Pawnshop owner Evan Kail stumbled across what he believes are authentic photos of the Nanjing (formerly Nanking) Massacre while searching through a photo album he was asked to sell for a client.
Kail, whose shop is in Minnesota, documented the discovery for his large TikTok following last September, and the video garnered millions of views and likes.
A client had asked him to try to sell the book, which "had been in their family for years," he said.
In the video, Kail shows less graphic photos from the album — which he believes belonged to a soldier stationed in Southeast Asia at the time — while explaining that the book then takes a gruesome turn.
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"This is the most disturbing thing I've ever seen in my career, and I desperately need your guys' help," Kail, owner of St. Louis Park Gold & Silver, said, seeking experts to authenticate the find.
The Nanjing Massacre began in December 1937 during the Sino-Japanese War that preceded World War II and lasted for six weeks. The Japanese Imperial Army murdered and brutalized an estimated 40,000 to 300,000 Chinese civilians.
"Somehow, that guy who took those photos was present for the Rape of Nanking," Kail said. "He took about 30 photographs that are unknown to history, that are worse than anything I've seen on the internet."
The album also features memorabilia from a Leslie Guy Allen Jr. — a US Navy sailor, the items suggest — who Kail believes is the man who took the photos.
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Kail, who studied Japanese in college, says that many photos of the gruesome event were destroyed by the Japanese, and there are "very, very few photos" out there.
"I have no idea what (the photo album) is worth. It's probably very, very expensive," Kail said. "The simple fact is, a museum needs to take them."
In an update video, Kail let his followers know that he was trying to track down an expert in Minnesota to help determine the value of the photo album. His goal is for the content of the entire album to be preserved and shared with the world.
"We've agreed that a museum is the only one getting this," Kail says. "I don't care how rich you are."
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He has spoken to the Chinese government about the book, but doesn't want to "start an international incident" or make the photos about politics.
Kail didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, but tweeted that the book had been moved offsite and wasn't available for public viewing.
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