took place at the opulent Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. While fictionalizing events might tend to end up mixing it up a little bit for the sake of amusement, this film, it should go without saying, is harrowing to the extreme.
Almost unbearable, in fact. While writer/director Anthony Maras largely sticks to the dramatization playbook, he does so in an effective, affecting and empathetic fashion. Even though, it would be impossible to do justice to the true stories of the hundreds of people involved, this film succeeds as a best case scenario, by being a tightly constructed piece of film-making that's truly human and away from tired Hollywood pitfalls. For most, that will be enough to be entertained and horrified by this thriller at the same time.
The film begins right off by showing the 10 terrorist arriving on their inflatable speedboat on the city shores, and splitting off for their respective destinations and begin their onslaught in a few minutes starting with the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. From there the story follows Arjun (Dev Patel), a low-ranking Sikh employee of the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, who is clearly having a rough day; his sick baby made him late to work, and he's lost a shoe on the way. While he is almost sent home for his misconduct by Hemant Oberoi (Anupam Kher), the head chef, who prides on how the five-star luxury resort embodies excellence, but considering Arjun's financial condition, he lets him stay.
However, his luck doesn't extend to a high-tipping post attending to Vasili (Jason Isaacs), a sleazy Russian businessman, who hosts wild parties and ends up giving out huge tips. Meanwhile, Zahra (Nazanin Boniadi), a member of a affluent and rich family also checks into one of the hotel's most opulent suites with David (Armie Hammer), her American husband, their newborn baby and Sally (Tilda Cobham-Hervey), their Australian nanny, all hoping to spend a quite holiday together. However, at the Leopold Cafe, Aussie backpackers Eddie (Angus McLaren) and Bree (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) become the surviving witnesses to an early gun fire as the attacks escalate across the city, and unknown to them, some of the gunners have followed them and managed to enter the Taj hotel lobby.
The film charts the occurrences of the evening - from guests unassumingly enjoying their dinner, to the first attacks, then the very hospitable hotel staff moving the guests from one safe space to another, to the final arrival of the special forces unit which managed to kill all the terrorists present and bring an end to the firing. This is an ensemble piece where director Anthony Maras weaves various perspectives into a tightly constructed narrative. Most importantly, the drama is white-knuckle intense and unrelenting.
For all its subplots, director Maras keeps a tight leash on the film's narrative strands as we watch characters move in and out of each other's stories. The use of real news footage on background televisions is a clever way of dealing with exposition, allowing the plot to move briskly along. I'm astounded that this is director Anthony Maras' first feature-length film. He's a master of building tension through a combination of building up characters that we care about and putting them in horrific jeopardy. The most affecting aspect of the film is how it handles and stages said attacks.
Here, director Maras shoots them in a conventional manner, but his depiction is so brutal it is unnerving. In fact, as the picture goes on it simply becomes too brutal. There's a line for an audience between conveying the true horror of what occurred and being excessive and director Maras barely avoids the latter. There are very few times when the film lets the killing occur off camera (which can be harrowing in and of itself) and it simply becomes numbing. You cannot argue, however, that both he and his editor, Peter McNulty, show deft skill in cinematically splicing it all together.
Another thing I liked a lot about the film is that it doesn't go out of its way to artificially construct heroes in the way that an American production might have been tempted to do. As a viewer, you feel as though you are a fly on the wall as everything is happening. You can see the pain and fear in the eyes of all these innocent people who are being held prisoners inside this hotel. You want them to survive, but unfortunately, not all of them do.
People attempt heroic actions and are just gunned down in cold blood. The police are mostly ineffective. In the face of horror like this, your indomitable spirit isn't going to save you. There are numerous scenes where a person is shot in the head with the camera remaining on the victim as he or she is shot. There are at least 30 to 40 people killed on-screen by these men throughout the film. In a typical Hollywood film, we know our heroes are going to survive. Not so here, and the result is more akin to a horror film than any traditional drama.
I want to applaud the screenwriters for not being afraid to write likable characters that end up being killed because it is the harsh reality of what occurs during an attack like this one. Seeing the attacks on the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel play out does not make for a pleasurable film-going experience but one that is very hard to watch and impossible to forget. However, what's most disturbing about the film is the strange depiction of the terrorists themselves.
