Primary Source Analysis

The source I have chosen to analyse is an extract from John Rabe's diary entries during his days as a Nazi official in Nanking, which including him witnessing the Rape of Nanking (December 1937 to March 1938) and saving over 200,000 lives1 in the massacre by creating a safety zone. This private source has offered a new insight into the Nanking massacre due to it being from a foreign perspective. The fact that the source is private raises questions of reliability, of which I am going to argue that this source is in fact a highly reliable record of the Nanking massacre, especially when compared to other sources like the Japanese archives.

This is a private source, which many historians would view as unreliable due to its biased nature, evident in the fact that private sources like diaries mean that the author is often too emotionally involved in the situation to give an impartial record of the event. However private sources in my opinion seem to be more informative than narrative sources because they tend to give an insight of others points of view as well as helping historians understand how people thought at the time. For example Rabe's account in reference to foreign aid being denied entry in Nanking, he points out the "Japanese embassy appears willing to make our situation more tolerable, but they also seem unable to make any headway with their fellow countrymen"2. Due to the fact that Rabe was an official in this situation, it gives us an insight into what the Japanese and German embassies in Nanking made of the whole situation too. As seen by the quote, the massacre and its brutality was not one which was planned by the Japanese government and the embassy was willing to repair the situation however it was the Japanese military that exerted control over the entire situation. This brings a new light to the situation as it puts more responsibility on the Japanese military for the Nanking massacre.

Of course private sources can be highly unreliable and biased, because they are written in a narrow spectrum and often do not consider the event from a wider perspective and can also contain uncertain facts. However private sources are exceptional at telling us what society was like during that period and what the general public viewpoint was on a matter. The Japanese official archives in this case were unreliable because the Japanese government tried to cover up the incident, which is still the attitude adopted by the Japanese government today, so much so that they destroyed incriminating evidence of the event, for example photographs3 were burnt and had to be smuggled out. This source is an exception because it was written by someone who was well informed of the events that were surrounding him. Unlike other sources, let's take oral sources such as Ni-Cui-Ping, who was a survivor from the massacre. Her account of the event4 was based entirely upon her own experiences, and did not take into consideration the role of states and other actors as John Rabe did.

1 "John Rabe hero file," Moreorless, last accessed 10 March 2013, http://www.moreorless.au.com/heroes/rabe.html.2 John Rabe, The Good German of Nanking: The Diaries of John Rabe, trans. John E. Woods (New York: Abacus, 1998), 136. 3 "1937 Nanking Massacre:: THE RAPE OF NANKING (1937)," 1937 Nanking Massacre, last accessed 10 March 2013, http://www.nanking-massacre.com/RAPE_OF_NANKING_OR_NANJING_MASSACRE_1937.html.

4 "Nanking massacre survivor who lost whole family (English sub)," Youtube, last accessed 10 March 2013,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWxMLCYekuU.

The source itself contains images from the massacre, which are another useful source. Although visual sources on their own cannot provide their own context, the photographs5 in "The Good German of Nanking" correlate with the violence that Rabe provided in his writings. Therefore this source is an accurate representation of the Rape of Nanking because the editor, Wickert, uses the two sources together to convey the severity of the massacre to the reader.

This source was an extract from a diary which meant that it had to political purpose or aim, it was not written to analyse the situation and therefore was not written in a certain way which meat that there was less of a chance of him manipulating the evidence that was in the extract.. It was Rabe's direct experiences from the massacre. He did not expect someone to read it, and it was only for his own benefit therefore although it may have been bias and tainted by his empathy for the Chinese victims, it still revealed the brutal treatment of Chinese population from a foreign perspective. In some cases, it is understandable why some historians may choose to label Rabe's extracts as unreliable. For example, when Rabe uses phrases such as "someone has been spreading the rumour that..."6 and "the reports we are hearing from all sides today"7, it shows that unlike governmental records, this relies upon the word of mouth and not accurate facts.

John Rabe's assessment of the massacre was also reflected what the public's general opinion was of the massacre as well as the general foreign opinion. Of course, the Nanking massacre was the subject of most newspapers at the time and a severe concern on an international level8 however this source reflects that there was even concern within the Japanese embassy and how the embassy "will try to avoid"9 did not want this situation to arise. Rabe's account also showed the constant fear of the Chinese population, often heightened by rumours. The fact that Rabe was shocked and horrified by the actions of the Japanese military reflected the attitude that most foreign individuals would have had.

In conclusion, Rabe's account of the Nanking massacre as a primary source gives a new understanding into the event because of the detail it goes into. It offers a reliable personal insight into the massacre due to it was not written for an audience therefore there was no ulterior motive for Rabe. He was also an official meaning that he had a wider range of information than other private primary sources and he also considered the wider situation, by including the Japanese embassy and reporting on the entire situation rather than it being narrowly focused. The source also was used with other evidence, like photographs and a letter from a missionary based in Nanking which also strengthens the reliability of the source which is why Rabe's account of the Nanking Massacre is an accurate one.

5 John Rabe, The Good German of Nanking: The Diaries of John Rabe, trans. John E. Woods (New York: Abacus, 1998), 135, 137. 6 Ibid, 133.7 Ibid.8 Gallicchio, Marc S. The Unpredictability of the Past. (Durham, Duke University Press, 2007), page 158.9 John Rabe, The Good German of Nanking: The Diaries of John Rabe, trans. John E. Woods (New York: Abacus, 1998), 135, 137.

Bibliography:

Cummins, Joseph. The World's Bloodiest History. Beverly: Fair Winds Press, 2009.

Gallicchio, Marc S. The Unpredictability of the Past. Durham: Duke University Press, 2007.

Rabe, John. The Good German of Nanking: The Diaries of John Rabe, trans. John E. Woods. New York: Abacus, 1998.

"1937 Nanking Massacre:: THE RAPE OF NANKING (1937)", last accessed 10 March 2013, http://www.nanking-massacre.com/RAPE_OF_NANKING_OR_NANJING_MASSACRE_1937.html.

"Case study: Nanjing Massacre, 1937-38," last accessed 10 March 2013, http://www.gendercide.org/case_nanking.html.

"John Rabe hero file," last accessed 10 March 2013, http://www.moreorless.au.com/heroes/rabe.html.

"Nanking massacre survivor who lost whole family (English sub)", last accessed 10 March 2013, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWxMLCYekuU.