Questions About The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II

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Answered Questions (8)

Is this book something that would be a waste of my time? Will this book be to hard for 9th grader? I really want to read it but if I don't understand it will be very difficult. I really need an opinion...

Kristina Rose Will this book be easy reading? No. Is this book worth reading? Absolutely. The subject matter is brutal; expect yourself to feel disgusted, angry and…moreWill this book be easy reading? No. Is this book worth reading? Absolutely. The subject matter is brutal; expect yourself to feel disgusted, angry and sad. But I think reading about these sort of atrocities as a young person will give you a well rounded and honest view of the world. It is not a difficult read in terms of writing style and I should think a 9th grader (I'm guessing 14-15 years old?) will cope with it just fine. Throw any preconceptions out the window and just read it. Iris Chang's voice deserves to be heard and you deserve to hear it.(less)

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on page 66, Frank xing was a boy of eleven when he fled with his parents during Nanking evacuation & his grandmother gave his father, who, then, was a railway employee, bracelets and at the same time his grandmother was a pregnant in her early twenties & had a one year old infant? I couldn't understand. anyone who was confused while reading?

Laura She changed the subject between paragraphs... while Frank xing's grandmother gave his father bracelets etc and stayed behind, the author's grandparent…moreShe changed the subject between paragraphs... while Frank xing's grandmother gave his father bracelets etc and stayed behind, the author's grandparents barely escaped. The author's grandmother was pregnant at the time and also had a one year old infant. The author states the infant was her aunt today. I'm reading an updated version, it may have not been clear in earlier editions? (less)

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Do you think that the author wants us to hate Japanese people?

Antony No more than writers of books on the Nazi Holocaust want us to hate German people.

In other words - no.…moreNo more than writers of books on the Nazi Holocaust want us to hate German people.

In other words - no.(less)

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So i understand this is about Nanking so it's obviously going to be gory. I understand they need to say some horrible things. But will i get some breathing room / backstory or is it just going to be an endless description of human misery?

Jonatan Almfjord I would say yes you will get the chance to catch your breath.

It might be helpful to know that the book is more or less divided into three parts.
1) Fro…moreI would say yes you will get the chance to catch your breath.

It might be helpful to know that the book is more or less divided into three parts.
1) From the Japanese perspective, what lead up to this? What happened just before and what state was the army in etc.
2) From the Chinese perspective, how did the people in the city experience it? This is the tough, and as you say gory, part. Many eye-witnesses and survivors tell their story.
3) The international perspective and what happened next? How the US and the rest of the world reacted, and how was it pictured in the history books afterwards.

If the book had only been a bloody storytelling with no background and no follow-up to put it in context with, I would not have given it a 5-star rating. But I did learn things from reading this book, and I could not put it down until I had finished it.(less)

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Does anyone have any The Rape of Nanking book club questions?

Sara
1) Did Hitler learn from Japan exactly how to inspire hatred for a group of people, how to treat those who are only considered animals?
2) Why do peopl…more
1) Did Hitler learn from Japan exactly how to inspire hatred for a group of people, how to treat those who are only considered animals?
2) Why do people under certain circumstances turn into monsters who not only commit atrocities but boast about them?
3) How does it happen that certain atrocities become a part of collective memory and focus of mainstream culture, whilst others seem to be resigned to oblivion?
4) Have you ever, while experimenting with a certain synthetic ergoline alkaloid, egressed through the wrong Huxleyian postern into the waiting arms of a nightmarish trip which forced you to confront the sinister kernel deep within your being which would allow you to subordinate yourself to a mob and commit unspeakable acts of coalitionary violence?
5) How did it come it to be that the Japanese soldiers lost all natural sense of right and wrong? Why did the world look away? Why has punishment never been allotted? What can be done to prevent this from happening again?
6) Why have these horrors been basically overlooked in the history of WWII? Why was this history never taught in schools?
7) What do you do with this knowledge?
8) Do we just accept such horrific behavior as part of human nature or try to understand it and hopefully prevent it?
9) How do you talk about such cases of mass rape where all hope was abandoned? Where the people who say they stand for democracy have continued to look away? And where the victims continue to be ignored and shamed for the violence committed against them?
10) How much did the Emperor know-and condone?
11) Do we consider books on the European Holocaust one-sidedly anti-Nazi? Is one required to present a "balanced view" when there is no balance?
12) What could possibly explain why the 50,000 Japanese troops indulged in raping, torturing, shooting, bayoneting, beheading an estimated 260,000 to 350,000 Chinese people in a 2-month period?
13) Did all these really happened exactly as written by Chang in this book? Or did Chang sensationalize everything just to be popular?
14) What makes people commit these brutal crimes against helpless adversaries, to satisfy themselves with the suffering of their victims? Does the smell of blood awaken a sleeping beast or is it the dullness of a soldier, hatred over the death of a friend, or something else entirely?
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Unanswered Questions (1)

Does anyone know if the Japanese education system, and other areas, now refer to the atrocities committed by them correctly and in greater detail? I can only find evidence of these still not changing from over 20 years ago.

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