Event.
The Nanjing Massacre was a six-week period of mass killing, sexual violence, and large-scale destruction committed by the Imperial Japanese Army after capturing Nanjing, then the capital of the Republic of China, in December 1937 during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Context.
Japanese forces had been advancing through eastern China following the outbreak of full-scale war in July 1937. After fierce battles in Shanghai and surrounding regions, Chinese defenses collapsed. As Japanese troops entered Nanjing on 13 December 1937, the city was largely undefended, civilian populations were trapped, and command discipline within Japanese units had deteriorated.

Characteristics.
The atrocity involved systematic executions of prisoners of war, widespread and often organized sexual violence against women and girls, looting, arson, and indiscriminate killing of civilians. Mass graves, body dumps along the Yangtze River, and documented acts of extreme brutality define the historical record.

Outcome (Casualties, Material Damage).
Scholarly estimates of fatalities vary, primarily due to incomplete records, but most ranges fall between 100,000 and 300,000 deaths. Tens of thousands of women were raped. Large sections of Nanjing were looted or burned, and critical urban infrastructure was destroyed. The population of the city was reduced drastically, and social institutions collapsed.

Legacy.
The massacre remains one of the most consequential and contested events in East Asian history. It is central to Chinese collective memory of the war and a focal point for discussions of historical justice. Survivors’ testimony, postwar tribunals, and extensive archival evidence underpin international recognition of the atrocity. Political tensions persist because of divergent narratives within Japan and China, making the event an enduring symbol in debates over wartime responsibility, reconciliation, and national identity