Donations document atrocities in Nanjing

A collection of historical materials donated this week to the Memorial Hall for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders further revealed the atrocities committed by the Japanese troops in the city.

The 98 items, including a document from a Japanese soldier and foreign newspapers carrying articles and photos about the atrocities, were donated on Wednesday by Dave Lu, a Chinese American who was born in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

Starting on Dec 13, 1937, more than 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers were killed by Japanese troops during a six-week massacre after they captured the city.

The soldier's document was a booklet recording his experiences in the army from Jan 10, 1937, to Jan 9, 1941. It detailed the battles he participated in, including the one in Nanjing between Nov 19 and Dec 14, 1937.

Wang Weixing, a researcher with the Institute of Historical Research of the Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, said that the booklet is "a witness of the Japanese army's atrocities in Nanjing" and has significant historical importance.

Other items included an English newspaper, The China Press, published on Oct 10, 1937, which carried pictures of a group of foreign photographers capturing images of Japanese aircraft bombing Nanjing's city wall.

It was Lu's 16th donation to the memorial hall. "The tragic event has become history, but we Chinese people must never forget it," Lu said at the donation ceremony. "There is no end to my donation."

Zhou Feng, curator of the memorial hall, said that many foreign friends and overseas Chinese have spent years collecting a large number of cultural relics and historical materials for the memorial hall.

Xinhua contributed to this story.