Ep 356: The Fog of War and Humanity with Richard Acritelli and guest Jenny Chan P2 on hmTv

Ep. 356: The Fog of War and Humanity

Host: Richard Acritelli
Guest: Jenny Chan
hmTv / Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center

In this riveting continuation of her conversation with host Richard Acritelli, researcher and historian Jenny Chan pulls back the curtain on one of the most brutal and often overlooked chapters of World War II: the Japanese invasion of China and the Rape of Nanking.

Picking up where Part 1 left off, Jenny explains how Japan’s failure to take Shanghai quickly fueled rage and retaliation that spilled into Nanking — leading to mass executions, sexual violence, and the public glorification of killing. She exposes the shocking “100-man beheading contest,” the abandonment of civilians by Chiang Kai-shek, and the systematic policies that enabled atrocity.

Richard and Jenny also explore:

• How Shanghai became a rare refuge for Jews fleeing the Holocaust
• Why Japan’s war criminals were enshrined as heroes rather than condemned
• The U.S.–Japan Cold War alliance that protected perpetrators and elevated them to political power
• The forgotten USS Panay attack — a preview of Pearl Harbor hidden in plain sight
• How Depression-era isolationism kept Americans silent while atrocities unfolded
• The stark contrast between Germany’s reckoning and Japan’s denial

Jenny also highlights overlooked diplomatic heroes like Ho Feng-shan, who issued life-saving visas for Jewish refugees — reshaping the narrative that Holocaust refuge only appeared in Europe or Palestine.

This episode confronts uncomfortable truths: how nations rewrite history, how political convenience erases accountability, and how forgotten atrocities still echo in modern geopolitics.

Transcript

Ep. 356 — The Fog of War and Humanity
Host: Richard Acritelli
Guest: Jenny Chan
hmTv / Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center

Richard:
Humanity matters.
Welcome back to The Fog of War and Humanity here on hmTv.

In Part 1, we talked about Unit 731, biological warfare, and Japan’s secret use of human experimentation in World War II.
 Today, let’s pivot to the Rape of Nanking — and the fighting between Japan and China in the city of Nanking.

Jenny, where do we begin?

Jenny:
Before we get to Nanking, we need to start with Shanghai.

Japan expected to take Shanghai in days — it took months.
 Many of the atrocities later seen in Nanking were driven by Japanese frustration and the desire for retaliation.

Shanghai also had a fascinating Jewish story.
 There was a large Jewish community, an international zone, and major Jewish influence in the city — including the Sassoon family, who built the Peace Hotel.

When the Holocaust unfolded, Shanghai was one of the only places accepting Jews visa-free.
A Chinese diplomat named Ho Feng-shan — stationed in Vienna from 1938 to 1940 — stamped exit visas for fleeing Jews, saving countless lives.

So when you walk the Bund in Shanghai today and see European-style buildings, much of that is tied to Jewish presence and investment — something rarely discussed in Holocaust education.

But back to Nanking.

Richard:
So you have Shanghai — heavy casualties, frustration — and Japan moves on to Nanking.
And like in Bataan years later, their military was brutal about timetables.

During the Bataan Death March, American POWs starved and were beheaded for slowing down — Filipinos offering water were executed too.
 Japan substituted fresh troops to torment exhausted prisoners.

You see the same spiteful mentality heading into Nanking — not just fighting, but exacting blood.

Jenny:
Exactly.

The soldiers fighting for months in Shanghai were exhausted and angry, and when they entered Nanking in late 1937, that rage exploded.

Chiang Kai-shek abandoned the capital; civilians were left defenseless.
 Roughly 300,000 people were massacred.

Richard:
Did the killing begin immediately?

Jenny:
Yes — even on the road to Nanking.

Japanese units held killing contests — most infamously, the “100-man beheading race.”
 The soldiers bragged in newspapers about surpassing 100, reaching 150, then starting over because they “lost count.”
 It wasn’t just brutality — it was publicly glorified brutality.

Richard:
And senior officers allowed it — even endorsed it.
Were any of these men tried after the war?

Jenny:
Yes — some were tried.

But many war criminals were later enshrined in Yasukuni Shrine.
Imagine if Germany had built a shrine to Hitler — that’s how offensive this is to Chinese and Koreans.

Japan’s attitude toward its past is the opposite of Germany’s.

Richard:
I once had a German exchange student who had visited Dachau and Sachsenhausen. She said, “I know my people did wrong. We must learn from it.”

But Japan seems different — even modern leaders visit Yasukuni Shrine.

Jenny:
Yes.

One recent prime minister was mentored by Shinzo Abe, who himself was descended from Kishi Nobusuke — Manchuria’s wartime architect who enslaved four million Chinese in labor camps.

After the war, the CIA and Eisenhower funded him — turning a Class-A war criminal into the Prime Minister of Japan.

Many Japanese elites tied to wartime atrocities later held office — including figures whose families profited from the forced labor of Allied POWs.

That American support emerged largely from Cold War strategy — “the enemy of communism becomes our friend.”

Richard:
Exactly — strange bedfellows.

The U.S. overlooked records to counter the Soviet threat — something we see echoes of again today.

Let me ask you about a diplomat: Ricardo Clemente, who reported on Nanking and was recalled for speaking truth. Am I remembering that correctly?

Jenny:
It sounds similar to John Rabe, a Nazi official in Nanking who helped run the International Safety Zone.
He documented Japanese atrocities in diaries and letters — even Nazis were horrified by Japanese conduct.

This was 1937 — before World War II began in Europe.
That shows how extreme Japan’s violence was.

Richard:
Right — and in America, the Depression and isolationism meant foreign atrocities felt far away.
Presidents had to focus on domestic crisis over global brutality.

Jenny:
Exactly.
And while Japan committed mass murder in China, the U.S. still sold Japan oil and steel to survive the Depression — essentially enabling Nanking.

Richard:
And amazingly, Japan later melted down our scrap metal — from New York’s dismantled elevated trains — into weapons used against us.

Let’s touch on Pearl Harbor’s prelude — the USS Panay incident.

Jenny:
Yes — a forgotten naval attack.

In 1937, Japan repeatedly bombed the USS Panay, an American gunboat — clearly marked with U.S. flags — killing sailors and sinking oil tankers.

Japan apologized, paid reparations, and kept bombing.
 Americans saw it, but Depression survival overshadowed outrage.

It was a preview of Pearl Harbor — but largely forgotten.

Richard:
Exactly.
Pearl Harbor didn’t come out of nowhere — Japan was already a hardened war machine throughout the 1930s.

Economics shapes foreign policy — and the U.S. looked away until attacked.

Jenny:
And politics too — people needed food on their tables.
So even when Americans saw footage of atrocities, it faded beneath economic desperation.

Richard:
It would be fascinating to read the sailors’ accounts — because militaries always evaluate engagements through multiple sources.

Jenny, thank you. I know it’s early for you in California.

How’s the weather?

Jenny:
Cold! I lit my wood stove — around 50 degrees.
San Francisco has chilly summers and winters — Mark Twain wasn’t wrong.

Richard:
Well, thank you again.

This podcast is growing, and your insight brings enormous value.
 History repeats — and understanding it matters.

We’ll continue next time — comfort women, allied diplomacy, and more.

Jenny:
Thank you.
For anyone interested in learning more, our website is pacificatrocities.org,
and I co-host a podcast on YouTube called Pacific Front Untold with James Bradley —
author of Flags of Our Fathers, China Mirage, Flyboys, and The Imperial Cruise.

Richard:
Fantastic — Bradley’s work is well known.
Thank you again, Jenny — have a wonderful day with your family.