r/TerrifyingAsFuck • u/TheMrMorbid • Mar 14 '24
war Chinese prisoners being buried alive by their Japanese captors outside the city of Nanjing, during the infamous Rape of Nanjing, 1937.
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u/TheMrMorbid Mar 14 '24
The incident still rankles Sino-Japanese relations. Japanese nationalists contend that the death tolls are inflated and the majority killed were resisting Japanese occupation. To this day, pages in Japanese school history textbooks can incite heated protests on the streets in China. Then and now, the Nanjing massacre remains one of the darkest events of the last century
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u/infanteer Mar 14 '24
There were a lot worse things happening than being buried alive.
Visiting the memorial and seeing the preserved skeletons is of the most harrowing experiences for me. Babies skulls with small square holes where the Japanese army used nails to conserve ammunition, etc
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u/kirky1148 Mar 14 '24
Sounds like the killing fields, similar horrific stuff. Wanted to curl up and cry after that particular visit
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u/Specific_Dress3190 Mar 15 '24 edited Mar 15 '24
I just read up on this after i saw your post, fuck humans man - honestly makes me want to cry
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u/kirky1148 Mar 15 '24
Yeah glad I went but fuck, Cambodian people for the most part are also some of the most welcoming and lovely folk there are despite a fairly recent horrific past
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u/thatsmejp Mar 14 '24
What the Japanese did in Nanking is up there with the very worst crimes against humanity.
I echo another poster by reiterating it’s made worse by modern day Japan historical revisionism that downplays/disputes the atrocities.
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u/dawaxtadpole Mar 14 '24
What is really terrifying is this ain’t the most terrifying thing to happen during that sadistic bullshit.
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u/indefilade Mar 14 '24
Then there is “Unit 731.”
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u/WalkingTheD0g1 Mar 14 '24
I don’t understand how anyone could do shit like that to another human.
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u/thisjustathrowawayya Mar 15 '24
Damm, first I'm hearing of this. As I'm reading up on it, not surprised the US fucking contributed.
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u/indefilade Mar 15 '24
Contributed?
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u/OneLonePineapple Mar 15 '24
Not necessarily, but the US let them go scot free in exchange for their medical “research”
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u/Schroedesy13 Mar 14 '24
The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders is one of the most interesting and yet darkest places I’ve been in my entire life.
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u/reloadingnow Mar 14 '24
There's a 360 walkthrough with zoomable sections here.
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u/usernamenoperson Mar 15 '24
It doesn’t work for me, is there another link?
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u/reloadingnow Mar 15 '24
I had to refresh a few times to get it to work too. I'm on Firefox if that matters.
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u/stevedadog Mar 14 '24
Did anything ever come of that pawn shop guy who found some veteran's notebook with photographic evidence?
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u/faverett28 Mar 15 '24
I saw that a long time ago. I would be very interested in a follow up. I remember lots of people posting links to resources and institutes for authenticating and documenting the photos and notebook
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u/Insha_Sophia Mar 17 '24
He got it to the Chinese Govt, who sent him what I think was their highest honor, the same tea set they give to foreign leaders, worth something like $1,000,000
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u/GiddyGabby Mar 14 '24
Human beings sure seem to love finding ways to hurt, maim & kill other human beings and I will never understand it.
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u/indefilade Mar 14 '24
Don’t forget the two Japanese officers who had a contest for who could kill the most civilians with their samurai swords. It was reported in the newspapers in Japan at that time so the civilians could keep up with the body count competition.
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u/HKP2019 Mar 15 '24
It was initially reported as they were contesting on killing Chinese soldiers in combat, Which was legal. Of course everybody knew something was fishy. Nobody kills hundreds of enemy soldier in 1930s with swords.
Untile one of the two let it slip when telling his heroic stories to Japanese grade schoolers. What they killed was civilians and POWs. Those testimonies got documented and used against them after the war. They were executed by the Chinese government.
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u/indefilade Mar 15 '24
No, I have read about this. That’s not the case at all. They were killing civilians and the Japanese public knew they were killing civilians the whole time.
