The Rape of Nanjing was the largest single city massacre in the world in which 250,000-300,000 citizens were killed and many more were injured and left mangled. This was the Japanese attempt to conquer what was the Chinese capital at the time. Looking at what historians have to say about the rape of Nanjing is that the interpretations of the event differ entirely from nation to nation. China views the rape of Nanjing as a remarkable insult and a great loss of civilians. This is an event from their history that the Chinese look at with great despair. On the other hand, the Japanese do not even accept that the massacre even took place. They deny every piece of evidence altogether, and when argued that it did indeed happen, the Japanese claim that it is a part of their "hazy past" and that it needs to be forgotten. This is a case of great subjectivity. Because the Japanese view this as shameful on their part, they do not feel the need to educate their students about it either and the event does not exist in Japanese textbooks. They do not wish for this massacre to be known by the youth of their nation. However, the Chinese insist that the Japanese must teach about this as it is important for the world to know how horrific the event was. The Chinese also demand an apology which is contrary to the Japanese thinking that this should just be forgotten. These two poles of subjectivity make it difficult to understand what one should believe. Another nation's standpoint can also be subjective without being the main actor in the situation. Because the USA saw how bad Sino-Japanese relations were, and also the increasing arms rivalry between Japan and the US, they had personal reasons to dislike the Japanese as well as condemning their actions towards China. Therefore, they fully support the fact that the rape of Nanjing needs more recognition and that it is a terrible event of the past.
