When you think of WWII, do D-Day and Pearl Harbor come to mind? 💥 Most Western history books spotlight Europe's battles, but the war actually began in Asia years earlier – with China bearing unimaginable losses.
The War Before the War
While Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, Chinese forces had already been fighting Japan’s invasion since 1931. By 1945, 35 million Chinese military personnel and civilians lost their lives resisting occupation – a staggering number rarely mentioned in global classrooms.
Why the Silence?
CGTN’s Li Jingjing and U.S. creator Cyrus Janssen recently broke down this historical blind spot. "Western media and education systems center their own narratives," Janssen noted, while Li emphasized: "Understanding Asia’s WWII trauma is key to decoding modern geopolitics."
Bridging the Memory Gap
This isn’t just about history books 📚 – it shapes how we view today’s China-Japan relations, Asian diaspora identities, and even pop culture references like Oppenheimer’s focus on the Pacific War’s end.
Next time someone mentions WWII, ask: Whose stories are missing? 🤔 The answer might change how you see the world.
