Nanjing Massacre Memorial

Rem Sapozhnikov / October-November 2008

For the Chinese people the Second World war started on July 7, 1937, when Japan unleashed an open aggression against China. In that war China suffered very heavy human losses — 17.5 million of people were killed, 90% of which were civilians.

During seizure of Nanjing in December 1937 the Japanese fascists made a real massacre. It is impossible to count those who were killed. At least 300 thousand are thought to be killed! Chinese captive soldiers, ordinary civilians — old men, women, children, - were ruthlessly annihilated within a couple of days after Japanese army seized Nanjing, which was then the capital of Kuomintang China.

To commemorate that tragedy the mournful Nanjing Massacre Memorial was erected. Symbolic common grave is a pebbly ground, where each pebble is a massacre victim. It is not possible to count pebbles as it is not possible to count those perished.

The territory of the complex has quite a lot of distinctive monuments. And with every passing year they are getting more and more. Not long ago they unveiled a 40 meter bronze lane with bare feet imprints of 222 Chinese — those, who miraculously remained alive then.

The underground museum displays numerous material evidence of that monstrous crime committed by the occupants. Especially impressive is the common grave cut, which is displayed behind the glass in one of the halls: dozens sticking from the ground human bones, crushed skulls. As witnessed those few that managed to stay alive, the driven together people first were point blank machine gunned, and then finished off by buttstocks, mattocks and entranching shovels. Dead bodies were thrown down to the waters of the nearby running Yangtze river or just left at the place of execution.

A very bitter trace is left in the soul by the pictures of massive executions, barbarity of occupants, written and video evidence of survivors of that horrible slaughter.