Nanjing Massacre: Genocide and Denial

June 15th - August 15th (Traveling Exhibit)

Free admission. 

In the 1890’s, Japan and China fought in the First Sino-Japanese War over who would eventually control Korea.  By 1895, the Japanese effectively repulsed China from Northern Korea and forced the larger nation into a treaty that would see the relinquishment of Taiwan, the Liaodong Peninsula, and the Penghu Islands.  Tensions remained, however, and in 1937 the Japanese invaded China. 

As Japan’s soldiers pushed towards the interior of China, they managed to capture the city of Nanjing, the former capital.  During a two month period, the occupying forces instituted a massive campaign of oppression that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians.  The occupation – which came to be known as the Nanjing Massacre -- was punctuated by excessive brutalities that would eventually be heard as part of the International Military Tribunal of the Far East.