Here, director Maras makes an unusual decision in giving much of the narrative space to the four gunmen, seemingly in an attempt to humanize the terrorists. One, in particular, is shown speaking to his father on the phone and holding back tears when he's told the money the terrorist organization promised his family hasn't arrived. It's a strange juxtaposition to convey that some of these killers deserve sympathy because they carried off these attacks for financial means.
There is clearly no justification for their actions, but it's such a bizarre and frustrating choice. Especially considering this particular character's actions later on. In one of the film's rare humorous moments, one of the men takes a bite of a pizza until he's told by his brother-in-arms that it's pork. Spluttering wildly, he's laughed at saying they're just vegetables. It's funny until they turn and shoot a woman in the head. It's in these moments of jarring tonal shifts where the film's otherwise tight pacing and structure begins to unwind.
Thankfully this tone is saved by the ensemble cast who are excellent. Dev Patel, who gets the meatiest part, manages to deliver a subdued yet a particularly moving performance and receives ample support from Armie Hammer and Anupam Kher who bring in yet another compelling and dominating turn to their roles. Jason Isaacs does fine work too, but I have to admit that I had a hard time accepting him as a Russian. It may be that I'm too familiar with his work and I could never quite suspend disbelief. I wish they had cast an actual Russian in the role, but on the other hand, he being in the film is one of the things that made me want to see it.
Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Angus McLaren, and Natasha Liu Bordizzo are compelling too. However, its Nazanin Boniadi's spectacular performance that holds everything together. There is this scene where Imran, one of the gunmen, played by a very effective Amandeep Singh, is ordered to kill everyone in the room. After seeing several people being shot, Zahra begins to pray which causes Imran to freak out and question his actions.
This is a compelling moment because it is the first time that you see one of the men ask what they are doing and wonder if they should kill someone who believes in the same god that he does. This was easily one of the most powerful scenes in the entire film. On the whole, 'Hotel Mumbai' is an excellent edge-of-the-seat thriller that will shake you to the core.
Directed - Anthony Maras
Starring - Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi
Rated - R
Run Time - 125 minutes
Tags: #AnupamKher, #ArmieHammer, #DevPatel, #HotelMumbai, #JasonIsaacs, #NazaninBoniadi, #TildaCobhamHervey
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Russia boycott will cost NL €300m
By Maxime Zech on August 19, 2014 - 13:59
Russia's boycott on The Netherlands will cost the country more than €300 million, according to The Netherlands Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS).
Last year, the worth of the goods exported to Russia, now boycotted, amounted to more than €500 million in export worth. The Netherlands earned €300 million from this, which is because €200 million was paid for foreign goods and services. There were also around five thousand jobs attached to this export.
Agriculture and food industries will especially suffer, as they profited the most from these now-boycotted goods. These industries produced and processed the vegetables, fruit, dairy products and meat that is on the black list. All the middle-men and industries providing services to these exports are also affected.
In 2013, The Netherlands was an important supplier of the boycotted goods for countries close to Russia as well, such as Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. Some of these goods were meant for these countries, but some were also transported on to Russia, though the quantity is unclear.
According to the CBS, if these countries did not produce goods such as tomatoes, peppers and grapes themselves and if the Dutch share in their export of each boycott product is the same as their own import, then this amounts to €700 million. This means that The Netherlands would lose another €300 million and five thousand jobs.
Central Bureau for Statistics
Dutch goods


"Viet Nam"
"Bennett, L. Howard"
Motion pictures 4
Vietnam War, 1961-1975 4
Arlington County 4
Camp Hansen 4
H? Chí Minh, Thành Ph? 4
Okinawa 4
5708 Arundel Ave. 3
Montgomery County 3
Bowser, Pearl 4
Garrett, Kent 4
Greaves, William 4
National Educational Television 4
The Black G.I. Black Journal segment
16mm motion picture film of The Black G.I. [Black Journal segment]
Garrett, Kent, American, born 1941
Greaves, William, American, 1926 - 2014
National Educational Television, American, 1954 - 1970
Bowser, Pearl, American, born 1931
Bennett, L. Howard
16mm Film (a): acetate film
Length (Film): 1,800 Feet
motion pictures (information artifacts)
Place filmed
H? Chí Minh, Thành Ph?, H? Chí Minh, Viet Nam, Asia
Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, Asia
Arlington County, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
The Black G.I. is a two-part documentary episode of the television series Black Journal. It focuses on the experiences of African-American soldiers in the Vietnam War. This film features frank and open discussions from soldiers, ranked officers, and politicians about the racism that defined the different experiences black soldiers had in this war.
