Nanjing Massacre survivor passes away at 93

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Another one of the few remaining survivors of the Nanjing Massacre has passed away.

According to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, Chen Fengying died on Wednesday at the age of 93. She was one of the fewer-than-100 remaining survivors of the mass murder, rape and torture committed by Japanese troops in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing during World War Two.

An estimated 300,000 unarmed Chinese soldiers and civilians died at the hands of Japanese invaders during a period of six weeks between late 1937 and early 1938.

Chen’s family members, including her brother, were among the victims.

Chen Fengying, a survivor of Nanjing Massacre, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 93. /Photo via Weibo account of Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders

Here’s her testimony, as documented by the memorial hall:

"I came to Nanjing as a child bride when I was 12 years old and lived at No. 40 Fuxi Street. My husband was the second son of his family. His name was Bai Huimin. He was a carpenter. In 1937, Japanese troops occupied Nanjing. They killed people, burned down houses and raped the women. I ran with my husband’s family.

"Japanese soldiers were looking for young girls everywhere. To spare myself of rape, I shaved my hair bald, and hid in a silo with the family of my in-laws.

"My brother Chen Xinglin and his wife had just got married two days ago. They ran as well. Japanese soldiers captured my sister-in-law and were about to rape her. She chose death over humiliation and jumped in a pond. The Japanese soldiers then bayoneted my brother to death. A cousin of mine, whose last name was Wang and was then about 20 years old, was gang-raped by three Japanese soldiers to death."

Chen’s passing away represents another loss of a historical witness to one of the worst atrocities in human history.