Nanjing, December 1937 — Uncover the Hidden Testimonies

The Nanjing Massacre Memorial, inaugurated on December 13, 1985, rises over 28,000 m² exactly where the Japanese army massacred more than 300,000 Chinese civilians. The monumental sculpture 'The 300,000 Fallen' welcomes you: a giant relief triangle showing victims in struggle. Built on a mass grave exhumed in 1985, the site preserves interviews with Chinese survivors, Japanese soldiers' diaries, and testimonies from foreigners who lived through the horror. Free admission during Golden Week allows millions of Chinese to come pay respects each year.

Nanjing's city wall, built under the Ming dynasty between 1366 and 1393, extends 33.4 km with an average height of 12 meters. In December 1937, these millennial stones become the theater of mass executions perpetrated by the Japanese army. The section near Jiangdongmen, preserved and accessible on foot from the Memorial, still bears traces of this tragedy. You walk along these witness ramparts, where each stone seems to whisper the victims' last words.

John Rabe's house, located in the Jiangdongmen district, has housed since 2005 the museum of this German businessman who became an unlikely hero. A Nazi party member, Rabe leads the International Safety Zone from December 13, 1937 to February 1938, saving between 200,000 and 250,000 Chinese. His detailed diary, published posthumously, constitutes one of the most damning historical evidence of Japanese atrocities. In this restored residence, you discover how a Nazi defied Germany's ally.

Gulou Hospital, founded in 1892 by American Protestant missionaries, becomes one of China's first modern hospitals. In December 1937, its corridors welcome thousands of massacre victims and serve as refuge in the Safety Zone. Located 1.5 km from the Memorial via pedestrian routes, this historic building in the university district testifies to medical resistance against barbarity. Western doctors operate tirelessly under the precarious protection of international neutrality.

Your journey ends at Nanjing University's Gulou campus, former seat of Jinling University founded in 1902. These republican architectural buildings from the 1920s-1930s sheltered refugees and served as International Safety Zone posts. Walking these paths where today's students mingle with yesterday's ghosts, you take away more than a history lesson: proof that humanity can resist the worst darkness, even when all seems lost.