2-WWII+China+OT

Seth Margolis These were posters used preceding the Japanese occupation of China by China, to encourage men to join the military.

Japan was interested in China’s large labor force, which worked for low wages, and the vast amount of resources to be found in China. Japan had already had a policy in place to expand their empire to other East Asian countries, and China was no exception. The policy was known as the “East Asian Economic Co-Prosperity Sphere.” Within this policy, Japan planned to reign supreme over other Asian countries.

Japan controlled China with an iron fist. Due to the fact that fighting occurred sporadically throughout this time, it is impossible to know exactly how many Japanese troops were deployed to China, or how many fatalities occurred. Larger battles have better records however. In 1937, Nanjing, the Nationalist capitol of China was attacked by Japan. Around 300,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians were executed. Thousands of women were brutally raped, and theft was a common occurrence. Moral for China was incredibly low during the occupation, as women feared rape and abuse, and men feared being beat to death by the butt of guns or the point of a bayonet. Even American refugees were not safe, as the USS Panay that carried Americans was intentionally sank by Japanese planes. Japan made it clear if anyone were found to be collaborating with either the Nationalist or Communist party, they would be met with a brutal death. China was considered the bloodiest part of the Pacific theater, with an estimated twenty million deaths just from starvation.

As mentioned, life was awful for the Chinese under Japanese occupation. China had not seen stability since 1911, which meant now many parts of the country would be run by warlords, who were only interested in protecting and feeding their own people. China had very poor infrastructure as well, which made supplying food difficult. China had thousands of starving people during this time. Many party leaders, including Chiang Kai-Sek were more interested in fending off opposing leaders such as Mao Zedong instead of ridding China of Japan. In reality, Japan remained in power in China until the end of WWII. In the end of the war, it was the Communist party that really benefitted as they gained control of China following WWII.

During the occupation of China, it was a brutal time for women and youth. Japan allowed thousands upon thousands of brutal rapes to occur, usually with the death of the women being the end of it. This was especially rampant during “The Rape of Nanking.” Many Japanese soldiers and leaders denied this event even occurred. Japan felt they were very superior to Chinese people of any age, and therefore many took no particular mercy on Chinese children, and murdered them just the same.

Work Cited

McDonald, Jason. "The Second Sino-Japanese War." //World War II Database//. N.p., 7 Aug. 2011. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. . "The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)." //The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)//. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. .