Frenchman to donate rare photos documenting Japanese atrocities in China

Marcus Detrez, a young Frenchman, recently arrived in China to donate a collection of photographs documenting atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers during China's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-45).

Detrez, accompanied by two friends, arrived in Beijing on Saturday and has been awaiting further developments, according to Qilu Evening News, a newspaper based in Shandong province on Monday.

The collection was discovered by Marcus in 2021 when he found a photo album belonging to his grandfather while cleaning the garage. The album, which contains images from the 1930s when his grandfather lived in Shanghai, includes photos of crimes committed by the Japanese during the war.

Initially uncovering 170 photos, Marcus eventually found a total of 622, documenting scenes such as the bombing of Shanghai, a bank warehouse in the city that has now been renovated into a war memorial museum, and atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers against civilians.

Most of the photos are annotated with handwritten notes from his grandfather.

Marcus expressed his willingness to cooperate with the National Cultural Heritage Administration to assist in the identification of the photos.