This 16mm color film is an hour-long documentary segment of Episode No. 22 of the NET (National Educational Television) television program, Black Journal; a weekly public television newsmagazine in the late 1960s/early 1970s that examined the many issues pertinent to the black American experience at the time. It was originally broadcast on March 30, 1970, and is believed to have been filmed over the course of 1969. Episode No. 22 of Black Journal was directed by Stan Lathan, while the "Black G.I." segment was directed by Kent Garrett. Executive Produced by William Greaves.
Contains: 16mm Film (a), Original 1,600 foot Film Reel (b), and Original 1,600 foot Film Canister (c).
2012.79.1.51.1a: 16mm film. This film opens with a narration over images of African American men in the history of the US military. The first moving image section shows African American men fighting during World War II. The narrator discusses the irony of African American men fighting for freedom in Europe while not enjoying the same freedoms in the US. There are multiple shots of the Tuskegee Airmen. Eleanor Roosevelt pins (unknown) medal on African American soldier. Next, newsreel footage of Joe Louis arriving at an airbase and greeting black troops. The narrator then talks about the desegregation of the US military during the Korean War and points out the lack of black soldiers in leadership positions. Color footage marks the transition of the narration to coverage of the Vietnam War. Two African American soldiers in civilian clothing with soul power patches can be seen dapping. Series of brief excerpts from interviews of black soldiers play, each stating their position on being black and in the military during the Vietnam War. The narrator reveals the disproportionate percentage of black men who are killed in action versus their white counterparts. There are multiple shots of combat and post-combat footage in Vietnamese rice fields and footage of riverside villages. Two sailors patrol a river and discuss their experience in Vietnam thus far and what they'll do when they get home. They discuss their mission and how to be black while being in the military. A girl group performs at the USO in Saigon. Tanks and amored personnel carriers patrol suspected enemy locations along border with North Vietnam. Sailors on a patrol boat open fire at the river bank and a confederate flag can be seen flying from a flag pole on board. Black sailors discuss cultural challenges of being in the Navy and the lack entertainment geared towards black musical tastes of the time. One sailor talks about being disciplined for getting into an altercation after a white sailor ripped his tape player from the wall for playing soul music. The narrator reveals that an all white court martial found the sailor, Bobby Jenkins, guilty of assault, demoted him and docked his pay. A sailor relays that he and other African Americans met with the Assistant Secretary of Defense for civil rights to discuss their poor treatment and were promised changes by the Assistant Secretary. The sailors talk about how some local Vietnamese have adopted some of the negative perceptions of African Americans, which some black sailors believe they learned from some white members of the military. The sailors discuss how their hands are tied when it comes to standing up for their rights as sailors on a patrol boat dap and salute the camera with black/soul power fists. Air Force fighter pilot, John Bordeaux, discusses his personal experience of not facing the same discrimination expressed by other African American military personnel. Two black career Army officers, Davis and Rogers, discuss the systematic discrimination they've faced; in particular, they recall incidents of being passed over for promotions despite strong credentials. Brigadier General Frederick E. Davison, the first African American combat general, rejects the assertion that an African American who succeeds in the military is an Uncle Tom and discusses the many actions that the Army has taken to ensure equal treatment and opportunities. A cover of "Sittin' on a Dock in the Bay" plays over a montage of black soldiers in the field. A group of black Marines in a mess hall at Camp Hansen, Okinawa discuss the unfair treatment they've experienced, such as being forced to wear a collared shirt with their dashikis and not being allowed to wear their hair in an afro. One marine relates an incident in which they were violently confronted after returning from a USO show that primarily featured soul music. There is a series of shots of shops in Koza "Four Corners", Okinawa geared towards African American soldiers. Another group of soldiers discuss their dissatisfaction with being drafted to fight in Vietnam despite social and economic discrimination at home, and being harassed and targeted as being "troublesome" if they decide to attend country music night at local clubs. L. Howard Bennett, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, discusses how black soldiers complaining about the lack of soul music are expressing grievances beyond simply entertainment selection and dissatisfaction with communcation in the chain of command. He also states his opinion that black soldiers fighting for the US puts them in a better position to demand equal rights at home.
