When did WWII start?

Another part of pre-WW2 hostilities was from Mussolini in Italy, wanting to extend his influence. To Malta and N. Africa.
There was a crisis in the Mediterranean in the late 1930s with threats from Mussolini so presumably that is why the RN ships were deployed there from the China Station. Malta was considered too near to Italian airbases to be a safe base and ships were sent to Alexandria.

There had been a crisis in 1935 too, the Abyssinian Crisis and Italy invaded Ethiopia in, I think, 1936.

The following thread is long, but go to page 34 to find comments about the Nanking Massacre etc:
ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/did-the-japanese-deserve-the-atomic-bomb.61451/
The hostilities between Japan and China seem to have been going on for a long time. Also the interest of the USA for the protection of their Chinese citizens, and fear of Russia.
Another part of pre-WW2 hostilities was from Mussolini in Italy, wanting to extend his influence. To Malta and N. Africa.

I should have warned you that the Rape of Nanking was a horror story. What went on was just one battle, every city in China suffered more or less the same fate. Perhaps, because it was so brutal and illogical it might be that this is the reason we were not taught about it. Too horrific to confront little children in classroom with perhaps? How low can humans sink?

Americans will still tell you it didn't start till December 1941

Not sure if we are allowed to do this but here is a link to the battle and period when my OH's G.Aunt was killed:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanking_Massacre

I noticed that it says documentation about it was destroyed or kept secret. Why?

I left school in 1958, having done Higher History but knowing far more about the Napoleonic Wars and the Peloponnesian Wars than about the war I had lived through. My History teacher had 'won the war' in the Royal Navy and my Maths teacher in the RAF. It was simply too recent to be in the History books and I still find it difficult to think of my lifetime as History. I was, until I read this thread largely ignorant about the Sino-Japanese war so thanks to Yorkshiregel for opening my eyes to it.

Considering that:

WW1:

Start date: 28 July 1914
End date: 11 November 1918

I do not think the Japanese invasion of China is to early to talk about. We talk about WW1 don't we? Last year we watched Passchendaele on tv and that was 6 Nov 1917, years before 1937. That is in the history books why not this?

Sorry if I come across as aggressive but I just feel we should have been told. Not that we as children could have done anything about it, but I cannot help thinking about those little Chinese children that the Japanese bayoneted for no reason at all. They should be remembered imo.

Britain being at war did only start in 1939 though, first in Europe and then the Far East.It hasn’t been airbrushed out
But so much happened afterwards in our own back yard so to speak.Also, as others say, it was all too recent for us to ‘study’ in fact nobody wanted to talk about any wars ( even though our fathers had been through it in most cases.)
As an adult I did hear about ( read about) what the Japanese did in China as well as what they did in WW11.
Nobody I knew would buy anything made in Japan.

Just to make it clear, I am British and can trace my British ancestry back to the 16th century. I am not Chinese.

This attack by the Japanese on the Chinese was unexpected, it killed millions of innocent men, women and children. Imo it is NOT too recent as it was only 2 years before the 'official' line that WWII started in 1939 ie they invaded in 1937. I believe it has been deliberately 'forgotten' for some reason. So many things we were kept in the dark about and I think this should be talked about and taught in schools. When do you think would be an acceptable time to talk about it seeing as we have been remembering all the other people who died. Should these innocent victims be wiped from history?

This war has had publicity because of the plight of the Korean 'Comfort' women who were forced into brothels to serve the Japanese army during this war. They have been trying to get compensation from the Japanese for decades without success. Then there was the Nanking Massacre that was so terrible the Japanese deny it was anything to do with them, despite the evidence.

I was taught nothing about it at school because it was too recent to be history, What I know about it has come mainly from news sources since. But I do think we tend to remember from our school history and other lessons that which had some relevance to us at the time. I and a friend, who both did A level history and A level English together, still have disagreements about some of the topics we actually covered and books we read.

I can see your point about it being too recent, BUT, I still think people would have known about it. Two years is not a long time between is it. My son's generation were not taken to Germany to see the graves, but my Grandson's generation go. He has been and was very moved and proud of relatives whose names he found on the great wall where all the WWI and WWII names are. We have a photo but I do not put children's photos on the internet or else I would provide it. China should have a wall like that. Millions died because the Japanese invaded without warning. I thought they did not enter the war until they attacked the Americans and Australians. They should not be forgotten imo.

It wasn't a world war because not enough countries were taking part. Once Europe and their empires started fighting then it became a world war. Hence the start was 1939.

I think DD, who was one of the last to do GCEs, did history up until WW2.

Yes, I took History O Level, too! In those days, History ended with the Great Reform Act of 1832.

Same here, Jalima. WW2 would have been far to recent.

I’m not sure it was airbrushed out yorkshiregel - like suedonim I wasn’t taught any 20thC history at all, though I didn’t take it to O Level.
I took history to 'O' level and we only got as far as 1832. The rest I have learned over the years, well, what little I know.

No. I was talking about Gladys Aylward. Of course she didn't lie during her talks and would have welcomed the opportunity to point out that Colonel Linnan was not of mixed race but was of 'impeccable Mandarin culture and manners.'

I think merlot was talking about an actress in the film, not Gladys Aylward?

Then she lied in her talks in this country merlot

When we were first married we lived a few doors away from Gladys Aylward's little terraced house in Edmonton, North London where she grew up. It had a blue plaque on it. She was very much the local hero and talked about fondly by my grandmother. The local school was named after her.

The film was no worse a portrayal of events than any other war movie of the fifties and sixties. If nothing else it prompted people to read about that turbulant period of history

I'm quite surprised Andrew Lloyd Webber hasn't turned it into a musical.

Anniebach. Any life story that is given the Hollywood treatment is going to be way off beam from the truth. Apparently, Gladys Aylward never saw it and was dismayed at the casting of Kurt Jurgans as Linnan - no surprise there.

She and Linnan may not have been romantically involved in the modern sense but there was definitely a close relationship which led to him asking her to marry him. They decided a mixed marriage in times of war would be impossible and they parted company.

A year before GA's death she met up again with Alan Burgess author of The Small Woman and confirmed amongst other things that Linnan was the only man she had loved.

Jalima!!

Gladys Aylward gave a talk in a Chapel in Merthyr in the sixties, I was lucky to attend. She was not pleased with the film of her life, the name given her in the film was not true, Col.Linan was not part European and she was not romantically involved with him or any other man , the loves of her life were God and China and her adopted children. She had to leave china at the start of WW2, was not allowed back by the communist government ,

she settled in Taiwan and I think is buried there