Blanket Fort Radio Theater presents "The Undaunted Women of Nanking: The Wartime Diaries of Minnie Vautrin and Tsen Shui-fang" from SIU Press. In the first episode we learn about Illinois native Minnie Vautrin and Tsen Shui-fang as they provide shelter to thousands of women and children in the aftermath of the 1937 Japanese occupation of Nanking, China.
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Former abductees return to the city, bringing stories of their treatment at the hands of Japanese soldiers and their harrowing escapes. Minnie Vautrin continues her efforts to locate the missing families of refugee women, who have continued to return home despite conditions remaining unsafe. -
Vautrin and Tsen survey the horrific conditions of the city and campus, and Minnie worries about vendors selling looted goods in the safety zone. Refugees plan to celebrate the approaching Lunar New Year, andmore mail arrives.
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In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, more arrangements are made for when the refugees will be ordered to return to their homes. Church services continue. Minnie still awaits mail from home as she and Mrs. Tsen prepare for New Year celebrations.
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Vautrin and Tsen prepare, against their wishes, to send refugees away from Ginling. Tsen laments the women’s malnutrition, while Vautrin, witnessing continued attacks by Japanese soldiers, wonders what can be done to protect the women after they leave.
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This week on Blanket Fort Radio Theater's production of "The Undaunted Women of Nanking," on the date refugees are ordered to leave Ginling, Minnie, though ill, oversees their departure while Tsen continues her work to acquire more medicine, and to document the births and deaths in the camp.
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Efforts to return to normalcy abound, Vautrin and Tsen find it difficult to reckon with their trauma. The beauty of the coming spring clashes with accounts of ongoing brutality. Meanwhile, the women hear rumors of Chinese nationalist troops approaching Nanking.
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Vautrin oversees the coming and going of refugees, some of whom have returned to Ginling after being assaulted in their homes by Japanese soldiers. Tsen focuses on logistical work, documenting the stockpile of food and the recent births and deaths in the camp.
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Continued good weather and the arrival of mail and food from Shanghai lift the women’s spirits. However, the bombing and looting continues, and Tsen Shui-fang surveys the destruction in the southern part of Nanking. Meanwhile, Minnie visits a prison and collects more stories.
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With the arrival of spring, the women must confront the problem of waste disposal at Ginling in order to avoid the spread of disease. As Vautrin and Tsen say goodbye to a beloved foreign humanitarian, they recall the initial occupation of Nanking and discuss their hope for future projects at the College.
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Efforts to dissolve the safety zone and its protections begin, and the closure of other camps brings a new influx of refugees to Ginling. Increased sanitary measures are instituted to help prevent the spread of disease. Meanwhile, Minnie Vautrin tracks the aircraft activity overhead.
