国家公祭日演讲稿the20thcenturywasmarkedwiththefirsttwoworldwarsinhumanhistory.theybothbrokeoutinthefirsthalfofthecentury.onseptember18，1931，japancreatedtheso-called"september18incident"asapretexttooccupythreeprovincesinnortheastchina，thusignitingthefireofaworldwar.onjuly7，1937，thejapanesearmyconcoctedthe"lugouqiao（macropolobridge）incident"ontheoutskirtsofbeijing，signalingthebeginningofanall-outinvasionofchina.fromauguest13tonovember12ofthatyear，thejapanesetroopsattackedandtookovershanghai.soonafter，thejapanesetroopsmarchedtonanjingfromthreedirectionsandbesiegedthecity.atthattimenanjingwasthecaptialofchina.ondecember13，1937，nanjingwasundertheoccupationofthejapanesearmy.withtheapproachofthejapanesetroops，thecaptialnanjingwasthreatenedwithacatastrophe.citizensofnanjingaswellasforeignresidentswereleavinginahurry.however，morethan20westernersdecidedtostaybehindregardlessoftheirembassies'advicetoevacuate.basedontheexperienceofestablishingarefugeezonebyafrenchcatholicfatherraoafterthefallofshanghai，theydecidedtosetupaninternationalrescueorganizationcalled"theinternationalcommitteefornanjingsafetyzone"inthehopethattherewouldbeashelteringplaceforthepeoplewhodidnotmanagetoevacuatewhenthewarbrokeout.thezonewaslocatedinthenorthwestpartofnanjing，coveringanareaof3.86squarekilometers.ithadhighwaysonfoursides.insidethezoneweretheembassiesoftheunitedstates，italy，japanandthenetherlandsaswellassomewesternchurchagencies.duringthatparticularperiod，25refugeecsweresetupinthatzone.atthemaximum，theyaccommodatedasmanyas250，000refugeeondecember13，1937，nanjingwassacked.inthefollowingsixweeks，thejapanesearmycommittedextremelyhorriblecrimes，mu第1页共3页rderinginnocentpeople.innanjingmorethan300，000innocentcitizensandunarmedsoldierswereslaughtered.theancientcapitalnanjingsufferedanunprecedentedcatastropheandwasturnedintoalivinghell.atthetime，westernerswhostayedbehindinnanjingwereallmenandwomenofexperienceandlearningfrombritain，usa，germanyandothercountriesineurope.theywereinchinaasprofessors，pastors，medicaldoctors，journalists，diplomatsandbusinessmen.althoughofdifferentnationalitiesandoccupations，theysharedthesameideals-toupholdjustice，humanityandrighteousness.theycherishedpeaceandlife.however，afterthehallofnanjing，theywitenessedahellonearth.nanjingmassacrewasfirstpublicizedbywesternjournalists.reportsonthemassacreprintedinthemajornewspapersandmagazinesinthewesterncountriesshockedtheworld.afterworldwar2，thosewesternersstayinginnanjingduringthatperiodwerealsopresentatthefareastinternationalmilitarytribunalastheeyewitenessesofthemassacre.historicallessonscanneverbeforgotten.nanjingmassacreisnotonlythemisfortuneofthechinesepeoplebutalsooftheworld.itwasanunscrupuloustrlingofhumancivilization.onaugust12，1985，thepeople'sgovernmentofnanjingmunicipalityhadthememorialtothevictimsofthenanjingmassacreerectedonthesiteofthejiangdongmen，oneoftheplaceswherethejapanesetroopsslaughteredthechineseciviliansinmass.sincethen，numerouspeoplefromchinaaswellasagreatnumberofoverseasfriendshavecometovisitandexpresstheirgrievancesaswellasteirwishesofopposingaggressivewarsandsafeguardingworldpeace.peaceanddevelopmentisthecommonthemeofthehumanbeings.peopleinnanjing，havinghadmuchsufferingsfromwars，cherishevenmorepeaceandlife，andtheyarededicatingthemselvestotheconstructionofanewnanjing.12亲...
