Interviews about the Nanjing Massacre
Interview one Summary & Partial Translated Transcript:
Interview one contains more about some specific experiences that my grandfather has, and the other proves the reality of the first interview. There are some direct quotes from 4:00 to 6:12 in the first interview about two specific matters:
Alfred: "During the Nanjing Massacre, there was an article that caused a stir in China. Two Japanese officers caught competing to see who could kill the most people in a day. Do you have any comments on this report?"
Le Nong: "I have heard about the report, but I think there are few or no people downtown who have witnessed the case. Because this report is the end of World War II, the war reporters interviewed the local people killed, an interview out of a theory. Some places hung heads, but the Japanese said that these people were Against the Japanese attack at that time. These belong to the resistance. But there must have been some Japanese soldiers who killed innocents indiscriminately. For example, the same is true of the US war in the Middle East. As long as there is a war, it is inevitable that some innocent people will die unexpectedly because of it."
Alfred: "In recent years, a Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall has been established in Nanjing, which records that about 300,000 Chinese died because of the Massacre. Do you think that figure matches what you had in mind, given what you saw at the scene of the slaughter?"
Le Nong: "I don't know if the exact number is actual or not, but I think the death toll is probably not so high. There were indeed many casualties among the soldiers at that time, about a hundred Thousand according to records. But whether there are so many other innocent people, I don't know. Because at the beginning of the war, most people went to the countryside, and after about four months, when they heard that the fighting had subsided a little, they slowly came back to the cities. So I haven't seen this with my own eyes, so I can't give you an exact answer."
In interview one, my grandfather talked about what that case looks like from his viewpoint from the beginning to 4:00. Then after he spoke about his experience, he told me how the Nanjing Massacre affected his daily life from 6:12 to the end. My grandfather and his family were not soldiers or involved in politics. They moved from the city to the suburbs at the beginning of the war. During that time, they were afraid because they had heard that many people had died in the town, and even the city's walls were covered with heads. My grandfather told me that although the Anti-Japanese War lasted eight years, the invasion and rebellion of the Nanking Massacre only lasted about four months. My grandfather believes that the real purpose of the Massacre was for the Japanese to occupy and control Nanjing, not simply to kill people. As a result, most of the local buildings and residential buildings did not suffer much damage. On the contrary, in the years after Japan took control of Nanjing, the Japanese government managed the city orderly. For the ordinary Chinese, there was not much change in their life. My grandfather did see these bloody images, but with all the rumors of Japanese soldiers killing innocent people, he did not know the slaughter with his own eyes. So, his experience doesn't seem to be objectively helpful in proving these cases.
Alfred: "During the Nanjing Massacre, there was an article that caused a stir in China. Two Japanese officers caught competing to see who could kill the most people in a day. Do you have any comments on this report?"
Le Nong: "I have heard about the report, but I think there are few or no people downtown who have witnessed the case. Because this report is the end of World War II, the war reporters interviewed the local people killed, an interview out of a theory. Some places hung heads, but the Japanese said that these people were Against the Japanese attack at that time. These belong to the resistance. But there must have been some Japanese soldiers who killed innocents indiscriminately. For example, the same is true of the US war in the Middle East. As long as there is a war, it is inevitable that some innocent people will die unexpectedly because of it."
Alfred: "In recent years, a Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall has been established in Nanjing, which records that about 300,000 Chinese died because of the Massacre. Do you think that figure matches what you had in mind, given what you saw at the scene of the slaughter?"
Le Nong: "I don't know if the exact number is actual or not, but I think the death toll is probably not so high. There were indeed many casualties among the soldiers at that time, about a hundred Thousand according to records. But whether there are so many other innocent people, I don't know. Because at the beginning of the war, most people went to the countryside, and after about four months, when they heard that the fighting had subsided a little, they slowly came back to the cities. So I haven't seen this with my own eyes, so I can't give you an exact answer."
In interview one, my grandfather talked about what that case looks like from his viewpoint from the beginning to 4:00. Then after he spoke about his experience, he told me how the Nanjing Massacre affected his daily life from 6:12 to the end. My grandfather and his family were not soldiers or involved in politics. They moved from the city to the suburbs at the beginning of the war. During that time, they were afraid because they had heard that many people had died in the town, and even the city's walls were covered with heads. My grandfather told me that although the Anti-Japanese War lasted eight years, the invasion and rebellion of the Nanking Massacre only lasted about four months. My grandfather believes that the real purpose of the Massacre was for the Japanese to occupy and control Nanjing, not simply to kill people. As a result, most of the local buildings and residential buildings did not suffer much damage. On the contrary, in the years after Japan took control of Nanjing, the Japanese government managed the city orderly. For the ordinary Chinese, there was not much change in their life. My grandfather did see these bloody images, but with all the rumors of Japanese soldiers killing innocent people, he did not know the slaughter with his own eyes. So, his experience doesn't seem to be objectively helpful in proving these cases.
Interview two Summary & Partial Translated Transcript:
However, interview two is an excellent source to prove interview one is helpful. My grandfather explained that much of what he had heard was true, that we can know from 2:50 to 6:16:
Alfred: "How did you get the real-time information?"
Le Nong: "At that time, most information was transmitted by newspapers, but since the Japanese army blocked the propaganda channels of the Chinese government, most of the information came from the underground government of the Chinese Kuomintang. I used to find leaflets secretly handed out by underground government agents on the streets or in hidden places to learn about the battle in real-time. And most of these leaflets did turn out to be true after the second world war."
Those quotations can give us a great sense of how the Nanjing Massacre looked like. From the beginning to 2:50, my grandfather talked about how the Chinese government revolted against the invading of the Japanese. Most of the information came from leaflets secretly distributed by the underground organization of the Kuomintang government at the time. Also, my grandfather mentioned the situation of his family after he illustrated the way he gained information. People were flustered initially, but life was back on the right track in about half a year. The personal story that my grandpa has is different from the Japanese and the Chinese government. The Chinese government always holds 300,000 people, and most are ordinary citizens dead in the Nanjing Massacre. I want to figure out the best way to interpret the Massacre because they all have different biased pieces of evidence.
Alfred: "How did you get the real-time information?"
Le Nong: "At that time, most information was transmitted by newspapers, but since the Japanese army blocked the propaganda channels of the Chinese government, most of the information came from the underground government of the Chinese Kuomintang. I used to find leaflets secretly handed out by underground government agents on the streets or in hidden places to learn about the battle in real-time. And most of these leaflets did turn out to be true after the second world war."
Those quotations can give us a great sense of how the Nanjing Massacre looked like. From the beginning to 2:50, my grandfather talked about how the Chinese government revolted against the invading of the Japanese. Most of the information came from leaflets secretly distributed by the underground organization of the Kuomintang government at the time. Also, my grandfather mentioned the situation of his family after he illustrated the way he gained information. People were flustered initially, but life was back on the right track in about half a year. The personal story that my grandpa has is different from the Japanese and the Chinese government. The Chinese government always holds 300,000 people, and most are ordinary citizens dead in the Nanjing Massacre. I want to figure out the best way to interpret the Massacre because they all have different biased pieces of evidence.