No American witnessed the Nanjing “massacre”
MATSUMURA Toshio(Summary)
Mr. Toshio Matsumura points out that current books that claim to support theNanjing “massacre” thesis, that Japanese soldiers slaughtered hundreds of thousandsof Chinese civilians after the fall of the Chinese capital in December 13, 1937, havemuch to be desired in terms of accuracy. Instead, those seeking to know the truth,
particularly English speakers, should look elsewhere for confirmation on the Nanjing“massacre”. There were a number of Americans living in Nanjing at the time and thebook, Eyewitnesses to Massacre: American Missionaries Bear Witness to Japanese
Atrocities in Nanjing, edited by Zhang Kaiyuan, is a compilation of personal letters
written by these Americans to relatives. Thus, rather than messages for public
consumption, the letters show the writers’ private thoughts and sentiments.
According to the letters, none of the Americans personally witnessed theJapanese murdering, raping or looting. As Mr. Matsumura points out, the book is
unfortunately and misleadingly titled. The Americans lived within the same buildingor within a few miles from each other within Nanjing. Thus, if someone saw
atrocities being committed, then others would have mentioned it in their letters.
However, such is absolutely not the case. For example, Professor Miner Searle Bates
reported numerous bodies that were either shot or bayoneted were found within thearea designated as a “safety zone,” an area set up by foreign residents for the purposeof sheltering Chinese civilians. However, others wrote that December 13 was in factpeaceful and not swarming with murderous Japanese soldiers as Bates insinuated. Infact, Chinese civilians were out in the streets curiously observing the Japanesesoldiers, even setting up small roadside businesses. Indeed, the same writers of theletters in Eyewitnesses to Massacre were freely traveling within Nanjing without
being harassed by Japanese soldiers. Writers acknowledged seeing a few bodies ofcivilians surrounded by crowds of Chinese onlookers, but these casualties were due tostray artillery fire during the fighting prior to the fall of the city and not by Japanese
troops using civilians for bayonet practice. During no time did Japanese soldiers raida women’s college to rape the occupants—such was absolutely not observed either
immediately after the entry of Japanese troops in Nanjing or for the two month period
thereafter. What looting there was, in fact, as the letters pointed out, were by poor
Chinese refugees, not Japanese soldiers, scrounging for anything of value.
If there was no Nanjing “massacre,” then how did this falsehood take root? Mr.
Matsumura points out that two of the Americans cited in the book, Miner Searle Bates
and George A. Fitch, continued to sow atrocity accusations and anti-Japanese
propaganda long after the fall of Nanjing in China and abroad. Nowhere in the book is
it pointed out that Bates was an advisor to the Nationalist Government and that Fitch
formed anti-Japanese, pro-China groups in the U.S. after leaving Nanjing in 1938. Mr.
Matsumura goes on to point out that the purpose of these activities was to influence
U.S. policy in the favor of the Nationalist Government and to increase hostility
against Japan. Allied prosecutors for the “Tokyo Trials” were not even able to secure
reliable witnesses to the Nanjing “massacre”. Even though the allegations are not at
all based in fact, as the letters written by Americans demonstrate, the Japanese were
nonetheless prosecuted for it. The propaganda campaign started by the Nationalists
has now found new life as an effective propaganda tool of Chinese Communist Party.