The US missionary who brought film of Japanese atrocities out of Nanjing in 1938

By sewing the reels into the lining of his camel-hair coat, US Protestant missionary George Ashmore Fitch (1883–1979) successfully transported the only film of Japanese atrocities during Nanjing Massacre to Shanghai on a Japanese military train in 1938, making public the undeniable evidence of Japanese war crimes.

The film, documenting murders committed by Japanese troops in Nanjing, was shot secretly by the US priest John Magee(1884 – 1953). Both Fitch and Magee joined German businessman John Rabe and about other 20 foreigners in the city to establish the Nanjing Safety Zone, which sheltered about 200,000 refugees during the Nanjing Massacre.

Born in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, Fitch developed a Chinese name (Fei Wusheng) during his time in the country. He was head of the Young Men's Christian Association in Nanjing and elected as administrative director of the International Committee of the Nanjing Safety Zone at the of Japanese occupation in 1937-38.

He was permitted to take the Japanese military train to Shanghai on Jan 23, 1938. Fortunately, the film recorded Japanese atrocities by John Magee was not discovered, despite him coming under heavy scrutiny. He had the film copied at a Kodak office in Shanghai. Fitch described scenes in the film being "so terrible that they had to be seen to be believed."

As a witness of the crimes committed in Nanjing, Fitch continued to record Japanese atrocities in his diaries and letters. His personal statement, massacre-related documents and materials turned out to be significant evidences in accusing Grade A Japanese war criminals at the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal in 1946.

File photo of George Fitch (L1) and Soong May-ling (R1) at a charity event. [Photo/jfdaily.com]