The Nanking Safety Zone (; , Nankin Anzenku, or , Nankin Anzenchitai) was a demilitarized zone for Chinese civilians set up on the eve of the Japanese breakthrough in the Battle of Nanking (December 13, 1937).
The Battle of Songhu was fought following the Marco Polo Bridge incident, during which the Japanese bombed Nanjing (Nanking) indiscriminately, resulting in the fatalities of a significant number of innocent civilians. In an effort to prevent additional casualties, Hang Liwu and a number of expatriates residing in Nanjing endeavored to establish a neutral zone within the city for refugees. Based on the Nanshi Refugee Zone (an initiative led by Jesuit Robert Jacquinot de Besange) in Shanghai, they designated a 3.86 square kilometer area in the western region of Nanjing city with the intention of leveraging the influence of foreigners to secure the area. The International Committee for the Safe Zone was formally established on November 22, with John Rabe as chairman, and committees for sanitation, lodging, and food were established to ensure the safe zone's normal operation. Additionally, letters were dispatched to Japan and China in an effort to secure recognition. Despite the fact that the Chinese accepted the delineation of the Safety Zone and transferred the actual jurisdiction of the territory to the committee, the Japanese have maintained an attitude that is somewhere between ambiguity and denial regarding the Safety Zone.Hsü, ed., Documents of the Nanking Safety Zone, p. 86, 90
The Safety Zone was overwhelmed as a result of the continuous influx of refugees, which assumed responsibility for the municipal administration of certain areas of Nanjing following the National Government's withdrawal. While it did to a certain extent guarantee the basic necessities of life for the refugees within the Safety Zone, it did not entirely shield them from the Massacre. From December 14, 1937, the Japanese army disregarded the existence of the Safe Zone and, under the guise of searching for Chinese soldiers, embarked on a spree of burning, looting, and raping women within the boundaries of the Safe Zone. The Japanese army also burned and killed some of the refugees in shelters, which occurred in the aftermath of the fall of Nanjing. The International Committee for the Safe Zone lacked the necessary resources to prevent it from beginning to end. In February 1938, the Japanese army forcibly expelled the refugees from the zone on the grounds that the zone was impeding the operation of their puppet government. The International Committee for the Safe Zone was reorganized into the Nanking International Relief Committee on February 18, 1938, marking the conclusion of the safe zone. The refugee shelters within the safe zone ceased to operate entirely by June 1938.
Background
Following the commencement of the Battle of Songhu on August 15, 1937, Japanese aircraft systematically and indiscriminately bombarded the city of Nanjing. In this context, the ambassadors of Germany, UK, France, Italy, and the United States contacted the U.S. Department of State on August 29, urging it to exert pressure on Japan to cease indiscriminate bombing. In response, the Japanese Counselor in the United States conveyed "deep regret" but contended that the bombing of Nanjing was justified due to the presence of numerous Chinese military strongholds both within and outside the city walls of Nanjing. Within and beyond the city walls, several Chinese military fortifications and regiments exist; nevertheless, the Japanese bombing campaigns also encompass civilian infrastructure, including residential districts, educational institutions, hospitals, commercial establishments, factories, transportation hubs, docks, and other facilities. The Japanese bombing resulted in a significant number of inhabitants becoming casualties, and on September 22, the Japanese army conducted an aerial assault on the Xiaguan Refugee Shelter () in Nanking, resulting in the immediate deaths of hundreds of refugees, despite repeated warnings from the U.S. side. On September 27, the League of Nations received a communication from Japan's foreign affairs administrator to the British, stating that there would be no further bombing of Nanking. The subsequent day, the League of Nations passed a resolution denouncing Japan's aerial assault on Nanking.
Following the fall of Shanghai on November 16, 1937, to mitigate the suffering of Nanjing's populace due to the war and to emulate the refugee zone established in southern Shanghai, the chairman of the board of trustees of Jinling University, Hang Liwu, proposed the creation of a safety zone in Nanjing. The subsequent day, W. P. Mills, Miner Searle Bates, and Lewis Smythe, professors at JLL, visited the private residence of Peck, a staff member of the U.S. Embassy in Nanjing, to deliberate the creation of a wartime safety zone in Nanjing to safeguard ordinary civilians following the withdrawal of the Chinese government. Minnie Vautrin, an instructor at the Ginling College, was designated to convey the proposal to the Japanese. In this conference, the men sought to assign the Chinese military control over the safe zone, so circumventing unwanted diplomatic entanglements for the West. That evening, Parker communicated the suggestion for a safe zone to Sun Fo and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the National Government, Zhang Qun; however, Zhang Qun deemed it premature to present the plan at that moment. To effectively establish the safe zone, Hang Liwu, along with Bates and Mills, engaged in extensive communication with Chinese officials and prominent figures from Europe and America, securing the backing of ambassadors from multiple Western nations. Ultimately, Hang Liwu and approximately 20 individuals from the United States, Britain, Germany, and Denmark resolved to establish an international aid organization dedicated to the protection of refugees in Nanking, motivated by humanitarian principles, and designated it as the "International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone".
