I had never heard of the Chinese hatred for Japanese. I knew that Chinese people hate to be mistaken for Japanese but here in Daqing it has become blazingly clear the reason for such abhorrence. I traveled to the government sponsored museum located just south of Haerbin. It is the sight of the infamous (as I have now learned) Japanese Unit 731 station. It was once known as the worlds leading medical research centre. It was externally known as the "Water Treatment Facility" but inside one of the worlds worst wartime atrocities was taking place. This Japanese run facility studied the effects of a diversity of pathogens, diseases, and torture on the human body. As well it was the leading research site on germ warfare. All test subjects were innocent civilians most of which were local Chinese villagers.
My trip to this museum was frightening. Auschwitz terminated a larger number of people but Unit 731 did far worse things. Far worse.
I have done some more research on-line and would think it best for only the strong to watch the following Youtube video (search line: Unit 731 Japanese Torture & Human Medical Experiments). This search line will bring you to an awful account of what took place in this part of China between 1937 and 1942. It is harsh but the 19 minutes it takes to watch it will change your view of what the Japanese were like.
I traveled to this museum and took a few pictures but did not think to take a picture of the crematorium chimneys that stand ambiguously far from the main building. I found a picture on line that resembles what I saw and also added a wartime photo of the full facility. The long narrow building to the left of the square shaped central facility is what still stands today.
My trip to this museum was frightening. Auschwitz terminated a larger number of people but Unit 731 did far worse things. Far worse.
I have done some more research on-line and would think it best for only the strong to watch the following Youtube video (search line: Unit 731 Japanese Torture & Human Medical Experiments). This search line will bring you to an awful account of what took place in this part of China between 1937 and 1942. It is harsh but the 19 minutes it takes to watch it will change your view of what the Japanese were like.
I traveled to this museum and took a few pictures but did not think to take a picture of the crematorium chimneys that stand ambiguously far from the main building. I found a picture on line that resembles what I saw and also added a wartime photo of the full facility. The long narrow building to the left of the square shaped central facility is what still stands today.
As well I have added an interesting picture of a Japanese monk who visited the memorial that is deep inside the thick, brick walls of the main entrance of what was once the sprawling Unit 731 facility. Also, I have added here a picture of one of the only Japanese Unit 731 workers who testified in China's defence about the atrocities that took place. I added these two pictures to remind us that apologies can be made and that the world is not what it was then.
No formal apology or compensation has even been given to the Chinese people.
This museum has appealed to UNESCO to be designated a World Heritage Site. I searched to see if it received this status but could not successfully find out if it had.
This museum has appealed to UNESCO to be designated a World Heritage Site. I searched to see if it received this status but could not successfully find out if it had.
"This is not just a concern for China. This a concern for humanity." the museum curator
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