来自法国的26岁小伙马库斯·德雷特斯是一名教师，2021年的一天，他在整理家中车库时，翻阅到一堆尘封的相片，记录着他外祖父上世纪30年代在上海平静而丰富的生活，但其中一张照片突然将他拉到了战争带来的创伤之中。
Frenchman Marcus Detrez was leafing through an album of photos depicting his grandfather's fulfilling life in Shanghai in the 1930s when a picture thrust him into appalling moments of war.
照片中一位平民躺在地上，头部完全被炸飞。这与其他照片中记录的上海自然风光和熙熙攘攘的街景形成了强烈的对比。
A sharp contrast to scenes of tranquil lakes and bustling food stalls on the streetside, the photograph shows a civilian, whose head has been completely blown off, lying on the ground.
无意间的发现让这位法国年轻人踏上了一段探究历史真相的历程，这段历史记录了日本侵华战争时期的暴行和当地人民的顽强抵抗。
The chance discovery made in the garage of his family home in 2021 put the 26-year-old on a truth-seeking journey that potentially offered further evidence of the wartime atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers during China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), as well as the resilience of local residents — which is all documented in a collection of 622 photographs.
经过与亲友的商议，马库斯决定亲自将总共622张照片无偿捐献给中国。他和帮助他的两位朋友，士杰和松松已于周六抵达北京，周二晚抵达上海。目前，照片鉴定和捐献的流程正在推进中。
Detrez, accompanied by two friends, arrived in Beijing on Saturday to donate the photos to China. They arrived in Shanghai late on Tuesday, where they also plan to see venues shown in the pictures. The identification work of the photos and donation procedures are underway.
离开北京前，他们三人在中国日报接受了采访。
“看到战争中的可怕照片，那些尸体和轰炸的场景，我感到非常震惊。我妈妈后来告诉了我关于我祖父的故事，他在上海的生活、他历经的磨难，以及日本侵华和他目睹到的战争罪行。” 马库斯说到。
'I was very shocked when seeing the horrible pictures of the war with corpses and bombings. My mom told me the story of my grandfather, his life in Shanghai, his struggles, the Japanese invasion and the war crimes he witnessed,' Detrez said during an interview with China Daily on Tuesday.
马库斯还利用空闲时间研究这件事，了解更多关于他祖父在上海作为一个商人和历史见证者的经历。
Detrez has spent his spare time researching the topic and attempting to learn more about his grandfather's experiences in Shanghai as a business owner and a witness of and fighter against the brutalities of war.
据悉，马库斯2021年在车库里发现的第一批照片总共约有170张。去年12月，他和家人挖掘出了另外数百张相关照片。
The first group of pictures uncovered by Detrez in the garage totaled about 170. In December, he and his family members found hundreds more related pictures.
“我们一直在讨论该怎么处理这些照片，最终决定将它们捐赠给中国。”他说。
'We've been discussing what we should do with these pictures, and finally we decided to donate them to China,' he said.
这些照片现在存放在一个老式的手提公文包中——这正是他的祖父几十年前从中国回来时使用的那个。在中国期间，马库斯和他的朋友们随身携带这个公文包。
The pictures are now stored in a leather, handheld briefcase — the same one that his grandfather used when traveling back from China many decades ago.
当他打开公文包、戴着手套整理这些存放在防水袋或信封中的照片时，马库斯显得非常平静。
As he opened the suitcase and sorted through the pictures in waterproof covers and envelopes, Detrez appeared unfazed by some of the graphic, bloody images.
但他说，自从发现这些照片以来，他已经度过了许多个彻夜难眠的夜晚，他的家族长辈多年来也一直被这段记忆所困扰。
But he said he has had many sleepless nights since finding these pictures, and his senior family members have been traumatized for many years by the memories.
“我们一直背负着沉重的（情感）负担。” 帮助马库斯的两位朋友中的法国人士杰说。
'We've been carrying a heavy (emotional) burden,' said Bastien Ratat, one of Detrez's friends assisting with the donation.
让他们坚持推进捐献和鉴定工作的动力，是很多人尚未完全认识历史的真相。
But they have persisted, driven by a desire to spread awareness about the truth of a part of history that they believe is not fully understood by the world.
士杰说，在法国和世界上许多地方，中国抗日战争被称为“中日战争”。
Ratat, who is also from France, explained that in his home country and many parts of the world, China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression is known as the 'Sino-Japanese war'.
“这有很大的区别，因为这是一场中国人遭受攻击并进行抵抗和自卫的战争。”他说。“马库斯的祖父，一个在上海的外国人，在那个时候需要坚强地保护他的家人和朋友，其中包括一些中国朋友。”
'There is a big difference because it was a war where the Chinese people were under attack, and resisted and defended themselves,' he said. 'For Detrez's grandfather, a foreigner in Shanghai, his world had suddenly changed and he had to be resilient to protect his family and his friends, including Chinese friends.'
尽管看这些照片会令人痛苦，马库斯强调，直面和反思历史事件是很重要的。
Despite the fact that looking at these pictures is a painful experience, Detrez said it is important to confront and reflect on such historical events.
“作为人类，我们犯了一些错误，我们应该从中学到教训。”他说。“我希望我们只是讲述真相，并激励未来的一代。如果不说真相，甚至否认真相，我们会陷入更多的混乱。”
'As human beings, we have made some mistakes, and we should make sure that we learn from that,' he said. 'I hope that we can tell the truth and inspire the future generations. If we don't tell the truth, if we deny the truth, we just go into a big war.'
结束在中国的旅行后，本职是语言教师的马库斯表示，他计划在法国成立一个协会，进一步提高人们对日本侵华暴行的认识，并促进中法人民之间的友谊。
After finishing his trip in China, Detrez, a language teacher, said he plans to establish an association in France to promote awareness about the wartime atrocities Japanese soldiers committed in China and foster people-to-people friendship between China and France.
他们也正计划出版相关书籍和科普材料、与中西方机构合作进行研究来保证完整真实地重现这段历史。
They also plan to write a book, develop other educational materials, and collaborate with institutions in different countries for research purposes to provide a more comprehensive account of history.
来自中国的松松是另外一位帮助马库斯的朋友。他表示，他们正在推动的关于捐赠、照片鉴定的行动以及未来的计划都是为了从公益角度去告诉世界历史的真实情况，绝不从中获取商业利益。