Establishment
On November 20, 1937, the Nationalist Government of Nanjing officially announced the relocation of the capital, prompting government officials to depart from Nanjing sequentially. On the afternoon of November 22, the International Committee for the Safe Zone convened, and John S.C. Rabe was appointed as the Chairman of the Committee. This signified the official creation of the Nanking Safety Zone and the International Committee of the Safety Zone.
On November 24, the International Committee of the Nanking Safety Zone transmitted a cable via the Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Consul General in Shanghai, proposing the creation of a safety zone in Nanking to safeguard the refugees. The telegram underscored the obligation of the Safety Zone to secure specific assurances from the Chinese government, to dismantle all planned military installations, to refrain from deploying armed personnel beyond civilian police, and to forbid all military factions from entering the Safety Zone. On the November 25 and 29, the International Committee summoned the Japanese Ambassador and military authorities in Shanghai, anticipating their amicable acknowledgment of the Safety Zone. The Japanese official response was sluggish; however, the Japanese media, including the Nichi-Japan Shimbun, asserted that the creation of the Safety Zone impeded the Japanese assault on Nanking, while the Yomiuri Shimbun contended that the decision rested not with the Japanese government, but with the Japanese military.
On November 26, Chiang Kai-shek consented to the creation of the zone, and on November 29, the mayor of Nanjing, Ma Chaojun, publicly declared at a regular meeting of the Sino-British Cultural Association that the International Committee for the Nanjing Safe Zone had been officially constituted. Subsequently, Zhang Qun relocated to the German Embassy, which designated the International Committee as the office premises. On December 1, the jurisdiction of the safe zone was officially transferred from the Nanjing Municipal Government to the International Committee, accompanied by 10,000 sacks of flour, 20,000 sacks of rice, some salt, and 100,000 U.S. dollars in cash; however, due to transportation issues, these supplies had only arrived by December 7. 9,067 bags of rice, 1,000 bags of flour, 350 bags of salt, together with a total cash amount of 120,000 U.S. dollars before and after. Upon its inception, the safe zone was designed in the likeness of the Nanshi Refugee Zone in Shanghai, featuring a red cross within a black circle on a white backdrop as its insignia.
Ranges
The preliminary definition of the safety zone is as follows: to the east, from Xinjiekou at Zhongshan Road to the junction of Zhongshan Road and Zhongshan Road North, then northwest along Zhongshan Road North to the boundary of Shansi Road Plaza; to the north, from Shansi Road Plaza to Xikang Road; to the west, from the southern side of Xikang Road to the intersection of Han Road, then southeast to the line intersecting Shanghai Road and Hanzhong Road; and to the south, the segment of Hanzhong Road from the intersection of Shanghai Road to Xinjiekou, encompassing a total area of 3.86 square kilometers. The objective is to encompass colleges, universities, hospitals, and residential districts simultaneously, while circumventing the city's military installations. On December 8, to safeguard cultural treasures, Hang Liwu first planned to relocate the cultural artifacts from the Chaotian Palace and its vicinity into the security zone; however, this action was ultimately halted due to the notification of the security zone's boundaries to the Japanese authorities. The area is further from the Nanjing defense war zone, has a greater number of foreign embassies, and is hence less vulnerable to Japanese aerial bombardment. Furthermore, the "New Residential Area" was constructed in the 1920s and 1930s primarily for the Nationalist government to establish upscale villas for dignitaries. Following the fall of Shanghai, most residences in this area were vacated, along with numerous colleges and universities, including the Nanjing Union Theological Seminary and the Ginling College, which had the capacity to house a greater number of refugees.
As of December 17, the total refugee count in the safe zone was approximately 50,000, which rose to nearly 70,000 by the December 21. The total number of shelters in the Zone managed by the International Committee was 26. Minor inconsistencies exist in the literature, although the figure remains reasonably stable, as documented by authors including Wetterling, Fitch, and others, who have noted 25 shelters. Moreover, some shelters were established by the refugees themselves and several other organizations. The shelters lacked a cohesive management system, with some functioning as temporary refuges for refugees, devoid of a comprehensive leadership framework, and there was no standardized process for the establishment or dissolution of these shelters. The directors and assistants overseeing the numerous shelters are either esteemed citizens of the security zone or competent refugees with a degree of prestige. Their capacity to execute their responsibilities ranges from individuals committed to their tasks to those who extort refugees; yet, they generally manage to fulfill their roles. Directors and assistants are frequently replaced owing to incompetence and internal discord. The International Committee dispatched personnel to evaluate these shelters and provided inspection materials for future use.