The Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School established in Yan'an during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression

Stepping through the brilliant long sky of history, looking at the dappled streamers of light in the starlight, the wind and frost of a thousand years, how many heroes and legends have been frozen, the long line of heaven and earth that runs through ancient and modern times, connecting the initial power of life, bringing surprise to people, bringing people memories, the vast picture of history, is the spiritual heaven that never grows old!

During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, a Japanese workers' and peasants' school was set up in Yan'an, the capital of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. It was a special school where students were Japanese prisoners of war and surrendered Japanese soldiers. So why did the Party Central Committee set up such a school? What is life like for these trainees in Yan'an? What about their fate?

The leader of the Japanese Communist Party became the principal of the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School

After the Battle of Pingxingguan in 1937, more and more Japanese officers and soldiers were captured on the battlefield of our army. The Jizhong Military Region captured more than 60 Japanese troops in three years from 1938 onwards; the Eighth Route Army captured 281 Japanese troops in the Hundred Regiments Battle from 1940 to 1941; and the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army captured more than 100 Japanese troops in the Battle of Tianjiahui in 1942. During the eight-year War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army captured a total of 7,118 Japanese officers and men, of which the Eighth Route Army captured 5,096 Japanese troops and the New Fourth Army captured 2,022 Japanese troops.

On October 25, 1937, Zhu De, commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army, and Peng Dehuai, deputy commander-in-chief, issued six orders for dealing with prisoners: First, do not kill enemy prisoners and give preferential treatment to prisoners; second, do not take prisoners' property, but only military supplies should be confiscated; third, treat the wounded soldiers of the enemy army; fourth, if possible, release the prisoners and give them travel expenses; fifth, those who are willing to serve in our troops should be given appropriate work; and sixth, do not interfere with the religious beliefs of the prisoners. These six orders pointed out the basic spirit of the Party's policy of captivity during the War of Resistance Against Japan. After that, the Central Military Commission issued the "Instruction of the Central Military Commission on the Discipline of Capturing the Enemy and The Pseudo-Enemy," the Secretariat of the Central Committee issued the "Instruction of the Central Committee on the Work of Disintegrating the Enemy Army," and the General Political Department of the Eighth Route Army issued the "Instruction of the Political Department on the Work of Capturing Japanese Prisoners," which constantly improved and developed the policy of our party and our army toward prisoners.

Under the guidance of the Party's captive policy, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army carried out a lot of political propaganda work against the enemy on the front line, and the number of Japanese prisoners gradually increased, reaching more than 1,800 by May 1941. Except for some of these prisoners of war who were released or transferred to the United Front Work Department of the Kuomintang, most of them remained in the Eighth Route Army. Although they came to the Eighth Route Army, under the long-term poison of Japanese militarism, their thinking was still very stubborn and reactionary, and they still continued to stand on the position of being enemies of the Chinese people, and they urgently needed to be educated and reformed. However, because most of the Japanese prisoners were scattered among the units on the front line of the Eighth Route Army, they lacked a relatively stable environment for transformation. The enemy workers of the Eighth Route Army are relatively insufficient, their work is relatively heavy, and they are unable to do their best. At the same time, there were many reformed Japanese soldiers in the Eighth Route Army, most of whom joined the anti-war organization of the Japanese in China. Although these Japanese soldiers have undergone initial reform, on the whole, their political ideology and theoretical level are not very high, and they do not meet the needs of anti-war work. They repeatedly made demands to the Eighth Route Army, hoping for an opportunity to re-learn.

Just as our army was constantly capturing Japanese officers and men, a Japanese Communist named Nosaka Sanzo came to Yan'an. Nosaka, one of the founders and leaders of the Japanese Communist Party, was arrested several times for leading the anti-war movement at home. After his release from prison, Nozaka was appointed representative of the Japanese Communist Party to the Comintern. In March 1940, Nozaka gave up his privileged life in the Comintern and came to Yan'an from Moscow. In Yan'an, Nozaka Sangzo assumed the pseudonym "Lin Zhe" and changed his Japanese name to "Okano Jin", which was not restored until the end of World War II. In April 1945, the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Yan'an, and Nozaka Wassan was invited to attend as a representative of the Japanese Communist Party and spoke at the congress. In his speech entitled "Building a Democratic Japan," he expounded the firm stand of the Japanese Communist Party against militarism. During the congress, the Liberation Daily also published woodcuts of him with Mao Zedong and Zhu De.

