Genocide paper

Read the material about the Rape of Nanking (Nanjing) and answer the following question:

Citing specific evidence from the material about the Rape of Nanking (Nanjing), why did this genocide occur?

The use of the term "genocide" is usually credited to a Polish-Jewish legal scholar, Raphael Lemkin (1900-1959) when he used the term in his book, Axis Rule in Europe (1944). Thus, from the start, "genocide" was most closely applied in reference to the Jewish Holocaust carried out by the Nazis. In 1948 the United Nations adopted a Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which entered into effect in 1951, with a specific definition of genocide. Despite that convention, and the agreement of the signers to abolish genocide, it has continued to take place over the last fifty years in a variety of locales across the world.

Here are some of the questions that you should consider as part of your assignment, but it is not required that you specifically answer these; it is most important that you really focus on the above assignment question. Here are other points that you might consider:

• How long had Japan and China been at war before the capture of Nanking?
• Was there a Chinese resistance movement in the city during the Japanese occupation?
• What role did foreigners play in Nanking during Japanese control of the city?
• Were the Japanese ever held accountable for their actions in Nanking?
• Was there a long history of less-than-good relations between China and Japan?
• What role (if any) did Japanese culture play in provoking the genocide?

• Lastly, write a three-page paper (no longer than that), complete with footnotes. You will not need images, but you will need citations of quoted evidence. You do not need a works cited page. You should use as many sources as you can in the paper, which should:
  • be double-spaced with one-inch margins, font size 10 or 12
  • contain an introduction paragraph that directly responds to the assigned question and that indicates the specific points to follow in the paper
  • use direct, quoted material to support your points (footnote the sources)
  • contain a last, conclusion paragraph
  • Remember, you are writing this paper as if you were going to publish it online or in a journal, so you will want to do the best possible work here.