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u/HKP2019 Mar 15 '24
I mean, people knew who they killed and wasn't being discreet about it, but the government propaganda at least knew what shouldn't be said on record.
This was one of the early newspaper articles:
After marching to Wuxi, Second Lieutenant Mukai followed the 26- to 7-kilometer railway line, and Second Lieutenant Noda moved along the railway line. The two men were temporarily separated. On the morning after setting off, Second Lieutenant Noda rushed into the enemy's bunker at Wuming Village, eight kilometers away from Wuxi, and killed four enemies to gain fame. After hearing the news, Second Lieutenant Mukai rose up and rushed into the enemy formation in Henglin Town that night, killing fifty-five people with his men.
After that, Second Lieutenant Noda killed nine in Henglin Town, six in Weiguan Town, and six in Changzhou Station on the 29th, for a total of twenty-five. Second Lieutenant Mukai killed four near Changzhou Station. When the reporter arrived at the station, he saw the two of them meeting at the head of the station.
Second Lieutenant Mukai: If this continues, let alone go to Nanjing, I may have killed about 100 people by the time I get to Danyang. It is Noda's failure. My sword killed fifty-six people with only one gap.Second Lieutenant Noda: Neither of us will kill the escapees. I am an official so my grades cannot improve. I will set a big record before arriving in Danyang for you to see
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u/inilashremot Mar 15 '24
Crowd behaviour is the most terrifying thing.
A crowd could decide to laugh together at a murder happening.
A crowd could decide to be audience to a rape happening.
A crowd can decide to beat up an individual for some offence.
A crowd can pull you in, if you are a woman you might not get out alive, and if you are a man then perhaps the same but different wounds.
I think I have a fear of crowds.
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u/CrowdedShorts Mar 14 '24
We suck as a species…
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Mar 14 '24
But they created anime so it’s all good now
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u/NoKindheartedness16 Mar 14 '24
Hey now, don’t forget the hentai genre and cute stuff in general, so all is forgiven okay?!! /s
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u/indefilade Mar 14 '24
Everyone isn’t like this, but the people who are like this try to draw comparisons to everyone else. Fact is, the Japanese were at least as bad as the Nazis, but we blame the Nazis more for some reason. The Russians were really bad, also.
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u/xcviij Mar 14 '24
We don't suck as a species, it's individuals who engage in disgusting behavior that suck.
Individuals are merely born into this world, we don't collectively suck because of some individuals or groups disgusting behavior.
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u/ForsakenVillage3809 Mar 15 '24
What I'm looking at right now reminds me of the narco vids I see on here the way people are casually doing and seeing fucked up shit to another person like it's Monday at work
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u/vorono1 Mar 15 '24
Why were the Japanese particularly cruel? Both sides committed warcrimes but the Japanese took it to another level.
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u/birehcannes Mar 15 '24
Increasingly extreme fanatical nationalism and militarism coupled with a belief of being superior to other races and nations. This developed over a relatively short period of time too, e.g. during the Japanese-Russian war at the beginning of the century the Japanese military was not like that and had treated Russian POWs relatively well.
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u/Dry_Leek78 Mar 15 '24
Because by surrendering, their enemies were considered worse than dogs (no honor), at least no longer "human", without dignity. A japanese was not supposed to surrender, but fight till death for the emperor and their honor.
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u/Trollothisguy Mar 15 '24
The beef between China and Japan is deep and old
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u/1m2q6x0s Mar 15 '24
And sadly, some people like to pretend as if you can just start anew and forget about the past.
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u/Ozamatheus Mar 14 '24
The nations that makes that kind of shit on very past put that on their school history books?
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u/Jj5699bBQ Mar 14 '24
And yet, Hirohito walks free.
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Mar 15 '24
He died back in 1989. If any version of Hell exists, he is probably there. Or he is being punished somehow by reincarnation.
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u/AC031415 Mar 16 '24
As an 11-year-old Chinese girl that has to work at the Apple factory?
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Mar 16 '24
Maybe. Or maybe he reincarnated as an animal that no one likes, like a cockroach or a wasp.
