Nanjing Massacre Memorial
August 1, 2008
A cross-shaped tower marked with the dates of the Nanjing Massacre stands high above the Assembly Ground outside the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing, China, on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007. After two years of renovations, the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre reopened to the public on Dec. 13, 2007, the 70th anniversary of the 6-week massacre by Japanese troops that started Dec. 13, 1937 and claimed more than 300,000 lives. The commemoration comes amid renewed controversy about the accuracy of historical accounts of the massacre. The massacre is also known as “The Rape of Nanking.”
People wait to enter the grounds of the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing, China on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007. After two years of renovations, the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre reopened to the public on Dec. 13, 2007, the 70th anniversary of the 6-week massacre by Japanese troops that started Dec. 13, 1937 and claimed more than 300,000 lives. The commemoration comes amid renewed controversy about the accuracy of historical accounts of the massacre. The massacre is also known as “The Rape of Nanking.”
Visitors can see the remains of Nanjing Massacre victims at the “Mass Grave of 10,000 Corpses” in the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre now sits in Nanjing, China, on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007. After two years of renovations, the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre reopened to the public on Dec. 13, 2007, the 70th anniversary of the 6-week massacre by Japanese troops that started Dec. 13, 1937 and claimed more than 300,000 lives. The commemoration comes amid renewed controversy about the accuracy of historical accounts of the massacre. The massacre is also known as “The Rape of Nanking.”
A man walks among the sculptures in the grounds of the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing, China, on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007. After two years of renovations, the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre reopened to the public on Dec. 13, 2007, the 70th anniversary of the 6-week massacre by Japanese troops that started Dec. 13, 1937 and claimed more than 300,000 lives. The commemoration comes amid renewed controversy about the accuracy of historical accounts of the massacre. The massacre is also known as “The Rape of Nanking.”
People sign a memorial banner outside the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre before being let in to see the grounds of the site. After two years of renovations, the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre reopened on Dec. 13, 2007, the 70th anniversary of the 6-week massacre by Japanese troops that started Dec. 13, 1937 and claimed more than 300,000 lives. The commemoration comes amid renewed controversy about the accuracy of historical accounts of the massacre. The massacre is also known as “The Rape of Nanking.”
A sculpture stands high above crowds as they enter the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing, China, on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007. After two years of renovations, the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre reopened to the public on Dec. 13, 2007, the 70th anniversary of the 6-week massacre by Japanese troops that started Dec. 13, 1937 and claimed more than 300,000 lives. The commemoration comes amid renewed controversy about the accuracy of historical accounts of the massacre. The massacre is also known as “The Rape of Nanking.”
A man looks at a reflecting pool on the grounds of the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing, China, on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007. After two years of renovations, the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre reopened to the public on Dec. 13, 2007, the 70th anniversary of the 6-week massacre by Japanese troops that started Dec. 13, 1937 and claimed more than 300,000 lives. The commemoration comes amid renewed controversy about the accuracy of historical accounts of the massacre. The massacre is also known as “The Rape of Nanking.”
A soldier stands guard near sculptures outside the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing, China, on Dec. 13, 2007. After two years of renovations, the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre reopened to the public on Dec. 13, 2007, the 70th anniversary of the 6-week massacre by Japanese troops that started Dec. 13, 1937 and claimed more than 300,000 lives. The commemoration comes amid renewed controversy about the accuracy of historical accounts of the massacre. The massacre is also known as “The Rape of Nanking.”
A sculpture stands high above crowds as they enter the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing, China, on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007. After two years of renovations, the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre reopened to the public on Dec. 13, 2007, the 70th anniversary of the 6-week massacre by Japanese troops that started Dec. 13, 1937 and claimed more than 300,000 lives. The commemoration comes amid renewed controversy about the accuracy of historical accounts of the massacre. The massacre is also known as “The Rape of Nanking.”
Police officers control the crowd as visitors flock into the grounds of the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing, China, on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007. After two years of renovations, the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre reopened to the public on Dec. 13, 2007, the 70th anniversary of the 6-week massacre by Japanese troops that started Dec. 13, 1937 and claimed more than 300,000 lives. The commemoration comes amid renewed controversy about the accuracy of historical accounts of the massacre. The massacre is also known as “The Rape of Nanking.”
People walk past sculptures outside the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing, China, on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007. After two years of renovations, the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre reopened to the public on Dec. 13, 2007, the 70th anniversary of the 6-week massacre by Japanese troops that started Dec. 13, 1937 and claimed more than 300,000 lives. The commemoration comes amid renewed controversy about the accuracy of historical accounts of the massacre. The massacre is also known as “The Rape of Nanking.”
Remembering the Rape of Nanking
The Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre reopened to the public on Dec. 13, 2007, the seventieth anniversary of the start of Japanese troops' brutal slaughter of as many as 300,000 in Nanjing, China. The historical account has always been mired in controversy, and differing opinions on what actually happened have been a consistent obstacle to relations between China and Japan. The controversy made new headlines just prior to the grand reopening of the museum after news broke about a prominent Japanese filmmaker's intent to show that the Chinese accounts of the massacre are nothing more than political propaganda. Hollywood has gotten into the mix as well, with big budget productions related to the massacre slated for 2008 and 2009. In a recent bid to improve relations with Tokyo, the Chinese government tried to quell nationalism on the even of the commemoration, but that didn't stop thousands of people from gathering to remember the atrocities of the past.