After Nozaka came to Yan'an, he changed his name to "Okano Jin" and discussed with the leaders of the CPC Central Committee and the Enemy Work Department of the General Political Department the issue of the education and management of Japanese prisoners of war, and personally talked to the anti-war progressive elements among the Japanese prisoners in Yan'an to learn about the education of the prisoners. He said: "Those Japanese workers and peasants who have left the Japanese army, laid down their arms and taken off their uniforms are nothing more than victims of the imperialist war, and as long as their class consciousness is awakened and they realize the nature of the war of aggression, sooner or later they will become anti-war peace fighters." After more than half a year of investigation and research, in October 1940, Noizaka wrote a letter to Mao Zedong, suggesting that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China set up a special school in Yan'an to educate and reform Japanese prisoners of war.

This proposal is completely consistent with the thinking of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Mao Zedong attached great importance to this and personally named the school "Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School". The Yan'an Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School is a regular political school founded by the CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission, and the specific work is under the leadership of the General Political Department of the Eighth Route Army. Wang Jiaxiang, director of the General Political Department, Tan Zheng, deputy director of the General Political Department, and Wang Xuewen, minister of hostilities, directly participated in the leadership work.

The school is located at the foot of the famous Yan'an Pagoda Mountain, adjacent to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border District Government, the Marxist-Leninist College, the Nationalities College, the Xinhua News Agency, the Liberation Daily Newspaper, and the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, with a total of 16 cave dwellings and a small bungalow. Including the principal and the cook, the total staff is only about 20 people. The principal of the Workers' and Peasants' School was Nozaka Sanzo, and Zhao Anbo, chief of the Enemy Engineering Section of the Political Department of the 359th Brigade of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army, was appointed as the vice president, in charge of administration and academic affairs. After April 1943, Li Chuli, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry of the General Political Enemy, was concurrently appointed as vice president. Wang Xuewen, He Sijing, Li Chuli, Liao Tiren, and Jiang Youru served as teachers in various classes. Among the faculty members, with the exception of Nosaka Sanzo, all of them are Chinese who have studied in Japan and are proficient in Japanese. The school lasted for about 5 years from the official opening of the school on May 15, 1941 to the end of the victory of the War of Resistance, initially with only 11 students, and by August 1945 the number of students had increased to more than 300.

The road to new life

The Japanese army invading China was an extremely brutal and barbaric army, and most of the Japanese prisoners of war who were released after being captured by our army were killed or sentenced after returning home. Not only that, but the Japanese army also brutally persecuted their families at home. In view of this, the Japanese prisoners of war were generally more worried, and it was difficult to turn a corner in their thinking. Most of them believed that it was their shame to be a prisoner of the Eighth Route Army, and it was disgraceful to even tire their families. A captive named Masamune Otani described his feelings as a prisoner this way: "My outlook on life has become so dark that I feel that my life is over, and I can't go back to my hometown!" What would happen if the family knew that I had been captured... I was completely changed, and every day I seemed to wander in the boundless darkness. "Some prisoners of war looked for opportunities to commit suicide and escape, and some even had the dangerous idea of engaging in intelligence and assassination in the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army, and in another form of loyalty to the emperor.

Japanese prisoner of war Takashi Kagawa later wrote that after he was captured, a responsible cadre of the Communist Enemy's Work Department told him: "As a prisoner of the Eighth Route Army, if the Japanese army knows about it, it will affect your family in Japan, and now you must immediately change your name." Most of the Japanese prisoners of war were grateful for this thoughtful arrangement, and soon psychologically narrowed the distance with the Eighth Route Army. The school hit the iron while it was hot and immediately launched a series of work to stabilize the heart. First, an admissions meeting was held to welcome Japanese prisoners of war to study at the school; the next was to publish a list of regulations prohibiting injury or insulting prisoners of war, strictly prohibiting the confiscation or damage of prisoners' personal belongings, giving special care and appropriate medical treatment to wounded and sick prisoners of war; and finally, through heart-to-heart talks, we could understand the situation, relieve their mental tension one by one, and eliminate their psychological hostility. Takashi Kagawa said with emotion: "At that time, the main factor that prompted our emotional and emotional changes was the honest and cordial attitude of our contact with the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army. If you rely on reason alone, it will cause disgust. Takashi Kagawa's words also fully reflected the general psychology of Japanese prisoners of war at that time. With sincere practical actions, the commanders and fighters of the Eighth Route Army gradually opened the knots in the hearts of Japanese prisoners of war.