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u/PlusEnthusiasm9963 Mar 16 '24
I’ve been to the memorial in Nanjing and seen the pits where people were buried. Humanity can be truly bone-chilling in the depths of our cruelty towards one another.
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u/Pippathepip Mar 15 '24
The Hardcore History podcast has a couple of episodes on the Rape of Nanjing. Utterly compelling but not an easy listen.
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Mar 15 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/No_Neighborhood9976 Mar 15 '24
Wtf man? How is mass murdering innocents on the other side justifiable. You should be ashamed of yourself writing something like this. Puts you into the same corner as the soldiers seen in the background of this photo.
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u/mr_tasc1 Mar 15 '24
I completely changed my perspective of the Japanese after I learned about the atrocities they committed during WWII. Everybody respects and looks up to them today. I ask how the hell did these people manage to hide this from the majority of the world to the point that almost nobody has ever heard of what they actually did...they make Hitler sound like Jesus....
It's not like the Japanese are focused and perfectionists.... they're just soulless.
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u/amanset Mar 15 '24
So you moved on to bigotry yourself then? Awesome.
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u/mr_tasc1 Mar 15 '24
You need to look up bigotry means or at least call me something else more appropriate
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u/amanset Mar 15 '24
Classing at entire nation of people a certain way (and an ever so slightly negative way: soulless) due to actions of a small subset of their people eighty years previously.
Yeah, that’s bigotry.
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u/Pugsandskydiving Mar 15 '24
So horrible maybe it’s best to have your head cut off with their sword or machete or whatever so it’s instantly. Disgusting.
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Mar 14 '24
the atrocities in the war.... it's eery how certain people become sub human and their lives are worth less.than an animals.
shame we really haven't learnt much
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u/garface239 Mar 14 '24
It’s funny how there is such an interest in Japan now. The culture is so far removed from what it was just a few decades ago.
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u/Actaeon_II Mar 14 '24
See I never understood the why behind so much of this, so much of Japanese culture going back to antiquity is based on honor and respect even of your enemies. I try to resolve the documented history with other things I have read of the culture and it makes no sense unless I assume it is the same western influences that destroyed the samurai.
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u/My_Dog_is_Chonk Mar 17 '24
And people in Japan and abroad still deny this shit happened...still to this day.
That's not even getting into the stuff like the infant-skewering or the infamous hunting incidents.
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u/_JosefoStalon_ Mar 17 '24
I just don't understand how members of the Japanese government, as well as many civilians, still deny the Nanjing war crimes, comfort women, etc.
It's the same as Holocaust deniers, not only do I find you dumber than a flat earther, but also gives everyone a peep into your fucked up way of thinking.
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u/northsidecub11 Mar 18 '24
Shit like this makes me feel way better about Japan being nuked. Not that the population had anything to do with the Raping of Nanking, but still…
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u/mngdew Mar 18 '24
The worst thing is that most Japanese don't know anything about this. They don't even know much about WWII. They only think they are poor victims of atomic bombs.
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u/Big_Honeydew6225 Apr 23 '24
Man the Japanese were fucking BRUTAL back in those days. Not just to other people but even to their own. Imperial Japanese officers would often just beat the living shit out of the lower ranking officers for very minor things, which in turn the lower ranking officers would beat the shit out of the prisoners or other even lower ranking officers. Really messed up
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Mar 14 '24 edited Mar 14 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/indefilade Mar 14 '24
We are even blamed for stopping them because we used nukes to do so. Thats new revisionist history if there ever was a case of it.
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u/Beakie40k Mar 15 '24
Killing innocents is killing innocents and not justifiable. It doesn’t matter if it’s done with bayonets at Nanjing or with 2 nuclear weapons at Hiroshima and Nagasaki
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u/Porchmuse Mar 14 '24
One of the most horrifying aspects of pictures like this to me is the casual nature of the crowd in the background. Sort of like soldiers who have to hear the commander’s safety briefing before they’re released for the three day weekend.
It’s like they’re thinking, “come on, you’re cutting into happy hour…”
We can be so terrible to each other for no good reason.