ACDIS at Illinois to host symposium on "The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II: The Massacre of Nanjing" honoring Illinois Alumnae Minnie Vautrin and Iris Chang
As acting president of Ginling College, Minnie Vautrin (Illinois class of 1912) sheltered more than 10,000 Chinese women from rape and deadly violence during the Nanjing Massacre. The Program in Arms Control & Domestic and International Security (ACDIS) at Illinois will host a symposium recalling the history of the Sino-Japanese war and honoring Vautrin. The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II: The Massacre of Nanjing will be held on December 16, 2017, at the Levis Faculty Center, Room 300, 919 West Illinois Street, Urbana.
Written by Matthias Grosse Perdekamp
Minnie Vautrin Statue at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Museum in Nanjing, China. Vautrin is a native of Secor, Illinois and a U of I alumna, class of 1912, who saved more than 10,000 girls and woman during the Nanjing Massacre from December 1937 to February 1938. The statue shows Vautrin protecting Chinese civilians who are displayed on the relief in the back. In Nanjing Minnie Vautrin is known as the 'Goddess of Mercy for Women and Children in Nanjing.' Location: Nanjing Massacre Memorial Museum in Nanjing, China. Photo by: Matthias Grosse Perdekamp, July 28, 2017As acting president of Ginling College, Minnie Vautrin (Illinois class of 1912) sheltered more than 10,000 Chinese women from rape and deadly violence during the Nanjing Massacre. The Program in Arms Control & Domestic and International Security (ACDIS) at Illinois will host a symposium recalling the history of the Sino-Japanese war and honoring Vautrin. The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II: The Massacre of Nanjing will be held on December 16, 2017, at the Levis Faculty Center, Room 300, 919 West Illinois Street, Urbana.
On the 80th anniversary of the fall of Nanjing (Nanking), the symposium will recall the mass atrocities committed in the then Chinese capital by the Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War, through the journal entries of Illinois alumna Minnie Vautrin and the book “The Rape of Nanking” by alumna Iris Chang (Illinois class of 1989). The speakers include scholarly experts on the massacre as well as the parents of Iris Chang.
“The symposium will portray two outstanding alumnae who have profoundly touched the lives of many through their undeterred courage in face of adversity,” says ACDIS director Cliff Singer. “Vautrin and Chang are superb examples for our students, staff, and faculty at Illinois. It is inspiring and humbling to learn from them how much just one individual upholding her values can do for others.”
Matthias Grosse Perdekamp, ACDIS faculty and symposium chair notes, “Minnie Vautrin saved more than 10,000 girls and women and very well might be the leading humanitarian to graduate from Illinois since its inception in 1867. Iris Chang is the courageous journalist who triggered the contemporary discussion of the long-ignored mass atrocities during the Sino-Japanese War. This process seems very important for reaching reconciliation and lasting peace in East Asia.”
The symposium is free and open to the public. The program details, travel information, and digital copies of Minnie Vautrin’s diary may be found on the symposium website: http://go.illinois.edu/Nanjing.
Madeline Stover is a physics doctoral student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign studying atmospheric dynamics applied to forest conservation. She interns as a science writer for Illinois Physics, where she also co-hosts the podcast Emergence along with fellow physics graduate student Mari Cieszynski. When Stover is not doing research or communications, she enjoys hosting her local radio show, singing with her band, and cooking with friends.
Daniel Inafuku graduated from Illinois Physics with a PhD and now works as a science writer. At Illinois, he conducted scientific research in mathematical biology and mathematical physics. In addition to his research interests, Daniel is a science video media creator.
Karmela Padavic-Callaghan, Ph. D. is a science writer and an educator. She teaches college and high school physics and mathematics courses, and her writing has been published in popular science outlets such as WIRED, Scientific American, Physics World, and New Scientist. She earned a Ph. D. in Physics from UIUC in 2019 and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Jamie Hendrickson is a writer and content creator in higher education communications. They earned their M.A. in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2021. In addition to their communications work, they are a published area studies scholar and Russian-to-English translator.
Garrett R. Williams is an Illinois Physics Ph.D. Candidate and science writer. He has been recognized as the winner of the 2020 APS History of Physics Essay Competition and as a finalist in the 2021 AAAS Science and Human Rights Essay Competition. He was also an invited author in the 2021 #BlackinPhysics Week series published by Physics Today and Physics World.
Karmela Padavic-Callaghan, Ph. D. is a science writer and an educator. She teaches college and high school physics and mathematics courses, and her writing has been published in popular science outlets such as WIRED, Scientific American, Physics World, and New Scientist. She earned a Ph. D. in Physics from UIUC in 2019 and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.