Nanjing museum pays tribute to World War II comfort women victims

World Today

As China marks a National Day of remembrance for Nanjing Massacre victims, a new museum has opened that documents the suffering of sex slaves, known as “comfort women”, at the hands of Imperial Japanese troops during World War II.

CCTV”s Lin Nan reports from Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

The museum opened to the public this month and was built atop the former site of a “comfort station” or military brothel. It is made of eight buildings, and houses more than 1,600 items and 600 photographs.

“Comfort women’s stories were little known in the past, compared with the Nanjing massacre and other war crimes. Because many victims thought it was shameful to tell the public of their sufferings. But these are not only their personal sufferings, these are human rights abuses,” Zhu Chengshan, an honorary curator at the museum, said.

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One theme at the museum are tears. The wall appears to weep with tears, and tears also appear on the museums grounds.

The family of comfort woman Lei Guiying, who died in 2007, donated objects to the museum.

“She kept silent for 60 years. She told me what happened to the young women in the comfort station. The crimes were so cruel and their experiences were so miserable. I was adopted because she lost her fertility,” said Lei’s song Tang Jiaguo.

More than 200,000 Chinese women were forced into sexual slavery in World War II.


Author Helen Zia discusses impact of Nanjing Massacre

Helen zia

CCTV America’s Susan Roberts interviewed Helen Zia, an expert on the Nanjing massacre, and award-winning author about the impact of the museum and how the massacre is viewed today around the world.


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