Documentary, discussion explore history of "forgotten Holocaust"

The Chinese Student's Association (CSA) will be hosting a free showing of the documentary film called Black Sun: The Nanjing Massacre tonight. The movie will be playing from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the HUB Auditorium and will include a post-film open discussion relating to the content of the documentary.

[HTML_REMOVED]The Rape of Nanjing[HTML_REMOVED]

[HTML_REMOVED] The atrocities occurred between December 1937 and March 1938.

[HTML_REMOVED] The official start of the war between China and Japan was July 1937. Fighting between the two countries would continue until 1945 when Japan surrendered to the Allied forces.

[HTML_REMOVED] The controversy surrounding the atrocities comes in the form of Japanese denials of the actuality of the war crimes. Amongst those who believe the events in Nanjing are the product of Chinese myth are high-ranking Japanese politicians, including former Justice Minister Shigeto Nagano.

[HTML_REMOVED] Estimates of total Chinese civilians killed in the massacre range from 250,000 up to 300,000.

[HTML_REMOVED] 20,000 Chinese women were said to have been raped by Japanese soldiers during the occupation.

[HTML_REMOVED] A reporter on site at Nanjing, Tillman Durdin of The New York Times, called the events, "one of the greatest atrocities of modern times."

[HTML_REMOVED] Continuing controversy strains relations between Japan and China, especially in the form of what is said and what is not said in Japanese school textbooks.

The film will be an "educational documentary about our past," said Lilli Lui, publicity director of CSA.

The event has been billed as "Forgotten Holocaust: The Nanjing Masacre," and it seeks to inform its viewers about the Japanese occupation of portions of China during WWII as well as the wartime atrocities that occurred during this period.

Members of the CSA were aware of the sensitivity of this subject and the film is not meant to encourage a reemergence of hostilities between Japanese and Chinese students at the UW, said Phillip Yun, membership officer with the CSA.

"We don't want to bring back hatred, but we don't want people to forget about it," Yun said in reference to the events surrounding the Nanjing massacre.

Continued poor relations between Japan and China are part of the legacy of the Nanjing massacre and the Japanese occupation of Manchuria.

"A lot of the older generation is bitter," Lui said.

The main goal is to educate viewers on the historical aspects of an event that many in the CSA feel has been left out of the curriculum of many Western classrooms.

"[The occupation] is not very acknowledged in some people's histories," Yun said.

This particular film's objectivity was important in its selection.

"We're hoping it shows both sides," Lui said.

Including the open forum talk at the end of the documentary is one of the key moves in promoting the ability for students to share their feelings, said Jing Lee, an event planner and CSA member.

The content of the film is admittedly violent and viewer discretion is advised, as noted by the disclaimer on the film brochure.

The event is sponsored in part by the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, the Student Activities and Union Facilities, and the Hong Kong Student Association.

Reporter Andrew Doughman: news@thedaily.washington.edu