Frenchmen hand over Japanese invasion archives to Yunnan museum

The Yunnan handover came two days after Zhong handed over a separate collection of historical materials to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing in Jiangsu province on Saturday. Zhong had brought about 20 kilograms of primary sources collected from Japan. The materials include paintings created by Japanese military artists, photo albums from Japanese soldiers, and publications from the period.

"I want to share the truth of history with the world and safeguard the fragile seeds of peace today," Zhong said.

The three men's work draws on historical evidence recovered from different countries: Ratat provided French diplomatic records, Detrez preserved wartime photographs kept by his family, and Zhong obtained original Japanese records. Together, they believe, the materials provide a broad spectrum of perspectives on China's wartime experience.

"We will never allow the painful history of Japan's invasion of China to be erased," Ratat said. "These archives are powerful evidence for preserving that history."