The students of the school were mainly Japanese soldiers and junior officers captured from the battlefield by the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, as well as Japanese soldiers who surrendered to the influence of our political offensive and captivity policy. The yan'an military and civilians welcomed them to Come to Yan'an, and they were all smiling at each other. The words and deeds of the officers and men of the Eighth Route Army and the fish and water situation between them and the common people caused a strong shock in the hearts of the captured Japanese troops. During the hospitalization of Toshio Watanabe, who was captured for his wounds in the Battle of the Hundred Regiments, he was deeply touched by the meticulous care he received. He later recalled: "In August 1940, during the Battle of the Hundred Regiments, most of our squadron was annihilated in northwestern Jin. The rest of us were wounded and taken prisoner. I thought at the time that being a prisoner was the greatest shame for Japanese soldiers. Day and night, I feared that the Eighth Route Army would use extremely cruel means to execute us. At that time, I was extremely depressed mentally. In the hospital, in the same ward as me was a soldier from the 120th Division. He ignored his own pain and took good care of me. I had dysentery, and he helped me go to the toilet, helped me pour the toilet, took my pants with poop to the river to wash them... Soon, the 120th Division decided to send me to Yan'an Hospital for treatment. In the past, I was ensigned to leave home, and I didn't shed tears when I left my mother and brother. But this time, when I was separated from the wounded of the Eighth Route Army, I couldn't help but shed tears. When I arrived in Yan'an, I was escorted to The Willow Shop, seven or eight kilometers east of the city, and entered the Bethune International Peace Hospital. Doctors, nurses, and the masses helped me in every way. Here I met another comrade of the Eighth Route Army, and gradually I became a regular visitor to his ward, smoking and talking with him. One day, when I learned that he was going to Yan'an City, I asked him to bring some yellow sauce. He said yes. Later, when I heard that he was actually a brigade commander of the Eighth Route Army, I panicked and rushed to apologize. The brigade commander tapped me on the shoulder and said kindly, 'Nothing, that's what I should have done.' The Eighth Route Army was different from the Japanese army. After recovering from my illness, I asked to study at the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School. ”

Our army also gave special preferential treatment to the material life of Japanese prisoners of war. In September 1941, the General Political Department specially promulgated the "Regulations on the Preferential Treatment of Japanese Prisoners", which stipulated: The standard of food expenses for Japanese prisoners of war is twice as high as that of the officers and men of our army; meetings and meals are held on New Year's Day and anniversaries; grain supply organs should allocate as much white noodles and rice as possible; clothing, quilts, shoes, and socks should be given priority according to needs. At that time, the student allowance of the Japanese school in Yan'an was 3 yuan per month, which was equivalent to the subsidy standard for the division-level cadres of the Eighth Route Army. At that time, Mao Zedong and Zhu De's subsidies were only 5 yuan, and soldiers were 1 yuan. The students of the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School implement a supply system, with 15 kilograms of rice, 15 kilograms of flour, 3 kilograms of pork, and 30 kilograms of vegetables per person per month. At that time, the living conditions of the Eighth Route Army were very difficult, and cadres and fighters mainly ate millet, black beans and other miscellaneous grains, and sometimes they had to rely on wild vegetables to fill their hunger without grain. The Japanese prisoners of war were supplied with rice and white noodles as much as possible, and they tried to get some chicken, fish and pork. Under normal circumstances, there is rice and white noodles for two meals a day, and sometimes some fruits and sugar are bought for them. Take care of the Habits of Japanese people as much as possible, one serving per person.

At the beginning of 1941, the government of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region faced serious material difficulties due to the intensification of the japanese attack on the Japanese base areas and the blockade of the Kuomintang opposition. Nevertheless, the Government of the Border Region still regarded the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School as the first type of supply unit, providing the required goods as much as possible. In order to overcome difficulties, the military and the people of the border areas launched a large-scale production campaign. The shortage of materials gradually improved, and the food of the trainees also improved, the staple food was changed from millet to white noodles, two meat dishes a day, rice and wine once a week. The cadets who had just come from the Japanese army could not help but sigh when they saw this situation: "The food over there is so bad that we can't eat enough." Like the food here, don't say eat over there, you can't even see it. A student named Tanigawa wrote an essay called "In the Cafeteria" that was posted in the campus poster: "The dining table is full of Japanese and Chinese dishes. As soon as the squad leader gave the order, everyone began to move. My chopsticks first reached into the chicken vegetarian grill, and I took a bite and couldn't help but say out loud: 'Beautiful, this is the best dish in the world.' At other tables, someone said, 'We are so happy!' In Japan, life is getting worse and worse every day, and our life here is getting better and better every day. ’”

A Japanese prisoner of war became a senator in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region

According to the statistics of 69 students of the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School on May 15, 1944, 15.9% were farmers, 13.1% were clerks, 7.2% were clerks, 5.8% were merchants, 56.5% were workers, and 1.5% were fishermen. From the perspective of educational level, there are 10 people with secondary school level, 3 people who have graduated from college or graduated from college, 9 people who have graduated from junior high school, and 49 people who have a high level.

