War Crimes of World War II

 Rape of Nanking  Bombing of London  Japanese Internment  Bataan Death March  Firebombing of Dresden  Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki

Key Definitions  Crimes Against Peace: Planning and waging an aggressive war.  War Crime: Acts against the customs of warfare such as the killing of hostages and prisoners, the plundering of private property, or the destruction of towns and cities.  Crimes Against Humanity: The murder, extermination, deportation, or enslavement of civilians.

Rape of Nanking  December 13, 1937 Japan captures Chinese capitol of Nanking  Burned city to ground  Raped 20,000 women  least 200,000 civilians  Only 7 Japanese leaders including Hirohito were tried & convicted of war crimes

Rape of Nanking  Why, do you suppose, only 7 Japanese commanders were convicted of war crimes considering the magnitude of this atrocity?

Bombing of London  Summer of 1940  German Luftwaffe began series of air attacks on England  Nazi purpose: make British feel there was no way to win war  Night raids on London  Meant to hit civilian centers & cause as much loss of life as possible

Bombing of London  How can a country, during times of war, justify targeting civilian centers?

Japanese Internment Camps  Early 1942  Executive Order 9066  112,000 men, women & children shipped to camps  National Security Interest  Loss of civil rights, houses, businesses, etc.  Retribution paid did not match that of what they lost

Japanese Internment Camps  During times of war, which has precedent: National Security or Civil Rights?

Bataan Death March  1942  76,000 US and Filipino POW’s captured by Japan  Force-Marched 63 miles to prison camp  Only 54,000 lived to reach camp  Starved, beaten, killed, tortured or fell ill due to dysentery  1946 Japanese commander convicted and executed

Bataan Death March  How would you defend the Japanese commander who ordered the “death march” during the war crimes tribunal?

Firebombing of Dresden  February 1945  British & US Forces attack Dresden in 3 short raids  Dropped more than 900,000 pounds of incendiary bombs  Temps rose to 1500 degrees Fahrenheit  No military centers were intended to be hit

Firebombing of Dresden  Discuss the reasons why the British and the Americans should or should not have been held responsible for the deaths of the Dresden population?

Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki  August 6 th 1945  4 Sq Miles of Hiroshima was obliterated (9000 degrees Fahrenheit)  80% of buildings and people disappeared  78,000 killed instantly  August 9 th, 1945 – Nagasaki  35,000 people killed  60,000 people wounded  Lasting effects for years

Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki  Discuss: Do the ends justify the means?

Winners vs. Losers  Should the Allies have been tried for the crimes committed against the Japanese and Germans?