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Why Does Japan Get a Pass on WWII?

Japanese atrocities were on par with those committed by the Germans, yet in the West we’re seldom taught about the actions of Imperial Japan

Martin Vidal
Said Differently

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Photo of a Japanese flag that was at the Rape of Nanjing, taken from Wikimedia Commons

The reader should be warned that they are about to learn about some of the most horrible acts ever committed by human beings, and if they are at all unwilling to be made aware of terribly graphic and violent historical events, they should leave off reading now.

History is never taught in a vacuum. Depending on who’s teaching it, or where you’re being taught it, you might be presented things in a different light. For some reason, as an American, I’ve known since grade school all about the Holocaust and the biggest concentration camps, even reading Night by Elie Wiesel and The Diary of Anne Frank for firsthand accounts of the systematic killing of Jews. I can readily name some of the chief actors in the Nazi Party, describe the strategy of blitzkrieg, detail what happened to Hitler in the end, etc.

What I wasn’t taught about with any real depth, however, were the actions of another of the Axis Powers, Imperial Japan. We know obviously that they attacked Pearl Harbor, and I’ve heard a good deal on their treatment of American POWs, as well as the fierceness with which they fought, including of course the…

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