2012.79.1.51.1b: Original 1,600 foot film reel.
2012.79.1.51.1c: Original 1,600 foot film canister. The metal film canister has two sticker labels; each from a different film services company.
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Pearl Bowser
2012.79.1.51.1a
© National Educational Television
Pearl Bowser Collection
5708 Arundel Ave., Rockville, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, North and Central America
This preservation 16mm color film is an hour-long documentary segment of Episode No. 22 of the NET (National Educational Television) television program, Black Journal; a weekly public television newsmagazine in the late 1960s/early 1970s that examined the many issues pertinent to the black American experience at the time. It was originally broadcast on March 30, 1970, and is believed to have been filmed over the course of 1969. Episode No. 22 of Black Journal was directed by Stan Lathan, while the "Black G.I." segment was directed by Kent Garrett. Executive Produced by William Greaves.
2012.79.1.51.2ab


Shocker: For 1 Japanese Solider World War II Didn't End Until 1974
March 11, 2019 Topic: Security Blog Brand: The Buzz Tags: JapanWorld War IIMilitaryPacific War
Suzuki told Onoda what he had heard so many times before. The war was over, and he should surrender. Onoda refused. When asked why, he stated his long-held conviction that he had been given orders to remain on the island, harassing the enemy and gathering intelligence. He would not surrender unless he had specific orders from his old chain of command to do so.=
by Warfare History Network
In 1996, Onoda returned to Lubang to revisit his old haunts, apologize to islanders (he and his fellow holdouts had killed some of the locals over the years), and donate a scholarship of $10,000 to island children. He would never be able to reconcile himself to modern Japan. In a 1997 speech he said, "At the time of the war, we were all dedicating our lives to the state of Japan, believing we would be enshrined and honored at Yasukuni Shrine (Japan's war memorial) after our deaths. But now Japan has thrown away its pride as a nation...."
The Japanese empire was a fine place for young Hiro Onoda. In 1939, at age 17, he hired on with a lacquerware company that posted him to Hankow (Wuhan) in Japanese-occupied China. There, he visited suppliers by day and danced the night away with obliging Chinese women.
(This first appeared several years ago.)
His idyllic world, along with that of countless others, came to an abrupt end in December 1941.
Japan opened up a new front in her war against the rest of the world. The Army desperately needed manpower. Onoda was called up in May 1942, and after basic training he was accepted into officer's candidate school. Upon graduation, he was promoted to 2nd lieutenant and selected for special training in a pacification squad, a type of commando unit.
In December 1944, with the American enemy growing in strength and resolve, Onoda was sent to the Philippines. There, he was ordered to connect with a local Japanese garrison and conduct reconnaissance of enemy strength and dispositions. He was also instructed to conduct guerrilla warfare after the expected American invasion. Under no circumstances was he to give up or commit suicide. Of the millions of combatants of every nation in World War II, no soldier was more faithful to his orders than Lieutenant Hiro Onoda of the Imperial Japanese Army.
Onoda and 21 other newly minted commandos arrived by air at Clark Air Base. The Americans had already landed in Mindoro and were interfering with Japanese movements on Luzon with continuous strafing and bombing.
On December 26, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi gave assignments to the newly arrived commandos. They were expected to conduct guerrilla warfare against the enemy in different parts of the archipelago.
Onoda was the single operative assigned to the nearby island of Lubang, southwest of Manila. Before leaving for their assignments, the commandos were addressed by Lt. Gen. Akira Muto, chief of staff of the 14th Area Army. General Muto gave the guerrillas a pep talk.
Onoda remembered clearly that the general looked straight at him and said, "You are absolutely forbidden to die by your own hand. It may take three years, it may take five, but whatever happens we'll come back for you." Onoda would remain faithful to his general's orders for the next 30 years. On December 30, a reluctant Filipino captain, traveling during the relative safety of night, ferried Onoda to his new home on the island of Lubang.
Lubang is about 30 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide. Much of it is heavily forested with tropical vegetation. Onoda would come to know every inch of it. On his arrival, he found a Japanese garrison of 150 men divided into four commands (Army, Air, Navy, and Intelligence). He did not have authority over any of them. He could only advise and consult, but had little time for either.
