ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY: October 9
Bishop Schraven and the Asian Holocaust
Most have heard of the Holocaust, although some brainless antisemitic fucknuts deny it happened. Well, it fucking happened. You want to know what else happened at the same time? The Asian Holocaust. When it comes to the holocausts of World War II, the Catholic Church has a complicated history.
--On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down: October 9, 1937--
In Europe, there were those in the Church who were vehemently anti-Nazi, and they risked their lives to hide Jewish people from extermination. But Pope (notso) Pius XII knew the Holocaust was taking place and refused to say anything or to publicly condemn it. He was a pawn of the fucking Nazis, rightly earning the name “Hitler’s pope.” Then there was the fact that the Church helped a lot of Nazi assbags escape to South America after the war.
But as I mentioned, there were members of the clergy who resisted not just the Nazis, but also the Japanese who were in the process of murdering Chinese people by the millions.
About twenty million Chinese died in World War II, very much warranting the name Asian Holocaust. Japan was an absolute bastard, as bad as the Nazis, and has been parsimonious in apologizing for their myriad atrocities, which is why relations between the two nations remain strained to this day.
The full-scale invasion of China by Japan began in 1937. About 160 miles south of Beijing is the county of Zhengding. During the invasion, 5,000 members of the local Chinese population in Zhengding sought refuge with Dutch Catholic Bishop Frans Schraven. Many of them were young women. The Japanese commander had said to his men he you did a great job will all that war criming so here you can have a free pass to loot and rape and murder.
On October 9, 1937, Japanese soldiers approached the mission and told Schraven to hand over all the young women so the soldiers could go on a raping spree. The bishop replied with, “You can kill me if you want, but I will never give what you are demanding.” They did kill him. Bishop Schraven eight of his priests were handcuffed, doused in gasoline, and set on fire.
Of course the Japanese deny this ever happened, saying it was rogue elements of the Chinese army that did it. Sure.
The sex crimes of the Catholic Church are legion, but in this case, Schraven and his priests died trying to protect women from being repeatedly raped. Schraven is currently being considered by the Church for beatification as the patron saint of victims of sexual abuse.
Those who cannot remember the past … need a history teacher who says “fuck” a lot. So manifest your destiny of buying my book On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down. ON SALE TOMORROW HOLY CRAP TOMORROW BUY IT NOW!
You can also become a paying subscriber:
I did not know about the good Bishop. I'm glad to learn about him. I know some of my relatives in Japan were a part of the Imperial Army in Korea during WW2. But I don't know what role they played there. My dad's parents both died in the years before Pearl Harbor and his brother and sister were sent to live with relatives in Korea as young children. They still remember some Korean. The other kids, including my dad, were sent to various relatives in Japan. His uncle abused him growing up, often only letting him eat what wasn't eaten by the rest of the family during meals, among other things. It was all horrific. And the Japanese government still denies it and doesn't allow this history to be taught. That's even more horrific.
The crimes of Japan prior and during ww2 were epically evil.