In 1937, the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties fell in Nanjing, tens of thousands of murderous Japanese troops set foot on this ancient city, opening up an unprecedented massacre, tens of thousands of civilians fell under the atrocities of the Japanese army, and the various inhumane atrocities of the Japanese army were heinous and are still the eternal pain of the Chinese nation.
In December 1937, the Japanese army held the Nanjing entrance ceremony
Then, after the fall of Nanjing, why did so many ordinary people die and where did the dignitaries and nobles go?
As we all know, Nanjing in 1937 was the capital of the Republic of China, and this ancient city once again played the role of capital, so many high-class dignitaries were concentrated in Nanjing, and Nanjing became one of the few metropolises in the Republic of China period.
However, with the full outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Nanjing, as the capital of China at that time, became a thorn in the eye of the Japanese army invading China, and after the Songhu War of Resistance began, the Japanese army sent a large number of fighters to bomb the city of Nanjing, thus breaking the Determination of the Nationalist Government to resist the War.
A high-ranking official and nobleman during the Republic of China period
At the beginning of December 1937, the "Nanjing Defense War" that shocked the world broke out, and the Chinese and Japanese armies launched a fierce offensive and defensive war inside and outside this ancient city, and the officers and men of the 100,000 Nationalist Army, under the leadership of Tang Shengzhi, the garrison commander, fought against the Japanese army with superior equipment and troops, and vowed to defend the capital of the country, Nanjing.
It can be seen from this that during the Nanjing Defense War, the battle of the Nationalist generals who swore to defend Nanjing to the death was still worthy of respect, and the morale of the Chinese soldiers who swore to die to defend their homeland was played out, but under the bombardment of the Japanese aircraft and artillery, the Nationalist army suffered heavy losses, and it was only a matter of time before the city of Nanjing was breached.
The Japanese army bombed the Zhonghua Gate in the defense of Nanjing
Under these circumstances, Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist government secretly left the capital Nanjing for Chongqing, and the dignitaries and nobles in Nanjing also fled from Nanjing city and moved to the rear, so that only the army and innocent civilians who fought bloodily were left in Nanjing.
So why don't these innocent civilians flee? Let's take a look at a fragment of the memories of a survivor of the Nanjing Massacre.
The elderly Tao Xiuying was a survivor of the Nanjing Massacre, but also a victim of the Massacre, and after the fall of Nanjing, he was defiled and humiliated by the Japanese army.
Ordinary people on the streets of Nanjing in 1937
In 2001, when the elderly Tao Xiuying was interviewed by reporters at home, he recalled: "The Japanese army hit Nanjing and killed people when they saw them. Many rich people in the vicinity fled somewhere with their belongings. Our family has no money, and although we want to escape, we have to divide the money he wants to spend on the boat and the train, and it costs money to prepare for the food on the way to escape, but we can't find a penny of savings anymore. Because there was no way to escape, they had to flee to the refuge set up in the Nanjing International Safety Zone. ”
Through the above painful memories, the author found that when Nanjing fell, the high-ranking officials and nobles in the city had already fled away from the war, but the civilians in the city could not afford to pay the travel fee because of the problem of eating, and could only hide from the massacre of the Japanese army in Nanjing, which shows that this is the main reason why many ordinary people were killed after the fall of Nanjing.
Japanese atrocities
However, there is another reason that cannot be ignored, that is, the good ordinary people of Nanjing have no defense against the arrival of the Japanese army, and most people believe that nanjing has fallen and the war is over, and they can avoid the war.
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, an officer of the Teaching Corps who experienced the Nanjing Massacre said: "When Nanjing fell, many innocent people actually ran to the streets to watch the Japanese army enter the city, although we have repeatedly reminded the people that the Japanese army is extremely cruel and unkind, but the people still have no vigilance against the Japanese army occupying Nanjing, and lack of self-protection awareness!" ”
Through the above description, we can know that after the Japanese army captured Nanjing, many ordinary people did not have any defense against the Japanese army, and even expected the arrival of the Japanese army to end the war, they could live and work in peace, and no one expected that the Japanese army in front of them was a "beast group" that killed people without blinking. What awaits the military and people in Nanjing will be an even more tragic catastrophe.
Nanjing Massacre Infographic
Through the above reasons, the author summarizes the following reasons:
First, the failure of the defense of Nanjing made many high-ranking officials and nobles run away in advance and leave this dangerous city on the eve of the fall of Nanjing.
Second, many poor people can't eat enough to eat, and if they have the money to pay for the road, they can only sit still in Nanjing.
Third, the people were defenseless against the arrival of the Japanese army, and mistakenly believed that the Japanese army would not harm the people in the city.
Fourth, the corruption and incompetence of the Nationalist government, on the eve of the fall of Nanjing, was unable to take into account the safety of the common people.
Through the above four reasons, after the fall of Nanjing, so many ordinary people were killed, and those high-ranking officials and nobles had already fled to the safety zone of the rear, far away from Nanjing, a place of right and wrong.
An upper class couple on the eve of the fall of Nanjing in 1937
In short, after the fall of Nanking, many ordinary people were slaughtered by the Japanese army, in addition to the above reasons, the most important thing is related to the primitive and barbaric nature of the Japanese army; after the capture of Nanjing, the Japanese army created the most despicable and shameless atrocities in human history, openly violated international conventions, wantonly slaughtered innocent civilians, and committed unforgivable crimes.