-
That place had been a
pretty big secret...
-
If any unauthorized Japanese aircraft,
or any military, was to fly over the area...
-
...its' pilot was immediately brought
back to Earth and shot without a trial.
-
At least, such incidents took place in
the documents I had a chance to see.
-
I was born in Harbin,
or rather, in the suburbs...
-
...where the steamboats
were repaired.
-
I was at a suburban school until I moved
into town in the fifth year of my studies.
-
I finished the seventh grade and went
to "4th middle high school"...
-
...as the Japanese
used to call it.
-
I was 8 when the Japanese
came to Harbin in 1931.
-
All I can recall is a Japanese
soldier treating me to sweets.
-
That's all I remember!
-
What changed after that?
All the Chinese warriors ran away...
-
It only took two Japanese divisions
to take over Manchuria...
-
China had millions of soldiers...
-
...all of whom dropped their weapons,
changed out of uniform and vanished.
-
The Japanese put everything
in order, at least in Harbin.
-
All the street crime just stopped.
They were very good at that!
-
The collected all the scum and sent
them off to strengthen the defense lines.
-
None of them
came back alive.
-
These things were known
to happen in Manchuria.
-
With the fortification work complete, they
were simply shot so word didn't spread.
-
The Japanese were familiar with cremation.
The corpses were burned, and that was it.
-
We met some Chinese prisoners around 1943,
or 44, I don't remember the exact date...
-
We were shown the so-called
"sacrificial works"...
-
They were to build a mountain
road to the Amur River.
-
We weren't far and would go out a few times
to look at the other river bank, the Soviet side.
-
Next to us, the Chinese were
working on another construction site...
-
Obviously, after the construction,
they didn't go anywhere.
-
After finishing middle school,
I studied...
-
...at the electrical mechanics faculty
at North Manchurian University.
-
There were two faculties there,
the other was economics.
-
I spent half the year studying there,
was given a grant and studied another year...
-
When I finished that, I saw
an advertisement saying:
-
"Russian students wanted to
enroll in the Medical University."
-
As you must understand, being
a doctor abroad is a decent living.
-
If I became an engineer, my
employment wouldn't be guaranteed...
as I doctor I need not worry about it.
-
Naturally, everyone rushed over...
-
While there were plenty of candidates,
only four were admitted. Including myself.
-
I'd always liked sports, ever since
my years at the gymnasium.
-
I didn't train regularly.
I didn't have the time.
-
I just participated once in a while,
and little by little, became the
Harbin champion at the age of 16.
-
There was no match
for me in town.
-
They called it 'Kamu Butai',
"Wild Geese Squadron".
-
It was a square building with a two
story prison inside, 4 stories in all.
-
The prison entrance
was underground.
-
Around the camp was an electric fence,
and the second, outer zone was
under constant military watch.
-
You had to keep quiet about Soviet citizens
and emigrants sympathetic to them...
-
It was very serious, so it was
essential to watch your tongue.
-
Chinese and Russian people would
come to town and then suddenly vanish...
-
You could report it to the police,
but it was no use...
-
The police had no
idea where they were.
-
They were quietly brought to the
unit area and taken underground...
-
A square construction, with
a two level prison inside...
-
Four stories high,
with an underground entrance...
-
If someone was finished, either
dead or of no further experimental use...
-
...they were disposed of
in the crematorium.
-
There's something I
should tell you...
-
Then they gathered the contaminated
rats, they were already dead...
-
But they still had to
remove the fleas somehow.
-
They couldn't just sit there
picking them with tweezers...
-
So they projected bright lights at them,
leaving a dark hole for the fleas to escape into.
-
And all the fleas would run
straight into the trap.
-
The trap would shut, and they
could then attach it to an airplane...
-
...finally releasing them
at the necessary place.
-
They discovered that they could only
drop a flea from a height of 250 meters.
-
If it was dropped from 300 meters,
it would die on impact.
-
So when they started an operation
against the Chinese military...
-
...the plane would fly high under darkness,
gain speed and then quickly lower itself
over the target area.
-
When they went back to their hangers,
they were met by groups...
-
...wearing protective suits
with special disinfectants.
-
If just one or two fleas were left,
an epidemic would break out in Harbin.
-
There were no epidemics because
the operation was so well planned.
-
And proof of their success?
-
A Chinese microbiologist questioned the origins
of contaminated fleas, as there were no
epidemics among rodents.
-
This newspaper was delivered to Unit 731,
and General Ishii was so proud of the article
he gathered all of his officers...
-
...so he could show it to them.
It all went very well for them.
-
The officers I met at the time of their
capture and trial didn't look like monsters.
-
They were officers
who obeyed their orders.
-
They knew no other way,
commit harakiri or keep working!
-
But to say that makes them monsters?
Of course, they'll say anything on TV...
-
Since ancient times, prostitution
has flourished in China.
-
You could arrive at any Chinese
village, and for the right price...
-
...could have an innocent
girl brought right to you.
-
There were Chinese brothels you could catch
all sorts of diseases from, like syphilis...
-
...but in decent Chinese brothels,
they celebrated the 'Flower Holiday'.
-
Regular clients would participate in a
lottery to decide who'd have the newest girl.
-
In pre-war Japan, parents would send
daughters to brothers, to earn their keep.
-
We bumped into Unit 731 once,
because my friend lived in Old Harbin.
-
About 25-30 meters away was a
beautiful wood, with lots of things to offer.
-
We went mushroom picking there.
-
My mother sometimes went and got plenty,
so we decided to go there ourselves.
-
As we went deeper into the woods,
someone yelled at us - STOP!
-
We did. It wasn't a good idea
to mess around with the military...
-
Another step and there
would be a gunshot.
-
A member of the patrol approached us,
asking: "Why have you come here? "
-
Being medical students,
we already knew Japanese.
-
We explained, showing him the
mushrooms we'd already picked.
-
naturally he was surprised:
"Why are you speaking Japanese? "
-
We said we were students
of Harbin University.
-
"Oh, I see... well, you're not allowed here.
Go back, and don't let us see you here again!"
-
We said: "Yes sir!",
turned around and left.
-
We didn't have the faintest idea
who and what they were.
-
It was only later on that
I remembered this incident.
