World War II in Asia began earlier—and was far darker.
When did World War II really begin in the Pacific? According to historian Jenny Chan, the answer isn’t 1941 and Pearl Harbor. It’s 1931—and the consequences reshaped Asia long before Europe went to war.
In this powerful and unflinching episode of History Rage, Paul Bavill is joined by Jenny Chan, historian, author, and co-founder of Pacific Atrocities Education, to expose the forgotten atrocities of the Second World War in Asia. From the Mukden Incident and the invasion of Manchuria to the Rape of Nanjing and the horrors of Unit 731, this episode confronts the systemic violence that began a decade before Pearl Harbor—and challenges the Western narrative of WWII.
Jenny argues that framing the Pacific War as starting in 1941 erases millions of Asian victims. Japan’s occupation of Manchuria in 1931 marked the beginning of large-scale imperial expansion, biological warfare experimentation, forced labour, and state-sponsored sexual slavery. The brutality of the Nanjing Massacre in 1937 shocked even foreign observers. Meanwhile, Unit 731 conducted human experimentation on an industrial scale—research later shielded from prosecution in exchange for scientific data.
This episode explores:
Jenny also explains how Cold War politics reshaped justice in Asia, why some alleged war criminals returned to positions of power, and how unresolved trauma still shapes East Asian geopolitics today.
This is essential listening for anyone interested in World War II history, Pacific War history, Japanese imperialism, war crimes, or the global consequences of empire.
About Jenny Chan
Jenny Chan is a historian, author, and co-founder of Pacific Atrocities Education, a non-profit organisation dedicated to documenting and preserving the history of WWII in Asia.
Her book:
Maruta: Unit 731, Human Experimentation, and the Forgotten Asian Auschwitz
Buy: https://amzn.eu/d/01w9DEyv
She is also the creator of the YouTube channel Pacific Front Untold, featuring survivor testimonies and archival research.
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World War II did not begin with Pearl Harbor. It did not end cleanly in 1945. And for millions across Asia, its wounds never truly closed.
Listen now and rethink everything you thought you knew about the Pacific War.
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