The six years that spanned World War II, and the bloody battles that preceded it, contained not only widespread devastation and the deadliest conflict in human history, but also some of the most heinous and tragic acts of mass murder our species has ever committed. While the Holocaust and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are widely discussed and taught in schools, the Nanking Massacre is less well-known — and in some cases, completely denied, even over eight decades on from the horror.

Nanking, also spelled Nanjing, was the capital of Nationalist China in 1937 when the Imperial Japanese Army earned victory at Shanghai during the Sino-Japanese War that predated World War II (via History). General Matsui ordered the capture and subsequent destruction of Nanjing next. The Chinese government withdrew its troops from the capital, but forbade the evacuation of citizens in a futile effort to hold onto the city. In November, a collection of businessmen and missionaries formed an International Committee and set up a neutral Nanking Safety Zone; by the next month, the Japanese Army had arrived, leaving a path of destruction and devastation behind them.

Rogue individuals or forgotten Holocaust?

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