Nanking Page #2

"'You're going to lose.

My sword has killed 55,

"'and it's only got one little nick on it.'

"Second lieutenant Noda responded,

"'By the time you're in Danyang, I'll show

you what kind of a record I can rack up.'"

Every time we seize a village

on the way to Nanking,

newly-commissioned officers

will test their swords

on the defeated Chinese soldiers.

When you behead someone,

you need to use a strong stroke,

so you raise the sword high,

and bring it down with force.

The head falls, and blood flies straight up

like a red pillar of fire.

There's an officer I know

who always bragged about killing people.

He would tie their wrists

and ankles with rope

so that the person to be beheaded

won't be able to stand or stretch his legs.

Everyone copied his style.

Tonight's news, none too good.

Conditions look bad. Rumors and unrest.

Word is, the Japanese are approaching

from three directions.

Over and over again,

I am struck by the similarity

of Jesus' day and today in China.

Three other missionaries and I

spent an hour and a half today

trying to see what Christians

can do in this present situation.

Are we to stand by hopelessly,

or is there something we can do?

And if so, what?

Telegram we sent

to the Japanese Ambassador.

"An international committee

composed of nationals of Denmark,

"Germany, Great Britain,

and the United States

"desires to suggest

to the Chinese and Japanese authorities

"the establishment of a Safety Zone

for civilian refugees at or near Nanking.

"The committee would respectfully request

a prompt reply

"from the Japanese authorities

to this proposal."

We will bear tremendous responsibility

if we first order the remaining populace

of Nanking into the neutral zone

and then later are turned down

by the Japanese.

To our surprise, the big-hearted German

who we'd elected chairman

turned out to be

the National-Socialist leader here.

I continue to hope that Hitler will help us.

He has deep sympathy,

not only for the distress of his own people,

but for the anguish of the Chinese as well.

So now, it turns out that the burden of work

is to be carried out

by a group of American missionaries

and a group of German Nazi businessmen.

At 2:
30,

as I walked down Shanghai Road,

again and again, I met groups of women

and children in search of the Safety Zone.

I told them that it was not yet certain,

but when it was, they would be notified.

The Safety Zone is not yet assured.

Telegram

to the United States Embassy.

"Japanese authorities

have duly noted request for a Safety Zone

"but regret cannot grant it."

According to radio reports, London regards

this reply as a flat-out refusal.

We're of a different opinion here.

Their answer is cleverly couched

in diplomatic terms,

leaving a back door open.

Mayor Ma virtually turned over to us

administrative responsibilities for the Zone,

along with a police force of 450 men,

2,000 tons of rice, 10,000 bags of flour,

and some salt.

Since Mayor Ma

left Nanking yesterday,

and since the committee is forced to deal

with all the administrative problems

and workings inside our Safety Zone,

I've, in face of this, become something

very like an acting mayor.

Enough to give you a fit, Rabe.

The Japanese are now nearing

the halfway mark from Shanghai

and we have already heard

the rumble of big guns.

Thousands of refugees are fleeing

into our so-called Safety Zone

from all directions.

The sight of the poorest of the poor

wandering aimlessly in the streets

is enough to make you weep.

As it grows dark, some families,

unable to find shelter anywhere,

stretch out to sleep

in nooks and alcoves of buildings,

or simply on the street, despite the cold.

We are working feverishly

to develop the Zone.

Around us here,

we now have thousands of poor people

crowded into all the available buildings.

What will happen to them

is mere conjecture.

The Zone is all marked

with flags and banners,

and so far,

the Japanese have not bombed it.

We still have hopes

that even if they do not recognize it,

they might respect it.

If they do, it will mean the saving

of thousands of lives of poor people.

Five air raids on Monday

and one on Tuesday.

I'm writing this during our sixty-first.

Tonight,

the flames are lighting the sky

above the whole

southwest corner of the city.

And in the afternoon,

we had seen clouds of smoke

rising in every direction, save northwest.

It is quite a sensation to be

the only surgeon in a big, war-torn city.

How can we leave the sick patients?

The Japs have now reached a point

about 25 miles from the city.

Gunfire could be heard.

It won't be long now.

The city gates

are to be closed tomorrow.

I sent a telegram to Siemens today,

asking them to pay up any

life insurance premiums that may be due.

If I were to say I was not afraid, I'd be lying.

The swift Japanese

advance on the national capital

make the vicinity of Nanking

a place of danger.

The Nipponese invaders strike westward

with incredible speed.

The defenders bravely ignore a Japanese

ultimatum calling on them to surrender.

If you're getting the same sort

of radio reports that we are,

you are undoubtedly alarmed

for our safety here.

We're a little concerned ourselves.

Today's air raid brings our tally to 114.

The tally must come to a close,

as today was one long air raid,

from morning till night.

I am writing this to the tune of big guns,

just outside of the city.

Japanese advance guards

have reached the walls in several places.

Until about 1:
00 p.m., December 10th,

General Asaka and I had been waiting

outside of Zhongshan Gate

for the bearer of the flag of truce

from the Chinese army.

However, he never came.

For that reason, from about 2:00 p.m.,

a general attack

was commenced against Nanking.

Shells from Japanese guns

commenced falling inside the city walls,

and I went outside to watch them.

They formed a perfect pattern,

the explosions advancing in regular rows

about 25 yards every half-minute.

They were coming from outside

the South Gate, directly towards me.

Uninterrupted artillery fire

from Purple Mountain.

Thunder and lightning around the hill.

And suddenly, the whole hill is in flames.

An old adage says,

"When Purple Mountain burns,

Nanking is lost."

December 13th.

I was in the middle of my service

when the telephone rang,

and I answered it.

I was asked to immediately go to the

Zone committee's headquarters.

The Japanese had broken into the city.

The wall had been breached,

and the damage to the southern part

of the city was tremendous.

No one will ever know

what the Chinese casualties were,

but they must have been enormous.

Soldiers streamed

through the city from the south,

many of them passing through the Zone.

In the morning,

the fresh-blood-colored flags

of the Rising Sun were fluttering everywhere,

each proclaiming, with its red symbol,

the freshly spilled blood of Nanking.

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