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1937 Japanese aerial bombing of Nanjing (Nanking), China
1937 Japanese aerial bombing of Nanjing (Nanking), China
Item # 719245
September 22, 1937
THE NEW YORK TIMES, Sept. 22, 1937.
* Nanjing - Nanking air raid bombing
* Japanese airplane raiders - pre massacre
The top of the front page has a three column headline: "U.S. AND BRITAIN URGE JAPAN NOT TO DEVASTATE NANKING; THREATENED RAID DELAYED" with subheads. (see images) This is a early morning edition of this World famous publication as the headline in the later edition is changed to report the actual bombing.
Complete with all 56 pages, light toning and minor at the margins, generally in nice condition.
background: In September 1937, as Japanese forces pressed inland following their campaign in Shanghai, Nanking—the Chinese capital—came under heavy aerial bombardment intended to cripple its defenses and terrorize the population. The most destructive raid occurred on September 22, 1937, when waves of Japanese aircraft struck both military targets and civilian areas, setting fires and causing widespread devastation across the city. Bombs hit government buildings, schools, hospitals, and crowded neighborhoods, killing hundreds and injuring many more, while leaving entire districts in ruins. The attack created mass panic, prompting tens of thousands to flee the capital in anticipation of further assaults, and it revealed the Japanese strategy of using air power not only to weaken Chinese defenses but also to demoralize the civilian population. These bombings foreshadowed the horrors that would engulf the city only three months later during the Nanking Massacre.
* Nanjing - Nanking air raid bombing
* Japanese airplane raiders - pre massacre
The top of the front page has a three column headline: "U.S. AND BRITAIN URGE JAPAN NOT TO DEVASTATE NANKING; THREATENED RAID DELAYED" with subheads. (see images) This is a early morning edition of this World famous publication as the headline in the later edition is changed to report the actual bombing.
Complete with all 56 pages, light toning and minor at the margins, generally in nice condition.
background: In September 1937, as Japanese forces pressed inland following their campaign in Shanghai, Nanking—the Chinese capital—came under heavy aerial bombardment intended to cripple its defenses and terrorize the population. The most destructive raid occurred on September 22, 1937, when waves of Japanese aircraft struck both military targets and civilian areas, setting fires and causing widespread devastation across the city. Bombs hit government buildings, schools, hospitals, and crowded neighborhoods, killing hundreds and injuring many more, while leaving entire districts in ruins. The attack created mass panic, prompting tens of thousands to flee the capital in anticipation of further assaults, and it revealed the Japanese strategy of using air power not only to weaken Chinese defenses but also to demoralize the civilian population. These bombings foreshadowed the horrors that would engulf the city only three months later during the Nanking Massacre.
Category: The 20th Century
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