History has its own life, it is like a person, both easy-going and self-respecting. ——Yu Qiuyu
This is a set of old photos from the war of resistance against Japanese aggression after the fall of Nanjing.
From the end of 1937 to the beginning of 1938, the historical fact that the Japanese Kou massacred 300,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians in the city of Nanjing has been written into the annals of history. Time cannot be turned back, disasters cannot be spared, but the living still need to live, and the aggressors of that year, the Japanese, cannot kill all the people, so after the end of the war, under the threat of the enemy's bayonet, the people of Nanjing began to rebuild their homes, and life gradually returned to normal.
Of course, this normality is undignified and inferior, and likewise, life and property are not guaranteed.
So what was the city of Nanjing like in 1939? The following set of photos was taken by a Japanese military reporter, which may be selective or even posed, but at least to some extent restores the history of suffering.
In 1939, Nanjing, citizens sitting idly by the river. It seems that these masses are very leisurely, but the ruins and broken walls behind them are still faintly visible. It still seems to remind good people that the disaster is not over.
Women on the streets of Nanjing in 1939. We can't see exactly what is written on the armbands of these women in front of the camera, but there is a good chance that they should be doing ideological and political work for the enemy and puppet regimes, that is, using Chinese to manage the Chinese, or supervising the Chinese, and the leaders of these groups will basically be Japanese.
In 1939, the masses on the streets of Nanjing. I don't know what so many people are watching. Judging by the clothing, this should be a rich area.
In 1939, a scene on the streets of Nanjing.
In March 1939, Nanjing, the citizens of the post-war reconstruction of their homes. At this time, it had been a full year since the end of the battle in Nanjing, but the scene on the streets was still like this, which showed how much the war had left on Nanjing.
In March 1939, on the outskirts of Nanjing, a cowherd girl. Childhood in the mountains may be a bit desirable, but in that era of national ruin, we don't know if little girls can grow up safely.
March 7, 1939, Nanjing, portrait of a little girl.
March 17, 1939, Nanjing, children flying kites.
After looking at the life of the citizens of Nanjing after the battle, it seems that we should also look at how the Japanese soldiers lived as invaders, and the picture above shows that after the battle, the Japanese army opened a comfort station in Nanjing, and the Japanese officers and soldiers crowded in front of the door. In fact, during World War II, the Japanese army opened many comfort stations on the battlefield, and there were many in Nanjing City.
The comfort station needs "comfort women" to serve the Japanese soldiers, so the Japanese Kou military recruited a large number of "comfort women" from the Japanese mainland, as well as the occupied areas of Korea and China, most of these "comfort women" were forcibly arrested, and their endings were also very tragic, either dead or crazy.
The road of history is full of twists and turns, and there is a lesson: "Conscientious and strong, the wind is the death"; "the prosperity is not sluggish, and strive to be strong". Only by keeping history in mind, taking history as a mirror, and being brave after knowing shame can we make our motherland prosperous and forever stand tall in the east of the world!