MUNICH, Germany, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) — As the credit rolled on the Chinese movie Dead to Rights in a German cinema on Thursday night, Sarah Bahadra sat fully shocked, with glistening eyes. In a voice barely above a whisper, she mentioned she was overwhelmed, describing the movie as “too sad… really horrible.”
Like many Germans within the packed theater of Mathaeser Filmpalast in central Munich, Bahadra had by no means heard of the Nanjing Massacre, the topic of the film. In one of many darkest chapters of the twentieth century, Japanese troops stormed the Chinese metropolis of Nanjing within the winter of 1937, and unimaginable horror unfolded.
Over the course of simply six weeks, tens of hundreds had been inhumanely tortured and raped, most of them harmless civilians. The bloodbath left greater than 300,000 individuals lifeless.
Told by tales round a Chinese photographic studio, the movie chronicles the brutalities of the bloodbath with unflinching element and left a lot of the German viewers in tears. When the lights got here up, some sat in shocked silence, reluctant to go away their seats.
“It is a very important movie,” mentioned Bernd Einmeier, president of the German-Chinese Association for Economy, Education, and Culture, throughout an interview with Xinhua after the occasion. “It’s also very important for Europe to know about the Nanjing Massacre. Because honestly, most Europeans have never heard about this, they have no clue what happened there.”
Einmeier believes that within the world struggle towards fascism, China paid a excessive worth. “We have seen in the movie so much suffering, so many dead and injured, and there’s a big trauma there… China as a nation came together and contributed to the peace,” he mentioned.
“The movie also gives us the motivation to work for peace,” he famous. “Nobody wants war.”
For Esref Yavuz, a German father who attended the screening, the movie was his first actual publicity to the Nanjing Massacre. “The film shook me deeply, and seeing those innocent women and children being killed made me very sad. As a father, I find it hard to imagine such a thing really happened,” he informed Xinhua.
Yavuz admitted that earlier than the screening, he knew almost nothing about what occurred in Nanjing. “We didn’t learn much about this in Europe. There was no public acknowledgment from Japan either, saying, ‘Yes, this happened.’ And that’s sad, because those people died in vain. It was horrible.”
He added: “If you even try to imagine what these people went through… it was an insane, terrible time. I’m glad it’s over, and I’m glad China stood back up from it.”
The emotional gravity of the movie was echoed by Erhard Rau, president of the German Cultural and Economic Promotion Association. He informed Xinhua that the Japanese navy had dedicated severe struggle crimes in China, however the unyielding spirit of the Chinese individuals within the face of such atrocities deserves respect.
“This part of history remains difficult for Japanese society to confront. But historical facts cannot be denied, and the truth should not be avoided,” he mentioned. “That is precisely why a film like this is so important. It not only restores a neglected part of history, but also reminds us to remain vigilant against war and to cherish peace.”