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Paper short abstract:

My paper approaches the controversies about the historicity of the Nanjing Incident (Nanjing Massacre) of 1937/38 through John Rabe's wartime diaries. I compare the reception of the diaries in Japan & China and analyze how they contribute to understanding the multi-perspectivity of experiencing war.

Paper long abstract:

In the debate about the historicity and significance of the ‘third Nanjing incident’ (or Nanjing Massacre) of 1937/38, documents and oral histories produced by witnesses and survivors play a crucial role. From non-government perspectives, they not only provide important insights into the victimization of the Chinese, the actions of the Japanese, and relief activities. They also offer personal perspectives into how witnesses, bystanders, victims, and perpetrators experience and testify war. But scholarship has also raised doubts about the reliability and impartiality of these accounts. Which biases and changes of memory may have influenced their production? This paper focuses on the example of the wartime diaries written by John Rabe (1882-1950), a German businessman and witness of the atrocities committed in Nanjing during the Japanese attack and occupation of the Chinese capital in 1937/38. As chairman of the Nanjing Safety Zone and a long-term resident in China, he was well connected and informed, including contacts to the Chinese and Japanese authorities. From September 1937 to February 1938, Rabe kept a detailed, daily account of the events, including personal notes, letters, photos, official documents, and newspaper clippings. After the re-discovery of the Rabe Diaries in 1996, they were partly published in their original German version as well as in English, Chinese, and Japanese translations. However, instead of contributing to a convergence of historical narratives of the Nanjing Massacre they have further fueled antagonistic interpretations of the event between China and Japan, as well as within Japan. Why did this occur? The first part of this paper discusses the production of the Rabe Diaries by a comparative reading of its 1937 and 1942 versions. This includes a critical assessment of the contribution this source may make to understanding the multi-perspectivity of witnessing and experiencing war. In its second part, my paper will analyze and compare the reception of Rabe’s diaries in Japan and China. It situates the controversy surrounding them in the wider context of the role the Nanjing Massacre plays in the commemoration of World War Two in both countries.