On December 13, 1937, the Japanese army captured Nanjing and went on to wantonly massacre disarmed Chinese soldiers and defenseless civilians in flagrant violation of international conventions. The Nanjing Massacre forms one of the darkest chapters in 20th-century world history.
Researching this major historical event requires scholars worldwide to collect a variety of primary source material in different languages. Compiled by a group of historians from about ten universities and research institutions based in China and abroad, Human Memory: Solid Evidence of The Nanjing Massacre represents a major effort in this regard. Consisting of textual and pictorial evidence reproduced from major archives and libraries around the world, the book falls into four parts-Chinese, Japanese, English, and other Western languages. The book covers material created by victims, perpetrators, and important third parties in a diversity of formats: diaries, petitions, investigation reports, news articles, tribunal documents, and photographs. To help readers to better understand the wide range of evidence, the editors have provided very useful annotations for each document or photograph. Without a doubt, this publication holds some of the most vivid and sobering scenes in humanity's collective memory.