Analyzing the “Photographic Evidence” of the Nanking Massacre

Photo 110 Photo 111 Photo 112Photo 110: “A scene of arson by the Japanese army outside the South Gate.” QINHUA, p.47 A part overlapped by another photographA portion deleted from the originalPhoto 111: “Smoke from a huge fire set by the Japanese Army rose near Zhonghua Gate.”RON-YY, p. 195.A portion deleted from the originalPhoto 112: “Forty-two percent of the buildings were lost to arson . . . .” REKISHI, p. 24.A portion deleted from the originalKetteiban Shōwa-shi [History of Showa: Ddefinitive Version], vol. 8, and theFebruary 1938 issue of Rekishi shashin [Historical Photographs] carried the identical photo.The latter’s caption reads, “On South Gate Street inside the Nanking wall was a sandbagbarricade constructed by the Chinese army. Far behind is a flame as a result of militaryengagements.” Again, the main focus at this point was on the Chinese barricade.In summary, one may conclude that there is no evidence to corroborate the contentof the captions of Photos 110-112 that blame the fire shown in the photographs on theJapanese. Rather, it is much more probable that the smoke originated from the fire causedby the retreating Chinese army. This is a good example of one photographic image beingretouched by someone to serve an ulterior motive.184