The decapitated heads of Chinese soldiers hang from poles. Women and young girls are kept as sex slaves, gang raped and their genitals are mutilated. Babies are stabbed with bayonets.
These are just some of the horrifying images and written accounts captured in "Nightmare in Nanking," Rhawn Joseph's documentary film about the Japanese Imperial Army's eight-week assault on the former Chinese capital during World War II that left nearly 300,000 Chinese civilians and 70,000 POWs dead."The history of the world is written in blood and gore," says Joseph, a San Jose neuropsychologist, author and filmmaker who spent the past 25 years researching atrocities in Nanking. "In the history of warfare, you conquer a city, and let the soldiers loose to rape and steal and kill. That's the reward for a battle well fought, but generally order is restored."
The Nanking Massacre, however, was unique in the history of humanity, Joseph says. Through his English-language film, Joseph argues that the Japanese took pleasure in committing crimes against humanity and had a "propensity toward violence" rooted in their education and culture.
Touring the Bay Area, Joseph will present his 77-minute film for two free viewings at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Aug. 10 at the Fremont Main Library.
An official at the Japanese Consulate in San Francisco said he was not familiar with the film and declined to comment on it.
