Why Nanjing still hurts 86 years later

When the first National Memorial Day for Victims of the Nanjing Massacre was held on Dec 13, 2014, some people questioned the need to remember the incident in 1937.

The answer comes easy to anyone who has ever paid a visit to Nanjing: The Japanese army committed horrendous crimes in the then capital of the country, so there is no choice other than to remember what transpired to avoid similar crimes being committed again. The invaders killed disarmed military personnel and civilians alike, raped women and burned large parts of the once prosperous city to ashes. Their rampage claimed more than 300,000 lives in a few weeks.

All historical evidence also shows that the Imperial Japanese Army committed the atrocities intentionally and it was all planned, not the "spontaneous deed of individual soldiers". Even Nazi Germany's embassy in Nanjing recorded the brutality committed by their allies; some Germans in Nanjing then tried to save lives.