The Nanjing Massacre: A Swedish Diplomat Reports (Part Two)

“The soldiers have murdered, burnt and looted while raping women without worrying about the presence of witnesses.” By early 1938, the Swedish envoy to China, Johan Beck-Friis, was in no … Continue Reading →

The Nanjing Massacre: A Swedish Diplomat Reports (Part One)

In December 1937, the Japanese Army captured the Chinese capital of Nanjing and immediately imposed a complete news blackout of events in the city. As a result, the outside world … Continue Reading →

The Mystery Explosion

On November 4, 1937, the battle of Shanghai was almost over. Japanese forces were closing in on the Chinese defenses in and around the city, and it was considered a … Continue Reading →

China at War: A New Zealand View (Part 3)

  As the war in the Asia-Pacific progressed, life as a New Zealand missionary in partly Japanese-occupied China became more difficult. After the Allies declared war on Japan in 1941, … Continue Reading →

China at War: A New Zealand View (Part 2)

  Southern China was an area in desperate crisis in the late 1930s. Up north, the densely populated areas near Shanghai and Beijing had fallen to the victorious Japanese Army, … Continue Reading →

China at War: A New Zealand View (Part 1)

  When war broke out between China and Japan in the 1930s, tens of thousands of foreigners became unwilling spectators of the bloody events. Among the witnesses were Presbyterian missionaries … Continue Reading →

The Fate of America’s Missing Airmen in Thailand in WW2

Daniel Jackson, a US Air Force pilot and the author of several books on military history, has done extensive research on the role of American aviators in China during World … Continue Reading →

Disaster in Shanghai, Part 2

  On August 23, 1937, Shanghai was only getting used to war when a bomb, probably dropped by accident, hit a busy part of Nanjing Road, gutting Sincere Department Store … Continue Reading →

Disaster in Shanghai, Part 1

On August 23, 1937, ten days after Shanghai had become the scene of a merciless battle between Chinese and Japanese forces, tragedy struck right in the middle of the city. … Continue Reading →

A Photographer in Shanghai: The French, Part 3

The war between China and Japan that broke out in 1937 was a modern media war involving the international press as an actor in the game for public opinion. This … Continue Reading →