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The Rest Is History

236. China and World War II (Part 2)

The Rest Is History

Goalhanger

History

4.6 • 26.6K Ratings

🗓️ 22 September 2022

⏱️ 63 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Tom and Dominic welcome back special guest Rana Mitter to discuss China's position during World War Two. This episode covers the Rape of Nanjing by Japanese forces, the military tactic of flooding the Yellow River, the deal between Chinese Nationalist Wang Jin Wei and Japan, and the unlikely pairing of 'Vinegar Joe' Stilwell and Chiang Kai-shek. Join The Rest Is History Club (www.restishistorypod.com) for ad-free listening to the full archive, weekly bonus episodes, live streamed shows and access to an exclusive chatroom community. *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*: Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia! Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com Twitter:  @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Thank you for listening to the rest is history.

0:02.2

For weekly bonus episodes, add free listening, early access to series and membership

0:07.3

of our much-love chat community, go to the rest is history.com and join the club. That is, the restis History.com. And join the club.

0:13.4

That is the Restis History.

0:15.4

dot com.

0:16.4

Thanks for listening to the Restis History.

0:18.8

For bonus episodes, early access,

0:21.1

add free listening and access to our chat community, please sign up at restis history pod.com.

0:28.0

Or if you're listening on the Apple Podcasts app, you can subscribe within the app in just a few clicks. The victorious army must have its rewards and those rewards are to

0:50.2

plunder, murder and rape at will to commit acts of unbelievable brutality and savagery. In all modern history, surely

0:58.0

there is no page that will stand so black as that of the rape of Nan King. That was George Fitch, who was head of the

1:06.4

YMCA in Nan King, Nanjing, as it's now called, and he was reporting on a visit

1:12.3

to the Japanese embassy in December 1937,

1:16.0

where he had gone to complain about the behavior of Japanese troops after they had occupied Nanjing,

1:22.0

ancient Chinese capital and previously the capital of

1:26.7

Chang Khai Shek's government that had fled in the face of the outbreak of what our guest, Rana Mitra has described as the beginning of the Second

1:35.9

World War. And Rana, if we could pick up where we left off, war has broken out between China and Japan. Beijing in the north has fallen.

1:46.2

Shanghai has been occupied. The National Government under Shanghai Shek has retreated to the interior of China, but Nanjing, their capital. What happens there

1:56.1

because it is one of the most notorious incidents, not just in Chinese history but world history,

2:00.4

isn't it? Yes, it's an event which has become known as the rape of Nanking,

2:06.7

and that phrasing Nanking is one of the older versions of the name of the city

2:10.9

which we would now call Nangin, but whatever name you call it by, it's one of the most of the city which we would now call Nancin but whatever name you call it by it's one of the most horrific war crimes really of any era.

...

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