What Were the Psychological Motivations of the Nanjing Safety Zone Committee?

This chapter introduces high school students to the Nanjing atrocities (1937–1938) and focuses on the Nanjing Safety Zone Committee. By investigating the compelling question “What were the psychological motivations of the Nanjing Safety Zone Committee?,” students learn about the Nanjing atrocities, the history of a safety zone, and a Universe of Obligation. By examining diaries and letters of several members of the Nanjing Safety Zone Committee, students explore the reasons why a small number of Westerners chose to risk their lives to rescue Chinese civilians from being murdered by the Imperial Japanese Army.