The school first conducts a one-month rigorous review of the students' admission to see whether they are willing to enroll and whether they have the qualifications for admission. Those who pass the examination are enrolled in the preparatory department for two months and then transferred to undergraduate studies for 10 months. From the autumn of 1943, according to the differences in the age, experience, education level and political level of the trainees, the trainees were divided into three groups of A, B and C, and the teaching was carried out according to their aptitudes to improve the quality of education.

The courses offered by the school include Japan Issues, Current Affairs Issues, Political Knowledge, Political Economy, Philosophy, History of Social Development, China Issues, and United Communist Party (Brazzaville) Party History. In addition, the school also has a Japanese training class to improve the Japanese proficiency of some students with lower education levels. The duration of study is 1 year, and there are also extensions to 2 years.

The school adopts a variety of teaching methods. In view of the fact that the trainees have been educated in Japanese militarism for a long time, the school adopts different forms of education methods, and offers courses such as political knowledge, political economy, and social development history. The seminars took the form of "Monday Seminars," "Various Groups of Seminars," and "Book Clubs," especially the weekly "Monday Seminars" with the largest scale and a wide range of issues discussed, involving "The Inside Story of the Japanese Army," "Comparisons between the Eighth Route Army and the Japanese Army," "What the Japanese Fascists Brought to the People," why the Japanese Military and Chaebols Wanted to Start This War and Whose Benefits It Was, and the "Twenty-Five Thousand Mile Long March" Report Meeting, the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Commemorative Meeting of the Japanese "Rice Riots, and" May 1 "Labor Day Commemoration Meeting and other activities. The Japanese comrades of the school set up the "Yan'an Branch of the Japanese Anti-War Alliance in China," participated in the "Congress of Japanese Soldiers in North China" and the "Congress of Japanese Anti-War Groups in North China," and held a "Symposium on Atrocities of the Japanese Army" to expose the beastly behavior of the Japanese army that they had witnessed.

The school also pays attention to teaching and learning to serve the long-term needs of the Japanese Revolution. In teaching practice, the school proceeded from the long-term goal of the post-war Japanese revolution and the construction of a democratic new Japan, and in teaching courses such as "The Japanese Question" and "Current Affairs and Politics", combined with the historical significance and lessons of the proletarian revolutionary movements in various countries, especially in the Soviet Union, China, Japan and other countries, encouraged them not only to be anti-war warriors but also to be the vanguard of the Japanese proletarian revolution in the future. On June 23, 1942, Mori Ken, Takayama Jin and other trainees, with the encouragement and support of the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School, openly established the "Japanese Communist League in China" and undertook the task of "training and training communist fighters" in China.

Through study and participation in various activities, the trainees gained basic concepts about class, class struggle, imperialism and fascism, the laws of social development, and a completely new understanding of the nature of the war. When they first entered the school, they were still full of the concept of "holy war", and after a period of time, they sincerely called out: "The Chinese and Japanese people unite to drive the Japanese army out of China." He asked "to go to the front line and be with the Eighth Route Army." They said, "We've come out of the darkness. A practitioner said: "In order to fight a war, the Japanese government has encountered economic difficulties at home, and has implemented a ration of supplies to the people, and even cannot eat meat." Trick us into coming to China to fight, saying that China's scenery is good, and going to China is equivalent to free travel. In China, there is war everywhere, and there is a danger of being wiped out by the Eighth Route Army at any time. "They demanded to live like the students of Yan'an School, exempted from preferential treatment, and also came to participate in the large-scale production movement and build their own schools."

The school also fully respects the personality of the trainees politically and gives them full trust. In November 1941, the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region held a senate election in accordance with the principle of "three three systems". In accordance with the principle of democratic government building under the "three-three system," the Border Region Senate will elect a senator from eight constituencies, including the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School, the Eighth Route Army's School for Enemy Cadres, the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, and the Lu Xun Art Institute. The Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School and the Enemy's Cadre School jointly recommended Mori Ken, a student of the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School, as a candidate for the two schools.

