Analyzing the “Photographic Evidence” of the Nanking Massacre

I heard a hymn accompanied by an organ play from a church. Reverend John G.Magee was in the midst of a prayer service with the Chinese faithful who looked relievedto see the termination of the battle. Their demeanor was so calm that I realized it wasSunday for the first time at the sight of the service. . . .A red cross flag was hoisted to show the location of a medical center opened bythe Japanese army. Those Chinese persons who were injured on their leg or had coldvisited the center for treatment and receive medications with expression of trust and joyon their faces. Such a pleasant scene made me forget that this was the enemy’s capital.The friendly atmosphere grows day by day between the Chinese population who hasrelinquished their anti-Japanese slogans and the Japanese military men.The first appearance of this photograph was probably in the December 18, 1937, issue ofthe North China Daily News. The paper described this scene as Chinese soldiers leftbehind at a military hospital. This photo was reprinted on Ichioku-nin no Shōwa-shi:Nihon no senshi 3: Nitchū sensō [The Showa History for 100 million people: Japan’s WarRecord 3—The Sino-Japanese War], p. 280. Its caption, “Photographed by a foreigncorrespondent, 29 December 1937” is probably incorrect.“Wounded Chinese soldiers” being treated by Japanese army medics.Photographed by correspondent Hayashi, 20 December 1937.Asahi-ban shina jihen gahō, no. 11, 27 January 1938, p. 15.43