What is this project?
This project explores how the wartime experiences of children in Asia—especially those in Nanjing during World War II—are remembered and represented through digital storytelling.
Using onsite field visits, museum exhibits, oral histories, and survivor interviews, it centers stories of children who were displaced, silenced, or subjected to wartime violence, including sexual slavery under the Comfort Women system.
The project supports ALPHA Education’s Living History Hope & Peace (LHHP) digital museum and aims to preserve memory through accessible, youth-oriented visual storytelling.
Why this project?
The reason behind the research
Children are often viewed as bystanders in war, but in reality, they endure some of its most lasting and traumatic consequences. Their stories are too often silenced in official histories.
I chose Nanjing not only because it was the site of one of the most devastating civilian atrocities of World War II but also because the suffering of Chinese children remains underrepresented in global narratives, particularly in Western education.
As an educator, I believe that teaching history through the lens of childhood trauma and resilience can foster empathy and inspire deeper conversations about justice, peace, and collective memory. As a historian, I believe it is essential to uncover these silenced histories and present them in ways that resonate with youth today. Museums such as the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre provide powerful sources of testimony, memory, and archival evidence. These resources help fill the gap through digital storytelling.
By highlighting children’s experiences during WWII, this project aims to restore dignity to their stories and create youth-accessible digital tools that support historical understanding.
Galleries
Site Research from the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders
