Analyzing the “Photographic Evidence” of the Nanking Massacre

Conclusion: Composite, Play-up, Reprint, and Fabricated CaptionOne may summarize the characteristics of the 70 photographs that formed the“roots” of the atrocity photos as the following:1. Most of the images are of unknown origin—one cannot ascertain who took it, at whatlocation and on what date. Photographers were identified only for about ten pictures.2. As for those photographs whose origins were firmly established, they were eitherplayed-up images used for propaganda purposes or reprints from Japanese photomagazines with fabricated captions attached.3. One can barely determine which photograph was taken in Nanking. In addition, thescenes captured in many of these images were not those of winter—the season in whichthe Japanese occupied Nanking.4. No single photo conveys the image of a large-scale massacre allegedly claiming300,000 lives. One can see about a dozen dead bodies only on two photographs.Almost all other images are of one or two dead bodies. Victims shown in these picturesare women and children in quite a few cases.5. No image shows the demeanor or facial expression of Nanking citizens who weresupposedly under a reign of terror as American newspaper articles and Timperly’s workdescribed.In the end, all photographs in RBS and WMRB are determined to be of dubiousquality as photographic evidence that depicted the reality of Nanking at the time. At thesame time, they prove to be propaganda images which the GMD propaganda bureau oreven the GMD government itself fabricated to degrade the image of theiropponent—Japan. Another fact that gradually took shape in the course of analyzingthese photographs is that a number of published books and videos have used them eitherwithout authentication, by retouching, or with fabricated captions.Thus, the conclusion of this chapter is that none of the 70 photographs, fromwhich the “atrocity photographs” as they are known today originated, can be a piece ofviable evidence to prove the occurrence of atrocities in Nanking. To accept thisconclusion is up to the reader.127