IMAGES: http://imgur.com/a/wTa4J
I've been watching the documentary series "The World at War" it has been really cool so far but it got to an episode about the rise of Japan and included footage I assume filmed during the attack on Nanking China as that was what was being talked about in the episode at the time. Anyway, there is a shot that pans across grieving Chinese widows/ mothers etc and there are two men wearing uniforms that include swastikas.
My question is: What are these uniforms?
I thought maybe they were a school uniform of some sort at first since I know the swastika had been used widely in Asia but they look very militaristic in nature and one is seen holding a flag. Anyone able to find out what they are wearing?
I've never seen those uniforms before, but they're almost certainly members of the Red Swastika Society, a Chinese charitable organization modeled on the Red Cross that was founded in 1922. They were heavily involved in refugee relief during the Second Sino-Japanese War and had a controversial record of collaboration with the Japanese. They were very active in Nanjing, both before and after the Japanese occupied the city.