Rape of Manila

In memoriam of the 100,000 civilians who perished during the Battle of Manila of February 3, 1945 – March 3, 1945

In 1945, Filipinos suffered their greatest loss in the Battle of Manila. 

A memoriam to this tragic turning point of our country, the innocent lives lost, the culture and heritage that vanished. Lest we forget.

Exactly 75 years ago, this would have been a sight of Manila. After a whole month of combat from the Americans and Japanese... we were caught in their crossfire, and a metaphorical one too. We suffered from a fight that was not ours.

Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of the people that lived through this horror: Imagine that all that mattered to you disappeared in a flash. The very things that defined your national pride, your city and your being is now all but a questionable blur. Your beloved city is gone, your loved ones may have also perished. The entire business district razed, many left homeless, and worse, dead bodies scattered... the stench stands as overwhelming as your starvation. We suffer in a present where we don’t know what tomorrow will be, for the only yesterday we remember is the traumatic immediate one. We lost our past: the heritage that reminded us of who we are, and the legacy of our ancestors through the architecture and the people that lost their lives. This defining moment, where our future will turn our sophistication to savagery.

We, Filipinos, are very forgiving, but we’re also very quick in forgetting. For years, we’ve dismissed our elders’ traumas to insensitive jokes about “sa panahon ng hapon”, or not valuing the remaining architectural remnants we’ve had— thinking they’re old-fashioned or haunted. We, Filipinos, ultimately lost our national treasure from what happened 75 years ago, and the more we walk away from that, the more we will feel lost about who we truly are.

Refugees from Walled City of Manila, 1945 ©️University of Wisconsin