The Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre on Monday accepted a donation of 20 items, including combat dispatches, letters and newspapers, adding more proof that Japanese soldiers committed unspeakable atrocities in the east China city in 1938.

The donation was made at the Nanjing International Peace Forum by 41-year-old Daito Satoshi, abbot of the Kyoto-based Enkoji Temple.

"These donations are very precious and provide new evidence of Japanese brutality in Nanjing," said Zhu Chengshan, head of the memorial hall, one of China's largest and most influential museums focused on the Anti-Japanese War (1937-1945).

Zhu identified the nine original combat dispatches as the most valuable donation.

The reports detailed how the 18th division of the Japanese army attacked and captured the city, and included records of the ensuing massacre, said Zhu.

"Though we also have some battlefield reports collected in our hall, all of them are duplicates," Zhu said. "Confronted with these materials, I think Japanese right-wingers cannot deny history."

Another important donation was a postcard sent by a soldier with the Matsushima Troop to his family.

The postcard was sent on Jan. 26, 1938, with a photo of Nanjing under Japanese occupation.

"The Matsushima Troop was the main force of the Nanjing Massacre, and this postcard is crucial proof to illustrate this point," Zhu said.

A chessboard named "Japanese peaceful competition", designed as a Japanese children's game, was also among the donations.

The chessboard shows a map of many Chinese cities. The players put flags on the cities and announced their occupation, said donor Daito Satoshi.

"The chessboard demonstrates the Japanese government's military indoctrinations of their children at that time," said the abbot, who collected evidence of Japanese war crimes in China and made several previous donations to the hall.

The Nanjing Massacre saw Japanese invaders in December of 1937 begin a killing spree that would result in the murder of at least 300,000 civilians and disarmed soldiers in the city. Japanese soldiers often held killing contests with prizes given to the one who could murder the most civilians.

Even though there is already abundant proof, right-wing holocaust deniers in Japan continue to question the massacre and the numbers of people that were murdered in Nanjing.

The memorial hall was opened to the public in 1985, with the aim of "revealing the truth to the world." Over the past 20 years, it has received 13.97 million visitors home and abroad.

Currently, the 2.2-hectare memorial hall is being renovated and expanded to cover 7.4 hectares. It will reopen on Dec. 13 next year, the day of the year the Nanjing Massacre is commemorated, said Zhu.

"There will be a display of documents, pictures and items showcasing the contributions the Kuomintang made during the eight-year anti-Japanese war," the curator said.

China has more than 150 museums dedicating to preserving the memory of those who died and suffered during the Anti-Japanese War.

Source: Xinhua