Nanking Massacre & Rules of War

During the Nanking Massacre, Japanese Imperial Army slaughtered tens of thousands of prisoners of war, committed numerous rapes and atrocities against innocent people, looted and destroyed properties. Weren't there any rules of war to protect innocent civilians, their dignity and properties during warfare? Could the Japanese troops ignore international humanitarian laws in Nanking just because Japan was waging an undeclared war against China? Could the Japanese troops be excused for slaughter of prisoners of war just because Japan had signed but did not ratify the 1929 Geneva Convention concerning "Treatment of Prisoners of War"?

Global citizens cannot allow governments and armed groups continue to ignore international humanitarian laws, claiming their actions are justified by military necessity. Even in the midst of war, civilians must be protected. There are no exceptions. State authorities and global citizens must work together to prevent violations against civilians and holding the perpetrators accountable.

Development of Rules of War: An Overview

Throughout history, opposing nations have established ground rules for war, but until the nineteenth century, these rules applied only to a particular conflict and the countries it involved. Once that war was over, the rules were discarded. Over the last 150 years, nations have struggled to define rules of war and establish international laws to ensure protection of the basic human rights of those caught in armed conflicts.

One of the first of such international conferences was held in Geneva resulting in the Geneva Convention of 1864. It was initiated by an organization which was predecessor of International Committee of the Red Cross and this convention laid down the rules for treatment of the wounded in war. This first Geneva Convention of 1864 was amended and built upon in subsequent meetings, leading to the 1929 Geneva Convention for the treatment "of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field" and the 1929 Geneva Convention concerning "Treatment of Prisoners of War".

Besides those peace conferences at Geneva, other international peace conferences regarding the rules of war were held and produced many rules or conventions of war, including the two Hague Conventions concerning "Laws and Customs of War on Land" in 1899 and 1907. The laws that came out of Geneva and Hague transcend any specific conflict. They attempt to diminish the severity and disasters of war in general, applying to armed conflicts across the board.

In 1949 when nations gathered in Geneva to address the horrors of WWII, it resulted in four Geneva Conventions adopted by 194 states and became the Geneva Conventions we now know, they are:

  1. Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field
  2. Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea
  3. Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War
  4. Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War

The severe destruction of cultural property -- artwork, literature, artifacts -- that occurred during World Wars I and II revealed holes in the existing laws. In 1954, the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict was signed into effect. This 1954 Hague Convention addressed the issue of cultural preservation in greater depth than the first two Hague Conventions, attempting to protect a nation's identity in the face of war and occupation.

Technology and awareness of humanity values have progressed with time. Technological developments in the realm of war tend to threaten humanitarian concerns, and humanitarian concerns tend to want to stem the progress of weapons and methods of destruction. The existing major conventions which already contain many essential laws of war will continue to evolve to become more effective, attempting to protect humanitarian, cultural and financial concerns within the framework of war and destruction that inherently wants to disregard everything but the battle at hand.

Excerpted and adapted from How the Rules of War Work by Julia Layton.

All the conventions mentioned in this overview are available at the International Committee of the Red Cross website.

A student handout on War Crimes and International Law (7 pages) from the BC Ministry of Education Teacher's Guide (Human Rights in the Asia Pacific 1931-1945: Social Responsibility and Global Citizenship) is available here.

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Overview of Geneva IV - the Rules of War Protecting Civilians in War and Occupation

Geneva IV adopted on 12 August 1949 is the Convention concerning "the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War". It prohibits any form of physical violence or degradation against civilians. Women shall be especially protected against any attack on their honour, in particular against rape, enforced prostitution, or any form of indecent assault.

Geneva IV is to shield civilians and children in particular, from the effects of war. It provides for "neutralized zones" where fighting is prohibited, and hospital and safety zones for the protection of the sick, the elderly, pregnant women, children under 15 and mothers of children under seven. These zones are supposed to be labeled with a huge Red Cross sign to ensure their protection. An armed force may not attack civilians, nor use them as a "human shield" to render a location protected from attack.

