China’s Holy Guardians

The diorama “China’s Holy Guardians” is master modeler Chang Chung-fu’s take on the 1937 battle of Shanghai, featuring some of China’s elite German-trained troops. This extremely detailed piece of art … Continue Reading →

Goebbels’ China Problem

German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels had a big problem in the summer of 1937. War had broken out between China and Japan, and Germany was staying neutral, even though a … Continue Reading →

White Russians in China

  When Japan occupied northeast China in 1931 and 1932 and turned the area into the puppet state of Manchukuo, it also took over a minority of several thousand ethnic … Continue Reading →

China at War: A New Zealand View (Part 3)

  As the war in the Asia-Pacific progressed, life as a New Zealand missionary in partly Japanese-occupied China became more difficult. After the Allies declared war on Japan in 1941, … Continue Reading →

China at War: A New Zealand View (Part 2)

  Southern China was an area in desperate crisis in the late 1930s. Up north, the densely populated areas near Shanghai and Beijing had fallen to the victorious Japanese Army, … Continue Reading →

China at War: A New Zealand View (Part 1)

  When war broke out between China and Japan in the 1930s, tens of thousands of foreigners became unwilling spectators of the bloody events. Among the witnesses were Presbyterian missionaries … Continue Reading →

Disaster in Shanghai, Part 2

  On August 23, 1937, Shanghai was only getting used to war when a bomb, probably dropped by accident, hit a busy part of Nanjing Road, gutting Sincere Department Store … Continue Reading →

Disaster in Shanghai, Part 1

On August 23, 1937, ten days after Shanghai had become the scene of a merciless battle between Chinese and Japanese forces, tragedy struck right in the middle of the city. … Continue Reading →

Victory over Japan 1945: Dutch Chinese Celebrate

Unique footage of ethnic Chinese in the Netherlands celebrating victory over Japan in September 1945. The Chinese community that existed during World War Two was made up of mostly laborers … Continue Reading →

A British Death in Shanghai: Documentary on 1937 Battle

For a brief moment, the titanic struggle between China and Japan at Shanghai in 1937 suddenly became very personal to the western public. This was when 25-year-old British soldier Patrick … Continue Reading →