Iris Chang

Chinese-American writer who exposed Japanese war atrocities through groundbreaking historical documentation

Iris Chang (1968-2004) reshaped global understanding of WWII's Asian theater through her seminal work The Rape of Nanking. As a second-generation Chinese immigrant, she uncovered suppressed wartime records showing 300,000 Chinese civilians massacred by Japanese troops in 1937.

Her 1997 bestseller broke diplomatic taboos through:

• First English-language account using victim interviews
• Analysis of buried missionary diaries
• Photos from Japanese military archives

Despite death threats and political pressure, Chang's work inspired UN human rights resolutions and transformed Sino-Japanese relations. Her tragic suicide in 2004 sparked international discussions about historical trauma's psychological impacts.