On February 1, 1945, the Americans came. Most of the Japanese garrison died in futile charges or by their own hands. Not Onoda, because he was forbidden to die and had to live to prepare for the day when the Japanese Army would return victorious. The few survivors retreated into the mountainous jungle where Onoda had the foresight to cache rice and some rifles for a protracted guerrilla struggle. The little band of holdouts engaged in firefights with the Americans and Filipinos, but by January 1946 Onoda's command was down to four men. In 1949, one of them deserted and gave himself up. After that, Onoda's family in Japan knew that he was still alive.
Ito Masashi's fate was not too dissimilar. Drafted along with his boyhood friends from a small fishing village in January 1942, Masashi was sent to the Manchurian border. He was assigned to defend against Japan's longstanding European enemy, the Soviet Union.
The Attack on Pearl Harbor Meant the Beginning of a 19-Year War for Ito Masashi
Japan had already fought three wars with Russia in the 20th century, and the Army's pre-war planning called for a strong presence on the Soviet border. Events in Europe changed all that. Japan's European ally, Nazi Germany, invaded Russia in the summer of 1941, and the Soviets quickly stripped their Siberian defenses in a desperate bid to stop the German onslaught. Suddenly, Japan had no Soviet enemy to worry about. In addition, by occupying Holland and France and locking England into a life-and-death struggle, Germany had created a power vacuum in the Far East where those countries had important but defenseless colonies.
The only force that could prevent Japan from filling that vacuum was the U.S. Navy, anchored menacingly in Hawaii. In December 1941, Japan moved to eliminate that threat. The attack on Pearl Harbor changed everything. For Ito Masashi it meant the beginning of a 19-year war.
Masashi's initial posting to the Manchurian border to guard against Russians who were no longer there soon changed. He was transferred to a rear area in the war with China. In March 1944, now a lance corporal, Masashi got urgent new orders. He was assigned to a hastily assembled outfit and transferred again.
This time he was sent to the island of Guam (called Omiya-jima by the Japanese) to face the real enemy, the United States. Steaming across the ocean in a 13-ship convoy, he landed on the island to reinforce the existing Japanese garrison. Days were easy at first as the new troops settled in. They spent their time fishing in the abundant local waters to augment their meager military diet. It was the calm before the storm.
In early June, they witnessed a flight of American bombers overhead. Masashi soon lost count of their number. The Japanese garrison on Guam was safe for the moment; the countless planes they observed were on their way to bomb Saipan, 200 miles to the north. A few days later, Masashi and his mates heard the rumble of distant guns over the horizon. The noise came from American battleships pounding Saipan with their 16-inch guns in preparation for landing.
Guam's turn came on July 21. Masashi remembers that Japanese command and control broke down after the initial American bombardment, and local units had to act on their own. The invasion went smoothly for the Americans, and by August 8 organized resistance came to an end. Many Japanese, including Masashi, were bypassed by the rapidly advancing Americans. The surviving Japanese stragglers (as they were called by the Americans) had to be rooted out by patrols and hard fighting.
Masashi and his few surviving mates moved from place to place to avoid detection. He could hear other pockets of Japanese soldiers being killed by the Americans, or worse, by the patrols of local militia. The Chamorro natives of Guam had suffered cruelly under Japanese occupation and set upon the survivors with a savage fury.
Soon Masashi had only one remaining companion, Private Minakawa Bunzo. They were like hunted animals in the twisted jungles of the island. They were not alone. Unknown to Masashi, Sergeant Shoichi Yokoi was also hiding in the uncharted jungles.
Yokoi had also served in Manchuria and was assigned to a supply company on Guam. He did not expect to be involved in the fighting. When independent groups of Japanese soldiers made suicidal charges against the Americans, he did not participate and so lived. For 20 years, he and two others survived on the mountainous island. When they ran low on food, his two fellow holdouts moved their camp a short distance away to be less conspicuous (or because they did not get along). They visited each other occasionally. In 1964, Yokoi found the bodies of the others who had apparently died of starvation or food poisoning. He lived alone in a cave that he dug out himself for the next eight years.
The Japanese Soldiers Feared the Disgrace, Dishonor, and Humiliation of Surrender