Butchery in Nanking by New York Times reporter Frank Tillman.

As I witnessed the human vandalism at Nanking, I believe the Japanese army has thrown away any chance to gain the respect and confidence of the Chinese inhabitants and of foreign opinion there.

The killing of civilians was widespread. Foreigners who traveled widely through the city on Wednesday found civilians dead on every street. Some of the victims were women and children. Policemen and firemen were special objects of attack. Many victims were bayoneted and some of the wounds were barbarously cruel.

There were reports of many of the city’s women being brutally raped. I witnessed a pile of dead Chinese women, ranging in age from eight to fifty, who had apparently been raped and then shot.

The Japanese looting amounted almost to plundering of the entire city. Japanese soldiers, often under the eyes of their officers, looted nearly every building. The soldiers took whatever they wanted.

The mass executions of war prisoners added to the horrors the Japanese brought to Nanking. After killing the Chinese soldiers who threw down their arms and surrendered, the Japanese combed the city for men in civilian garb who they suspected of being former soldiers.

I personally witnessed the execution of 200 men. The killings took ten minutes. The men were lined against a wall and shot. Then a number of Japanese, armed with pistols, walked nonchalantly around the crumpled bodies, pumping bullets into any that were still kicking. In one other slaughter a tank gun was turned on a group of more than 100 soldiers.

The Japanese Army men performing the gruesome job had invited the Japanese Navy from the warships anchored nearby to view the scene. A large group of military spectators cheered and greatly enjoyed the massacres.

The capture of Nanking was the most overwhelming defeat suffered by the Chinese and one of the most tragic military debacles in the history of modern warfare. In attempting to defend Nanking the Chinese allowed themselves to be surrounded and then systematically slaughtered.

Because of the disorganization of the Chinese a number of units continued fighting Tuesday afternoon, many of these not realizing the Japanese had surrounded them and that their cause was hopeless. Japanese tank patrols systematically eliminated them.

Civilian casualties were heavy, amounting to thousands. Nanking's streets were littered with dead. Sometimes bodies had to be moved before automobiles could pass. The Japanese had not removed the dead. The Japanese appear to want the horrors to remain as long as possible, to impress on the Chinese the terrible results of resisting Japan. Source: The New York Times, December 18, 1937, pp. 1& 10

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Primary Source Written Document Analysis Worksheet – Document #1

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6. / DOCUMENT INFORMATION
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C. Why do you think the author wrote this document (be sure to state the intended audience)?
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D. Cite at least two pieces of evidence that could prove this was a war crime or genocide.
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