Documents for 60,000 people written just before returning to Siberia Detention Stored in Russia

Documents for 60,000 people written just before returning to Siberia Stored in Russia October 3, 6:19

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It was found that a large amount of documents, which are estimated to be about 60,000 people, written by Japanese detained in Siberia immediately after the end of the war just before returning to Japan, are stored in Russia.

The content of the document is often something that praises the Soviet Union at that time, and experts point out that the Soviet side was asked to write it with the aim of expanding anti-American forces in anticipation of the Cold War with the United States.

This document was found at the National Archives of Japan in Moscow, the capital of Russia, and is estimated to account for about 60,000 Japanese detained in Siberia shortly after the end of the war.

It is believed that the detainees wrote it from 1946 to 1950 at the camp in Nakhodka, Far East, where they were temporarily gathered before returning to Japan, and each one contains a summary of the detainee's life as an "impression statement". It is spelled out on paper.

Many praise Soviet socialism, such as "there was no racism in Soviet society" or "it was a valuable experience that I will never forget".

At that time, the Soviet Union was said to have thoroughly educated the detained Japanese about the significance of the socialist system and anti-American ideas, and it seems that this document was also written as part of that.

Regarding the aim of the Soviet side, Takeshi Tomita, an emeritus professor at Seikei University, who is familiar with the detention of Siberia, said, "At that time, the Cold War was a cold war, and the Soviet Union wanted to have Japan on their side. The main purpose was to increase the number of people who were professors, "he said, pointing out that the Soviet side had the aim of expanding anti-American forces in Japan as much as possible in anticipation of the Cold War with the United States.

Former detainee

Among the large number of documents found this time was Yoshiho Ishiwatari (99), who lives in Tokyo.

Mr. Ishiwatari went to Manchuria as a soldier of the former Japanese army in 1945, and immediately after the end of World War II, he was taken prisoner of the Soviet army and taken to the Russian Far East.

In the harsh cold, I spent four years enduring hunger and being forced to work hard, such as cutting trees and chopping trees.

However, when he was asked by a Russian pharmacist in a camp named Garyan on a snowstorm day to deliver firewood and coal, the "impressions" that were said to have been written as a summary of his detention life before returning. , The episode was written that he was invited to a warm room and served bread and sweets.

On top of that, "It is a world that cannot be a capitalist or fascist nation. It is a beautiful scene that only the socialist nation and the Soviet Union can do without ethnic discrimination," the content praising the Soviet Union is written.

Mr. Ishiwatari, who saw the "impression statement" written more than 70 years ago, said, "There was certainly a person named Garyan. I remember it well. I'm a fat person," although I wasn't sure if it was my character. He is a solid person. I am sure that he was invited to feast on rice, "he recalled.

Regarding the content of praising Soviet socialism, he said, "I've heard many times that if I become an activist, I can go home sooner," after revealing that I had often received ideological education during detention. He said he didn't sympathize with socialism just because he wanted an early return.

The document was written in the camp of Nakhodka

The document found this time was written in a camp in Nakhodka, a port town in the Russian Far East facing the Sea of ​​Japan.

Nakhodka serves as a relay point for Japanese detained in Siberia to return to Japan, and of the 600,000 detainees who are said to have returned to Japan, most of those who were able to return to Japan return to Japan on a salvage boat departing from Nakhodka. did.

In Nakhodka, in addition to the camp for forced labor, there was a camp that was set up as a relay point when returning, but now those buildings are not left and the Japanese detainees who died in the camp A memorial monument for the purpose is maintained on the hill.

Valerie Chernikov, 79, who lives in the area where the camp was located, remembers the appearance of a Japanese detainee in Nakhodka in 1950, when the repatriation took place.

The detainee said that he was working on the construction work at the harbor, saying, "I remember when some Japanese people carried heavy stones. I was saying,'It's okay.

'" I was talking.

Some of the Japanese detainees that they had some people who speak Russian, asked whether Mr. Cherunikofu does not give me the bread and potatoes, "my mother, some people give me the craft in place.

Kind I was impressed. "

Expert "Soviet also wanted to have Japan on their side"

Takeshi Tomita, an emeritus professor at Seikei University, who is familiar with Siberian detention, said that before the detainees returned to Japan, the Soviet Union wrote a document praising socialism, etc. "The Cold War at that time, the Soviet Union also sided with Japan. I wanted to support the Communist Party when I returned to Japan and increase the number of anti-American or pro-Soviet people in Japan. This is the main purpose. "The Soviet side said that it was anti-American in anticipation of the Cold War with the United States. It is analyzed that there was an aim to expand the power of the Soviet Union as much as possible.

However, as for the true meaning of the detainees' praise for the Soviet Union, since it was written just before returning to Japan, "If you do not write this, you will be delayed in returning, and if you make extra resistance, you will return. It also worked to calculate that it would be postponed, "he said, noting that he was not necessarily devoted to socialism as the Soviet Union expected.

Also, in the document, "When I was actually having a hard time, there were some people who had some help from Russians and some people were treated for injuries, and I wrote a feeling of gratitude for that. In some cases, the average age of former detainees was 97, making it extremely difficult to investigate the situation at that time, and the document found this time describes the state of mind of detainees at that time. It is said to be useful material for understanding.