After the end of World War II, the 600,000 Japanese Kwantung Army embarked on a journey back to China in the northeast, but when they opened the train door, they were so frightened that they wept bitterly! It turned out that these trains did not send them to the port to return to China by boat, but came to the icy and snowy Siberia, where they were greeted by a group of Soviet soldiers with loaded guns.
On August 15, 1945, with Japan's unconditional surrender, 600,000 Japanese Kwantung Army soldiers in northeastern China were ecstatic, believing that the war was finally over and they could embark on the road back to their homeland and regain their homeland.
However, the cruel fate did not spare the vanquished, and a tragic fact was soon revealed - they were about to continue to experience 10 years of slavery and despair in a foreign land.
When the news of the defeat came, the Japanese command quickly issued an order to retreat to the troops.
The soldiers excitedly packed their belongings and went to the nearest station to board a special train bound for Japan.
Although the fact of defeat and the signing of the surrender were a huge mental blow to them, the joy of being able to return to their families soon drowned out these negativity.
"I can finally go home!" a young soldier in the carriage sighed softly, his eyes shining with hope.
"I can't wait to see my family and return to my homeland. The comrade-in-arms next to him echoed.
The soldiers chatted excitedly and discussed their plans for returning home.
However, the train, which was supposed to be bound for Japan, was suddenly diverted to the north in the middle of the road, pointing directly in the direction of Siberia.
The soldiers tapped on the windows of the car in horror, only to find that the lock on the outside of the car door had been dropped, and they could not see the scenery outside the car.
At this moment, a soldier caught a glimpse through the crack in the window of a small stop sign with the name of Siberia written on it!
The door was slammed open, and the oncoming cold and armed Soviet soldiers caused everyone in the carriage to cry out in despair and stumble to the ground.
Only then did they realize that they had been trapped in this icy and snowy land and would never see their homeland again! After arriving in Siberia, 600,000 Japanese troops were quickly concentrated in temporary barracks, and Soviet soldiers were closely guarded for fear of escape.
The next day, it is rumored that the commander-in-chief personally issued an order: "Count them as trophies, and make full use of these labor resources as soon as possible to carry out national construction." So, in the bitter cold of minus 50 degrees, hordes of Japanese soldiers were forced to strip down to their underwear so that the Soviet women could mark them, rate them, and then assign them to different high-intensity labor jobs.
The Japanese soldiers were all ashamed, but they could not resist in the slightest, and could only fall victim to the victorious country.
After being classified into three or six or nine grades according to their physical fitness, most of the prisoners of war were assigned to arduous front-line construction sites, where they worked like cattle and horses under the supervision of Soviet soldiers.
The living conditions here were extremely harsh, and many prisoners of war were on the verge of collapse due to the harsh conditions and intense labor.
From time to time, some people collapsed due to physical exhaustion, but the guards simply shouted indifferently: "Get him out of the way, the mission will continue as usual!" Day after day, under the combined pressure of overwork and harsh conditions, a large number of prisoners of war died of disease, overwork, or starvation.
They yearn for the coming of death as a way to escape the endless torment.
And those who managed to escape could not escape the brutal execution, and their bones were eaten by wild beasts.
Among them, a soldier named Tanaka was assigned to a timber processing plant, where he chopped firewood in the snow and ice every day and transported it to the factory.
As a result of chronic malnutrition, his body is becoming emaciated.
He suddenly remembered that in a small town in northeastern China, the local residents brought them hot meals and smiled kindly.
And now, the wind is biting, and all he can get is a merciless whipping.
Ten years later, under international pressure, the Soviet Union finally agreed to repatriate the remaining tens of thousands of Japanese prisoners of war.
The first "survivors" should have been relieved when they returned to Japan, but they soon faced disregard from state institutions and social stigmatization.
Not only did the government give no financial support, but the road home was extremely difficult.
The families of many prisoners of war outright refused to let them go home, and they had to live a lowly life on the streets.
It didn't take long for reports of suicides of returning POWs.
They can't bear such a comparison, and they understand that the country has abandoned their "shame".
The tens of thousands of remaining "survivors" live the lives of people on the margins of society, becoming a huge stain on the collective memory.
All have forgotten them, consciously or unconsciously, never understanding the living hell they experienced in Siberia.
Among them, Tanaka also returned to Japan.
He found it difficult to fit in with today's social life, and all kinds of memories of the past lingered.
He began to write about his own experiences in China and Siberia, hoping to use his personal experience to awaken people to reflect on the cruelty of war and the meaning of cherishing peace.
"I will never forget those days, they have become a brand on my psyche. Tanaka wrote, "I hope that through my story, more people will understand the deep damage that war has caused to ordinary people, so that they can cherish the hard-won peaceful life today." ”
References: 1. "The History of Japanese Prisoners of War in the Soviet Union after World War II" - A Review of East Asian History 2. "The History of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and Japanese Prisoners of War" - Modern Asian Studies