According to campaign rules, the candidate's speech time is 20 minutes. Considering that Sen Ken's speech needed to be translated, he was allowed 40 minutes. At the election meeting, Mori gave a briefing on the anti-war struggle of the Japanese in China. After Sen Ken's speech, the audience applauded warmly. He was finally elected to the Second Senate of the Border Region. Subsequently, Shizuo Koji, a student at the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School, was elected to the Yan'an City Council. It caused a great response among the trainees. They shall be directly involved in the work of democratic governments and shall have the right to supervise and impeach the government officials at all levels of the border areas and to exercise their democratic rights fully. Seven people, including Yoshishū Akiyama, Shigeta Ejun, Hideyoshi Tsuda, Naka Honbashi, Hatsumi Koga, Yoshijiro Sakata, and Isamu Goto, were also elected as senators of the Senate of their base areas and participated in the deliberation and administration of the anti-Japanese democratic government. On July 1, 1944, the New York Times commented that the Japanese prisoners of war here were not held in concentration camps, and that the Communists had convinced them that to help the Eighth Route Army was to help Japan free from the burdens of warlordism and war.

By the end of 1941, with the success of prisoner-of-war rehabilitation, the school had entrusted its activities to a small number of outstanding cadets. At the beginning of 1943, except for economic work, all school affairs of the school were undertaken by those of cadet origin. In 1942, Shizuo Koji and Mitsumi Oyama were appointed as the chief and deputy education officers. In 1943, Mori Ken was promoted to director of education, Takayama was appointed education officer, Shizuo Koji was in charge of administration, and Maeda Mitsuhiro was in charge of political work. This method of making full use of the enthusiasm of the reformed captives to educate the new captives has achieved very good results in practice. This approach can be said to be the result of the further sublimation of the Chinese Communist Party's policy toward Japanese prisoners, and it can also be said to be a kind of creation.

Mao Zedong watched a performance by a Japanese prisoner of war

Japanese workers' and peasants' schools do not set up high walls and guard posts, do not engage in verbal abuse and corporal punishment, but adopt democratic and autonomous management methods. The trainees themselves elected representatives to manage the in-house work and organize learning, production and various cultural and sports activities. The school also pays great attention to the after-school life of the students, and has set up a student theater troupe to hold sports days once a week and hold volleyball, baseball, chess matches, etc. from time to time to enrich the students' cultural and sports activities and other social activities. The trainees' self-rehearsed and self-performed dramas such as "Outpost" and "Shimada Shangjun" were well received by people in Yan'an.

In the winter of 1944, the drama "Shimada Shangjun" was first performed in the auditorium of the Government of Yan'an Border Region. This drama was performed by the Lu Xun Art Institute in Yan'an as an artistic director and the Yan'an Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School as a collective. The script was to the effect that the Japanese soldiers made legitimate demands on their superiors, the squadron leader, but they were not granted. So the soldiers killed the squadron leader and defected to the Eighth Route Army... The wonderful plot, like the burning pot charcoal fire in the auditorium, drives away the cold of the harsh winter. Bursts of applause and applause erupted from the audience. In the midst of cheers, the whole play reaches its climax.

Mao Zedong and other leaders of the party, government, and army in the border areas watched the performance. They, like the rest of the audience, were drawn to the development of the plot. Zhao Anbo, vice principal of the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School, who sat next to Mao Zedong, explained: "These actors are all Japanese students in our school. The actor who plays the protagonist, Shimada Ueto, is named Taro Yoshida. He spoke the best Chinese of all the Japanese students. When he was captured by us in Shanxi in July 1938, he stabbed himself in the throat. Well, the scar on his neck was left at that time. The one who wears myopic glasses and plays the role of a Japanese squadron leader is Terufumi Umeda. He was captured by us during the Battle of the Hundred Regiments in August 1940. When rehearsing this play and assigning roles, the Japanese cadets were reluctant to play the negative role of the Japanese squadron leader, and they all felt that this role was disgraceful..."

Mao Zedong interjected and asked, "How was this problem solved later?" Without waiting for Zhao Anbo to answer, Mao Zedong said to himself: "You must use the method of hard apportionment!" Zhao Anbo said: "Later we did some work, saying that from an artistic point of view, his image is in line with the role. He reluctantly agreed. However, when playing the scene of beating the soldier, he could not get his hands on it, and it was only after repeated inspiration from the instructor sent by Lu Xun Art Academy that the effect was achieved. After the performance, Mao Zedong highly praised: "This play is very good, the content is very rich, and the actors' acting skills are also good." "After the play was staged, it received a good response, and the original three-day repertoire was later performed for a month.

From "Japanese Devils" to "Japanese Eight Roads"

The cadets of the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School are not only an important force in the struggle against the war of aggression and the disintegration of the Japanese army, but also the defenders of the lives and property of the people in the border areas.

