Marking the 80th anniversary of the brutal massacre in Nanjing by Japanese invaders during WWⅡ, Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation and A + E Networks in the US have co-produced a one-hour docu-drama The Scars of Nanking: the brave who stayed behind.
Poster of The Scars of Nanking: the brave who stayed behind
This documentary that was co-produced by China and the US didn’t apply the traditional mode of the massacre genre. It simply tells the stories witnessed by dozens of foreigners who stayed in Nanjing during the brutal massacre and protected local citizens in any possible ways.
It is the first time that the Massacre has been shot in westerners’ perspectives. And it is also the first time that Nanking Massacre has been presented on the screen of western mainstream media. More audiences in the world will know what happened 80 years ago in Nanjing through this documentary.
Today, we introduce you another excerpt of the Asian version of The Scars of Nanking.
On December 13, 1937, Japan occupied Nanjing. Following the occupation, one of the most brutal massacres in human history started. Killing, raping, slaughtering had turned Nanjing into a living hell. Everyone just wanted to leave this place. However, dozens of Westerners chose to stay in Nanjing and established the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone, providing shelters for about 250, 000 civilians.
As the “Acting Headmistress” of Ginling College, Minnie Vautrin protected over 10, 000 women and children by turning the campus into a sanctuary.
Apart from protecting Chinese, these foreigners also tried every possible way to let the world know the truth happened in Nanjing. They put enormous efforts in recording the brutal acts done by Japan.
With a deeper understanding of Nanking Massacre, one of the young students said: “The first and the most evident one is the help they provided to Chinese people. The second is that they have persevered the solid proof of Nanking Massacre.” The students paid tribute to those foreigners’ selfless deeds.
