China's Nationalist capital fell to the Japanese army on 13 December 1937. Over the following six weeks Japanese troops massacred prisoners and civilians and committed mass rape; estimates of the dead range from tens of thousands to more than 200,000. A small group of Westerners led by the German businessman John Rabe set up the Nanking Safety Zone, which sheltered some 200,000 refugees.
Here in the story
Battle
Lieutenant Lu tries to stop deserters at the gates, then fights on in the ruined streets until his men are forced to surrender.
City
Chinese prisoners are marched out in columns to be executed; a soldier and a young boy survive and flee.
City
Inside the zone, Rabe's secretary and a teacher try to protect the refugees as soldiers break in and demand women.
Here in the story
Home
When Japanese planes bomb the city during his farewell party, Rabe opens his gates and hides the crowd under a giant Nazi flag.
City
The committee struggles to feed and protect far more refugees than planned while the atrocities continue outside the zone.
On the road
Recalled by Siemens, Rabe walks through the ruins to the river as the refugees he protected come out to thank him.
Here in the story
City
While Chinese soldiers make a last stand in the streets, John poses as a priest to protect the girls hiding behind the church walls.
War
After capturing China's capital, Nanjing, Japanese troops murdered civilians and prisoners of war and committed mass rape over about six weeks. It remains one of the worst atrocities of the war and a lasting wound in relations between China and Japan.
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