---
title: "Nanking Massacre Begins"
year: 1937
country: "China"
canonical: "https://recap.at/1937/nanking-massacre"
slug: "nanking-massacre"
recapType: "global_event"
startDate: "1937-12-13"
endDate: "1938-02-02"
---

# Nanking Massacre Begins

> Japanese forces committed mass atrocities against Chinese civilians and soldiers in Nanking, killing tens of thousands and establishing a template for industrial genocide.

In December 1937, Japanese forces occupying Nanjing, China's capital, systematically murdered an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 Chinese civilians and prisoners of war over six weeks. The violence included mass executions, sexual assault, and destruction of the city that shocked the world and became one of the twentieth century's most documented atrocities.

## Summary

The Nanjing Massacre or the Rape of Nanjing was the mass rape and murder of Chinese civilians, noncombatants, and prisoners of war by the Imperial Japanese Army in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China. It took place immediately after the Battle of Nanjing and retreat of the National Revolutionary Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

## Key facts

- **Estimated deaths**: 200,000 to 300,000 civilians and prisoners
- **Duration**: 6 weeks (mid-December 1937 to early January 1938)
- **Occupying force**: Imperial Japanese Army, approximately 50,000 troops
- **City population before siege**: Approximately 1 million
- **Documented by**: International Safety Zone Committee, Red Cross, foreign journalists including John Rabe
- **War crimes tribunal**: International Military Tribunal for the Far East (1946–1948)
- **Commanding general**: Matsui Iwane, executed for war crimes in 1948

## Timeline

- **1937-12-13** - Japanese forces enter Nanjing
  After weeks of siege, Japanese troops breach the city's walls and begin occupation. Organized military command breaks down as soldiers engage in widespread looting and violence.
- **1937-12-14** - Systematic killings begin
  Mass executions of soldiers and civilians commence. Japanese units establish killing zones throughout the city.
- **1937-12-15** - International Safety Zone established
  Foreign nationals, including German businessman John Rabe and American physician Robert Wilson, create a neutral zone to protect Chinese civilians. Approximately 250,000 people seek refuge.
- **1937-12-18** - Sexual violence escalates
  Organized rape of Chinese women becomes systematic. Japanese soldiers conduct mass abductions targeting women and girls across the city.
- **1938-01-09** - Massacre subsides
  After six weeks, Japanese command imposes greater discipline. Military leadership becomes concerned about international reporting and attempts to suppress documentation.
- **1946-06-04** - Far East War Crimes Tribunal opens
  Tokyo trial begins prosecuting Japanese military leaders. Nanjing atrocities figure prominently in testimony and evidence.
- **1948-06-12** - General Matsui executed
  Matsui Iwane, commanding general, is hanged for war crimes including responsibility for the massacre.

## Voices

- **Matsui Iwane, Japanese military commander and General** (official, dismissive) - Synthesized from contemporary military correspondence and later testimony
  > The soldiers must maintain discipline. Excesses will not be tolerated. We are conducting military operations, not a massacre.
- **Harold Timperley, British journalist and Manchester Guardian correspondent** (media, shocked) - Synthesized from Timperley's dispatches and reports smuggled to British press, January 1938
  > Japanese soldiers have systematically murdered thousands of civilians. The scale of killing defies belief. The world must know what is happening here.
- **Wang Zhixian, Chinese survivor and witness** (consumer, grieving) - Synthesized from survivor testimonies collected post-war
  > They came into our home without warning. Soldiers killed my father and brothers. The screams never stopped. We thought we would all die.

## Impact

The massacre revealed the brutality of Japanese imperial expansion and became a defining moment in Sino-Japanese relations that reverberates through diplomacy and education to this day. It hardened Allied resolve against Japan and forced international reckoning with war crimes—though attempts at accountability were incomplete and remain contested.

## Sources

- [Nanjing Massacre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanjing_Massacre) - Wikipedia

---
Canonical: https://recap.at/1937/nanking-massacre