Japan and the Nazi…. Which Was Worse?               Mason Hanse

 

            To start off both of these events were awful in their own way. The Holocaust affected a wider range of people making it more deadly over the course of time. Whereas Japan only affected the people in and around the city. But that didn’t make Nanking any less brutal. There were beheadings and cases of murder all throughout the city. No one was spared. Not even babies. In sheer brutality, this made Nanking worse in my opinion. There has been very little like that in history and it was only one example of how ruthless the Japanese were in their conquering of these countries and cities. The Holocaust was a dragged on process over 10 years to be exact. It involved the mass killing by gas chambers and guns. This led to the deaths of millions of citizens living in those days. This can be considered worse by the death toll. The systematic killing of Jews and other “minorities” led to mass revolt against the Nazi Regime. They were at total control of a country in tough times and what did they do with it? Used the country as a chance to kill off an entire race of people. This was an awful time with atrocities being committed everywhere and for whatever reason. In Nanking people were killed for the basis that they were there at that very moment. Men were slaughtered because they looked like a soldier. It didn’t make sense in either situation. It was a tough time in history with many consequences. Overall, I believe Japan was worse on a scale of brutality. While the Holocaust was more widespread. The Nazi's responsible for this were allowed to go on trial I believe because of the fact that they were more well documented and more people witnessed them. Many didn't live to see the end of the war with Japanese atrocities committed at these hospitals and camps. The Japanese therefore got away with much more because Allied forces were focused on the Germans. These hospitals that these Germans and Japanese ran were absolute death traps. With chemicals being used that are lethal to humans. It was a very tough thing these poor citizens endured. That is why I believe that the Japanese got away with more. My opinions were solidified even after reading and I still believe Dr. Shiro Ishii and the Japanese were worse.