Enemy forces are not allowed to seize personal property unless it is being used against them, and in that case, they must return the property or provide compensation at the end of the war. Every building or object connected to religion, charity, education, the arts and sciences and history is protected by the laws regarding private property, even when it is state property.

An occupying force has the absolute responsibility of providing for the basic needs of the people under its control, including food, clothing, shelter, medical attention, and the maintenance of law and order. An occupying force cannot just sit by as occupied territories are looted. The laws that were in place in the territory before occupation are still in place after occupation. It is only the enforcer that has changed.

An occupying force cannot punish civilians for anything that occurred before occupation, including anything they may have said against the country now in charge.

Even (or especially) in the case of occupation, communication between civilians, in particular between family members, is treated as a basic right. It may be curtailed only if the correspondence is deemed detrimental to the safety of the occupying force, but even then, civilians may communicate using special forms that allow for at least 25 "freely chosen words".

Civilians must not be interned or removed to another country unless it is for their own safety or the safety of the state, and only if there is no other alternative. It must be temporary and the occupying force may not import their own citizens into the occupied territory.

It is legal to force civilians to work, but not in a military capacity against their own country and not as slave labor -- they must be paid for their work. International organizations like the Red Cross must have access to civilians at all times. An occupying force is not allowed to tattoo civilians as a means of identifying them.

Excerpted and adapted from How the Rules of War Work by Julia Layton.

The full Geneva IV has a total of 159 articles and 3 annexes, and some of the articles covered in this overview are Art. 14, 15, 18, 25, 27, 28, 32, 33, 49, 51, 55, 64, 70, 78 & 100. These articles are available for viewing at the International Committee of the Red Cross website.

For a brief look at the spirit and objectives of international humanitarian laws , click here for a student handout on War Crimes and International Law (7 pages) from the BC Ministry of Education Teacher's Guide (Human Rights in the Asia Pacific 1931-1945: Social Responsibility and Global Citizenship).

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Historical scenes of Japanese war crimes as recorded by Westerners who witnessed the Rape of Nanking

(Click to enlarge each photo)
Two photos from album of Rev. Ernest Foster, his caption reads: "Persons executed by the Japanese soldiers in various parts of the grounds of Ku Ling Temple, Nanking, after the fall of the city, December 12, 1937"
Photo from album of Rev. Ernest Foster, his caption reads: "A pond outside Nanking filled with the corpses of people who were killed by the Japanese troops. This is a scene typical of many of the ponds inside the city after the occupation of the city by the Japanese."
Photo from album of Rev. Ernest Foster, his caption reads: "The former Overseas Chinese Club at the corner of Chung Shan and Shanghai Roads, Nanking. It was used as a refugee center by the Nanking Safety Zone Committee, but is now occupied by a high Japanese military organization. The smoke behind the building is typical of the fires which were systematically set by the Japanese soldiers after the occupation of the city."
Photo from album of Rev. Ernest Foster, his caption reads: "The remains of the house and shop of these two brothers after the occupation of the city. They lived in the southern section of the city which was badly damaged by the fighting. Their old father died of fright when a Japanese soldier threatened him with a sword. March 17, 1938."
Three photos lifted from film footages by Rev. John Magee and one photo from John Rabe's album. According to John Rabe, his account of the incident reads (in English): "This family was butchered by the Japanese after they stormed into the city. Two of the women were raped before they were killed – one of whom was murdered in beastly fashion…..two little girls, aged 8 and 4 years, who huddled around their dead mother in the room for 14 days, survived on a small supply of roasted rice. A neighbor brought these children to the attention of the committee [International Committee of the Nanking Safety Zone], and we then put them up at their uncle's." The 8 year-old girl was Xia Shuqing (the first on the left in the bottom photo), she won a lawsuit in the Japanese court in 2009 against a Japanese historian and publishing house who are Nanking Massacre deniers. (Source of caption: P 186 The Rape of Nanking: An Undeniable History in Photographs by Shi Young & James Yin)
Two photos lifted from film footages by Rev. John Magee. In his film Magee's caption to this incident reads: "Pregnant with her first child, this 19-year-old woman was bayoneted when she sought to resist raping at the hands of a Japanese soldier. When admitted to a refugee hospital, she was found to have no less than 29 wounds."
Three photos lifted from film footages by Rev. John Magee. In his film Magee's caption to this incident read: "This man owned a small sampan on the Yangtze River. He was shot through the jaw by a Japanese soldier, then soaked in gasoline and set afire. The upper and lower parts of his body were horribly burned and quite black. He died after two days in hospital."
Photo lifted from film footages by Rev. John Magee. In his film Magee's caption to this incident reads: "After having been beaten by Japanese soldiers with an iron bar, this 13-year old boy was bayoneted in the head"
Two photos lifted from film footages by Rev. John Magee. In his film Magee's caption to this incident reads: "Two Japanese soldiers attempted to decapitate this woman, severing the neck muscles to the vertebral column."
Photo lifted from film footages by Rev. John Magee. In his film Magee's caption to this incident reads: "This 11-year old girl was standing with her parents near a dug-out in the international refugee zone as the Japanese entered. The soldiers bayoneted her father to death, shot her mother and gave the girl herself a horrible slash in the elbow with a bayonet."
Two photos taken by Murase Moriyasu, a Japanese soldier of the 17th Motorized Company of the Meguro Supply and Transport Regiment, showing bodies left unburied along bank of the Yangtze River. In his book My battle record at the China front: Photo collection of Murase Moriyasu—record of battlefields as photographed by a soldier (1987), his comments on these two photos reads: "When the restriction on my unit's movement was finally lifted, I went to the Xiakuan wharf to receive some cargos. There, I saw the river shore filled with corpses. Buried partially in the mud of the shore, they covered about ten meters from the shore. I wondered if that was the very spot where the massacre as rumored had taken place. There were practically no uniformed men, and most of them were plain-clothed civilians that seemingly included some women and children."
Two Japanese officers Toshiaki Mukai and Tsuyoshi Noda competed to see who could kill (with a sword) one hundred Chinese people first. This "contest" was covered by Osaka Mainichi Shimbun and its sister newspaper the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun. The bold headline on the newspaper reads: "Incredible Record in the Contest to Cut Down 100 People", " Mukai 106 – 105 Noda", "Both 2nd Lieutenants Go Into Extra Innings", This competition was covered by four articles, from November 30 to December 13, 1937. After the war, the International Military Tribunal for the Far East extradited the two to China to be tried by the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal. Both were convicted of war crimes and executed.
Photo from album of Rev. Ernest Foster, his caption reads: "Residence at no. 17 Lang Ya Road, Nanking which housed another group of refugees for whom we took responsibility. Mr. Magee and I took turns at standing guard at the end of the street to keep marauding Japanese soldiers from molesting the refugees after the fall of the city."
Photo from album of Rev. Ernest Foster, his caption reads: "Refugees gathered at the headquarters of the Nanking Safety Zone Committee to receive the first cash relief issued by the Committee to enable them to return to their homes and begin life over. February 1938. The rock garden conceals a strong concrete air-raid shelter." Note the large Red Cross flag on ground in garden area.
Photo from album of Rev. Ernest Foster, his caption reads: "This youngster refuged at Ginling College after all of his family had been killed by Japanese soldiers."
Photo from album of Rev. Ernest Foster, his caption reads: "The Mission car about to take the wife of our cemetery gatekeeper to the hospital to be treated for gunshot wounds inflicted by a Japanese soldier who threatened to rape her while she was working in the fields."
Photo from album of Rev. Ernest Foster, his caption reads: "View from the tower of St. Paul's Church of the ruins of our large Chinese residence building which was used to house a preaching hall, a reading room, a baby clinic, Sunday School classrooms, and living quarters for our Chinese workers. It was burned by Japanese troops on two occasions, about December 14, 1937 and January 26, 1938."

Sources of photos: Yale Divinity School Library, the Nanking Massacre Project website

Japanese Atrocities in Nanking filmed by Rev. John Magee