Evidence of Nanjing Massacre, ‘comfort women’ donated

NANJING — New historical materials that present fresh evidence of the Imperial Japanese Army’s war crimes during the 1937 Nanjing Massacre and the sexual enslavement of women for the military — the so-called comfort women — were donated to the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall on Saturday.

A total of 41 items of historical documents and objects were donated by collectors in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, Kunming, Nanjing and Japan.

The donations include bullets that Japanese troops used on the battlefields in Nanjing, a war history book from Japan, some pastry molds used by Japanese soldiers to mark the occupation of Nanjing, souvenir medals, old photos, and postcards issued when Japanese troops invaded.

The donated items about “comfort women” include a mirror and a copper pot.

Ling Xi, deputy curator of the Memorial Hall for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, said the hall’s museum has received 1,593 items this year, most of which were evidence of Japan’s invasion of China.

The historical documents will be digitalized at the hall’s digital center and will be made available to researchers worldwide, Ling said.

The Nanjing Massacre was carried out by Japanese troops after they captured the city on Dec 13, 1937. Over six weeks, they killed 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers.

CUI XIAO / FOR CHINA DAILY Materials donated by collectors are prepared on Saturday for a ceremony at the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.