Nanjing Massacre exhibition opens in Prague

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A Chinese historical exhibition entitled "Common Witness: The Rape of Nanking or Nanjing Massacre" opened Thursday at the National House in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic.

Bringing together over 130 historical photos, 13 exhibits and two pieces of video materials on the Nanjing Massacre, the exhibition places this historic catastrophe as an international tragedy within the context of World War II, and shows the tragedy from the perspective of Europeans and Americans, taking on a third-party view with original documents and archives presented.

On December 13, 1937, Japanese invaders captured Nanjing, then China's capital, and killed about 300,000 Chinese during a six-week atrocity that shocked China and the whole world.

Chinese and foreign visitors observed a moment of silence in tribute to the victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

This year marks the 81st anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre as well as the 76th anniversary of the Lidice massacre in the Czech Republic, said Chinese Ambassador to the Czech Republic Ma Keqing during a speech at the opening ceremony.

In June 1942, Nazi troops destroyed the village of Lidice, executing 173 men before sending women and children to extermination camps.

"Common Witness: The Rape of Nanking or Nanjing Massacre" is an exhibition of special historical and practical significance which aims to become a window for the Czech people to understand China and its modern history, said the ambassador, adding it will also serve as a bridge to deepen the friendship between the two countries.

In 2015, Czech President Milos Zeman attended commemorative activities devoted to the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and in the World Anti-Fascist War.

In 2017, Zeman and his wife visited the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, where they laid a wreath to the victims and expressed their deep condolences.

Rudolph Jindrak, director of the International Affairs Department of the Czech Republic's Presidential Office said: "Today, please, let me say on behalf of the President, as in Nanjing, and express deep condolences to the victims of the Nanjing Massacre. We should remember history so that historical tragedies do not ever happen again. World peace ... (needs the) joint effort of people all over the world."

The exhibition was organized by the Nanjing International Cultural Exchange Association and the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in east China's Jiangsu Province.

(Cover: 6,830 pairs of shoes are laid in front of the Nanjing Massacre Memorial, August 15, 2010, to remember laborers who were killed in Japan during World War II. /VCG Photo))

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency