Remembering the Past: Nanjing Massacre survivor recalls brutal events

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80 years have passed since the Nanjing Massacre took place. Now, fewer than 100 documented survivors remain. Here's a look at the tragic, yet courageous story of one survivor.

LU HONGCAI NANJING MASSACRE SURVIVOR "We left home on December 11th or 12th. I was five years old.

After the Battle of Shanghai, people fled west and told terrible stories about the Japanese. They told us to hide or to run.

My grandparents were too weak. My mother was about to give birth, so they couldn't run. My father took me and my maternal uncle, who was about 15 years old. Father said if anything happens at home, at least each of our two families would have someone to pass down the bloodline.

Those who stayed home dug a silo in the ground and hid in there. It was like children playing hide and seek.

My father shouldered two baskets on a stick, some daily necessities in the front basket, and me in the back. He and my uncle would take turns to shoulder the load.

An old neighbor saw us. He shouted at father and said, 'Your home's been hit. Your family's been killed by the Japs. Hurry up and go bury them.' My father collapsed.

The Japanese were still on their killing spree. It would be dangerous for us to go home. But if we didn't go, should our loved ones just lie there? I don't remember how many days it took us to walk home.

Father lifted open the silo, and we saw them. All six of them, their blood and flesh mixed with the soil. They held each other tight.

Father separated the bodies. We saw my mother's belly was pierced open. Her unborn baby died in her belly.

When we left home, I thought they'd be safe. We'd hide a while and come home, and we'd still be a family. How simple and foolish was I.

To this day, I miss my mother and my other loved ones. But I don't blame the massacre on every Japanese soldier. There are good people and bad people everywhere.

Even now, some Japanese people don't like what the government is doing. They want peace. It's the right wing who is causing trouble. They are playing the victim card. The Massacre, they deny; sex slaves, they deny; war of aggression, they deny; the verdict of the military tribunal, they deny. Have they ever thought about the tens of millions of Chinese people who died in their war of aggression?

These innocent lives perished so tragically. It's a nightmare that shouldn't have happened. But it's not enough to just remember the victims. We want an answer from the Japanese right wing. And what's more, we need to safeguard peace. History like this should never be repeated."