What the World Knew Summary and Analysis

Chang points out that the world knew more of what was occurring in Nanking than in most conflicts, thanks to the heroic efforts of news reporters, filmmakers, and the International Committee. While the Japanese were at first celebratory of their actions in Nanking, their tone turned down enormously when international criticism began. Three American correspondents, Frank Tillman Durdin, Archibald Steele, and C. Yates McDaniel, were primarily responsible for information to the west. While they left shortly after the massacre began, their reports of rape, murder, and violence were splashed across the newspapers of the world. Further, these individuals found themselves helping the International Committee to save the Chinese as they helped the wounded, sheltered the Chinese, and reported every movement. On their way out of the city, they reported several feet of bodies, the witnessing...