When the Japanese soldier Maeda Mitsufushi (formerly known as Kazuo Sugimoto) was first captured, he was full of fear and suspicion of the Eighth Route Army and had always wanted to commit suicide. The cadres of the Eighth Route Army patiently did his ideological work, giving him preferential treatment in life while pointing out his erroneous views on many issues. Gradually, Maeda Mitsuhiro's thoughts began to waver. He finally chose the path of life, no longer worried about whether he was dead or alive. Later, through further study, he began to reflect on the war and decided to stand on the side of the Chinese people and oppose this barbaric war. On January 2, 1939, at a New Year's Day rally held by the Eighth Route Army's Front Line Command, Maeda Mitsuhiro and two other Japanese prisoners, Takeo Kobayashi and Yoshio Okada, suddenly stepped onto the stage and announced on the spot that they would join the Eighth Route Army. Zhu De, commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army, was deeply moved at that time and went up to the stage to shake hands with them tightly. Zhu De shook Maeda Mitsuhiro's hand and said warmly: "On behalf of the whole army, I sincerely welcome three Japanese young people to join our army and become glorious soldiers of the Eighth Route Army!" This proves that our policy is correct, that there are three people today, and soon there will be dozens, hundreds..."

Zhu De approved their request, making them the first "Japanese Eight Roads". More than twenty years later, Maeda Mitsuharu recalled: "The three of us who were determined to join the Eighth Route Army did not expect to be personally welcomed by Commander-in-Chief Zhu De. The scene of that day often appeared in front of my eyes, and it was truly unforgettable. After getting to know Jude, Maeda often saw him playing basketball with the fighters on the playground. Sometimes, Jude would shout at Maeda Mitsuhiro, who was standing outside the court: "Hey, boy, come here, play for a while, come on!" At first, Maeda Felt Constrained because it was unthinkable in the Japanese military. But then he got used to it.

In November 1939, Maeda Mitsuhiro mobilized seven other Japanese Eighth Route Army fighters to form the "Japanese Soldiers Awakening Alliance". It was the first anti-war organization of the Japanese in China. After the establishment of the alliance, Zhu De specially congratulated them. Since then, it has grown to 13 branches and 223 people across China. In 1940, the Japanese army began a frenzied sweep of North China. In late October, the Battle of Guanjia'an began, and the fighting was very fierce. At this time, Maeda Mitsuhiro's task was to shout propaganda to the Japanese army. In the Battle of Guanjia'an, the Eighth Route Army fought bravely and almost completely annihilated the Japanese army, including Maeda's credit.

In August 1942, under the guidance of the leader of the Japanese Communist Party, Nozaka Sanzo, the Japanese anti-war groups in China held the "Congress of Japanese Soldiers" and the "All-China Anti-War Congress" in Yan'an, merging the "Awakening Alliance" and the "Anti-War Alliance" to form the "North China Federation of the Japanese Anti-War Alliance", with Maeda Mitsushibu being elected as the president of the federation and Ken Mori and Toshio Matsui as vice presidents. Since then, the Japanese anti-war groups scattered in various anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines in North China have had unified leadership and a clear program, and the anti-war activities of the Japanese people in China have entered a new stage of development. Soon, Maeda Mitsuhiro was ordered to work in Yan'an. Before leaving, Luo Ruiqing, director of the Field Political Department of the Eighth Route Army, gave him a trip. Recalling this experience, Maeda Mitsuhiro said: "In the early summer of 1942, I was ordered to go to the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School in Yan'an to help Okano Jin (Nosaka Sanzo) work. Before leaving, Director Luo (Ruiqing) also set up a special farewell banquet to entertain me, and Zuo Quan's chief of staff also attended the farewell party. The fact that a Japanese soldier of the Eighth Route Army was personally given a banquet by the commander was something I will never forget in my lifetime. Director Luo said to me: 'Yan'an is a holy land of revolution, and not everyone has the opportunity to study in Yan'an, so we must cherish this opportunity and study and work well, and in the near future, we will definitely be reunited again." In Yan'an, Maeda Mitsuhiro served as a teacher and political officer at the Yan'an Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School. Maeda Mitsuhiro spun threads in front of the Yan'an cave dwellings, opened up deserts on Pagoda Mountain, and bathed in the water of the Yan river. He later lamented heartily: "It was an unforgettable time. In 1984, Maeda Mitsuhiro published his memoir, The Japanese Soldiers of the Eighth Route Army, a true reflection of his experiences in China. The book records that in September 1945, Maeda Mitsuhiro and others led 250 Japanese workers and peasants school cadets from Yan'an and traveled thousands of miles to the northeast to help the repatriation of the Kwantung Army and Japanese expatriates. Later, Maeda Mitsuhiro helped the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army persuade the instructors, technicians, and pilots of the former Japanese Aviation Coach Team to join the newly established Tohoku Aviation School, and served as the school's political instructor to train the first generation of pilots in New China.

On August 15, 1942, the cadets of the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School spontaneously organized themselves and formed the Japanese Border Region Self-Defense Force to join the ranks of the battle to defend the border area. They issued an oath to firmly participate in the Border Region Self-Defense Army: "The people of Yan'an are our second mother, and the Border Region is our second hometown." We do not want the enemy to step into our second homeland to ravage an inch of our mother's land, and we want to shed the last drop of blood to defend the border areas. Not only that, but some prisoners of war officially joined the Chinese Communist Party. After they arrived at the front line, they did anti-war work of the Japanese army while fighting, secretly established anti-war groups in the Japanese army, and distributed anti-war leaflets.

After graduation, the trainees rushed to various anti-Japanese base areas to carry out struggle against the enemy. Zhao Anbo, vice president of the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School, once summarized the working methods of the trainees: First, printing and distributing leaflets. Propagate anti-war ideology and reflect the contradictions between officers and men; second, shout in front of the front. Briefing on the course of the war, publicizing our military's policies, and encouraging the Japanese army to surrender; The use of the enemy's telephone network to carry out work against the enemy is both effective and safe, and it is also possible to listen to the internal situation of the enemy army; Exchange gifts with each other first, and then exchange letters to influence them; fifth, hang carp flags. In Japan, it is customary to celebrate Boys' Day on May 5, when carp flags with slogans such as "No slaps" and "Give enough food" are hung near enemy bunkers.

These cadets did play a unique role on the battlefield. They are familiar with the internal situation of the Japanese army, understand its language, customs, habits and mentality, as well as the old relationships of classmates, compatriots and friends, and the hostility of Japanese soldiers to them is relatively small, so they can carry out highly targeted propaganda and disintegration work, and play a role that ordinary Eighth Route Army soldiers cannot play or are difficult to play. The leaders of the Eighth Route Army gave high praise to their work against the enemy. Zhu De said: "The Japanese Kou are most afraid of two things in North China: one is the Japanese anti-war alliance, and the other is the Korean Youth Anti-Japanese Volunteer Brigade. ”

With the development of the anti-War situation, the number of Japanese workers' and peasants' schools and their students also increased. Shanxi, Shandong, and the central anti-Japanese base areas in China have also set up branch schools. Throughout the War of Resistance Against Japan, thousands of students were trained in various Japanese workers' and peasants' schools. The Japanese workers' and peasants' schools and their activities aroused extreme hatred and panic among the Japanese aggressors, who at first blocked the news, but later they really could not hide it, and they scolded the trainees as "traitors" and "greedy for life and afraid of death," and also sent spies to infiltrate them. However, to their disappointment and even surprise, most of the spies who were sent to the past also began to be infected as soon as they came into contact with the Eighth Route Army, voluntarily confessed their true identities, and eventually joined the ranks of opposing Japanese imperialism.

Facts have proved that most Japanese soldiers who come from the families of working people, after laying down their arms and after correct inspiration and guidance, are able to wake up and return to the position of the working people. In order to oppose the common enemy of the Chinese and Japanese peoples, Japanese imperialism, they even sacrificed their own lives. Hiroshi Kaneno, who graduated from the Shandong branch, was arrested in 1944. In the face of the enemy's interrogation and torture, he was not afraid, and solemnly declared more than once: "As long as I do not die, I will still return to the Eighth Route Army!" "Finally the enemy killed him. In the martyrs' cemetery in Ganyu County, Jiangsu Province (where Hiroshi Kaneno was arrested that year), a 4.5-meter-high grenade-shaped boulder monument was erected with the inscription "Monument to Comrade Hiroshi Kaneno, a friend of japan." The monument erected today in front of the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School on Pagoda Hill in Yan'an shows that a total of 36 members of the Japanese Anti-War Alliance in China died during the War of Resistance.

The Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School in Yan'an opened the eyes of the US military observation group

After the news of the establishment of the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School in Yan'an by the CPC Central Committee and the Eighth Route Army, it caused a sensation in the mountain city of Chongqing, shook the Kuomintang, and also attracted the attention of the Allies.

Yan'an Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School welcomes people from all walks of life, especially American friends, to visit the school in order to establish a good reputation as a Japanese workers' and peasants' school. In June and July 1944, members of the Northwest Observer Group of Chinese and foreign journalists visited the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School in Yan'an.

The United States, which was also at war with Japan at that time, was very nervous about how to deal with Japanese prisoners, and was very interested in hearing that the Eighth Route Army had a set of effective methods. In August 1944, the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School performed a large-scale anti-war drama "Shimada Shangjun". After reading this, Colonel Bao Ruide, head of the US military observation group in Yan'an, said: "The Japanese anti-war organization has provided us with effective help for our work in Yan'an. ”

On October 21, 1944, American diplomat Emerson and Japanese-American Ariyoshi Koji flew to Yan'an to examine the propaganda principles and techniques of the Eighth Route Army, especially the way of educating Japanese prisoners, as a reference for the Treatment of Japanese Prisoners by U.S. Troops in the Pacific Theater. They stayed in Yan'an for nearly two months, and they could enter and exit the Yan'an Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School at will, and the students they came into contact with were all laughing and laughing, which was a world of difference compared with the shackled and numb Japanese prisoners they saw in Chongqing. They are very interested in this.

On November 21, 1944, all members of the U.S. Military Observation Group stationed in Yan'an visited the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School. Afterwards, Emerson summed up: "The reasons for the change in the thinking of the students of the workers' and peasants' schools are as follows: First, they found that the Eighth Route Army did not kill prisoners and did not mistreat prisoners; second, after meeting the Japanese who turned to the enemy, they were psychologically shocked; third, the eighth route army's preferential treatment; fourth, they began to contact the outside news, and they were inspired by it, and they saw that Japan might fail and that there might be a different government than before; and finally, the education of the workers' and peasants' schools was the decisive factor that contributed to their transformation. ”

In July 1945, huang Yanpei, a well-known democrat, and others came to Yan'an to visit the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School. Like others who came to visit, they spoke highly of the chinese Communist Party's captivity policy with the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army, and the achievements of the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School.

Japanese prisoners of war became propagators of the "Yan'an spirit"

On August 15, 1945, Japan announced its unconditional surrender. When the news came, Yan'an was boiling, and everywhere there were the sounds of celebration: "Japan has surrendered" and "We have won." The students of the Workers' and Peasants' School spontaneously flocked to the playground, raised torches, beat gongs and drums, hugged each other, shouted slogans, and the scene was exciting and enthusiastic. On August 16, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Eighth Route Army, and Nozaka Sanzo agreed to allow the cadets of the Workers' and Peasants' School to return to Japan. On August 30, in the Wangjiaping Auditorium, all walks of life in Yan'an held a farewell meeting for the students of the Workers' and Peasants' School. Ye Jianying, chief of staff of the Eighth Route Army, and many Party, government, and military cadres in Yan'an, as well as international friends, attended the meeting. On behalf of the CPC Central Committee, the Eighth Route Army, and the Chinese people, Ye Jianying expressed his deep condolences to the Japanese fighters who died in the anti-war struggle, and hoped that a democratic Japan and a democratic China would unite to create a peaceful and democratic new Asia. At the farewell party, President Nosaka Sangzo spoke on behalf of the Japanese students.

On September 10, Nosaka Andozo and Ken Mori and other Japanese comrades returned to Japan by US military plane. Before the trip, Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, Ren Bishi, and others held a farewell banquet for Nozaka Sansan and others. On September 18, all the students of the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School passed through North China and Northeast China, took the Korean Peninsula, and returned to Japan safely in February 1946. After returning home, almost all of the trainees became active members of the cause of Japan-China friendship. They also used their own personal experience to write articles and books exposing and accusing the suffering and disasters brought by Japanese militarism to the Chinese people, praising and praising the "Yan'an Spirit" and our army's correct and wise captivity policy. This has caused a good and widespread impact on Japanese society.

In 1958, Maeda Mitsuhiro, a political instructor at the Tohoku Aviation School, returned to Japan. After the normalization of sino-Japanese relations in 1972, he returned to Yan'an twice, each time full of joy and tears. In August 2005, he came to China to participate in the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Maeda Mitsuhiro told Chinese reporters that the Eighth Route Army is an army unparalleled in the world, and once it joins, it will be touched by his style and will never leave again. Joining the Eighth Route Army was the wisest decision of his life. In his lifetime, he will continue to tell young people in China and Japan about his special life.

The Yan'an Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School is a new type of prisoner-of-war school pioneered by the Eighth Route Army under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, which not only won an anti-war force, consolidated and expanded the international revolutionary united front, but also trained a group of revolutionary cadres who fought for the cause of the liberation of the Japanese people. It educated and transformed a large number of stubborn prisoners of war, who had been deeply educated by the enslavement of the Japanese fascists, into strong revolutionary fighters, which is unique not only in the history of war in all countries in the world, but also in the history of the international communist movement. Although the Japanese Workers' and Peasants' School has only been 5 years from its birth to the completion of its historical mission, it is a great pioneering and brilliant practice of the Communist Party of China and the army and people under its leadership in the War of Resistance Against Japan, a miracle in the history of world wars, and has far-reaching influence and significance.

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