Minor Searle Bates

There have been a lot of graphic photos and films of the massacre during the invasion of Nanking in December 13, 1937. John G. Magee is a cinematographer who made 12 films about the atrocities of Nanjing. John saved many lives by setting up a hospital for the refugees of China. He was also appointed to chairman of the Nanking Branch of the International Red Cross and a member of the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone. All of the films he filmed were sent to the U.S so that the U.S could view the atrocities of the Nanking Massacre. During the time of “The Rape of Nanking,s documented by Jiro Takidani about the massacre. In the summer of 1938, Magee returned to the U.S, and gave speeches about the Nanking” John G Magee wrote a lot of letters to his wife. He was also a witness during the Tokyo War Crimes Trial with all of his work Massacre.

Here are the first two paragraphs of a letter he sent in January 10, 1938, about the protest against the Japanese:

Dear Friends:--A few hasty jottings amid rape and bayonets stabs and reckless shooting, to be sent on the first foreign boat available since the situation develop after the Japanese entry—a U.S tug engaged in salvage work on the Panay. Friends in Shanghai will pick this up from the Consulate-General, and will get away somehow on a foreign boat without censorship.

Things have eased a good deal since New Year within the crowded Safety Zone, largely through the departure of the main hordes of soldiers. “Restoration of discipline” is very scrappy indeed, and even the military police have raped and robbed and ignored their duties. A new turn may come at any moment, through fresh arrivals or vacillations in action. There is no policy visible. At last foreign diplomats have been allowed to re-enter (this week) which seems to indicate a desire for stabilization. (Zhang)

Reference:

Kaiyuan, Zhang. Eyewitnesses to Massacre. New York: Yale Divinity School Library, 2001.

"The Establishment of the Nanjing International Safety Zone." Nanjing 1937: The
Memorial Hall of the victims in Nanking Massacre by Japanese Invaders. 2005. Shuiximen Street Nanjing Chinese. 21 Jul 2007
<http://www.nj1937.org/english/massacre_2.asp>.