Marutas of Unit 731: Human Experimentation of the Forgotten Asian Auschwitz

Euphemistically labeled as the "Water Supply and Prophylaxis Administration" and "HippoEpizootic Administration" of the Imperial Japanese Army, Unit 731 and Unit 100, as well as their subsidiary branches, performed human experimentation on the innocent under the leadership of Commanding Officer and Doctor Ishii Shiro. The Kempeitai (military police) captured the "lab rats" for Unit 731's prison. The prisoners included Chinese patriots, nearby civilians, Russians, and Allied prisoners of war. Although the exact number of victims is unclear due to Japan's attempts to liquidate evidence of their heinous crimes at the closing of the war, it is estimated to have ranged from 3,000-250,000 innocent men, women, and children. The cruel experiments and medical procedures were carried out by the brightest medical students, scientists, researchers, and staff that Imperial Japan had to offer.

To dehumanize prisoners in their minds, the scientists of Unit 731 called their test subjects "Marutas" or logs. Unit 731 faculty's observation of Marutas included their reaction to bubonic plague, typhoid, paratyphoid A and B, typhus, anthrax, smallpox, tularemia, infectious jaundice, gas gangrene, tetanus, cholera, dysentery, glanders, scarlet fever, undulant fever, tick encephalitis, "songo" or epidemic hemorrhagic fever, whooping cough, diphtheria, pneumonia, erysipelas, epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis, venereal diseases, tuberculosis, salmonella, frostbites, and many more deadly viruses, germs, and bacteria. To observe the real-time effects of these harmful agents, these prisoners were often subject to vivisections without the use of anesthesia. In the case where a human experimental subject was exhausted from the experiments, they were to be killed one way or another. Some test subjects were handed potassium cyanide tablets, while others ingested porridge with heroin.

These "medical doctors" who performed routine human experiments were allowed to escape persecution, unlike their Nazi counterparts in Europe. This affair became infamously known as the elaborate American cover-up of war crimes, offering these perpetrators of crimes against humanity-- including Emperior Hirohito and Ishii Shiro--immunity in exchange for US access to Unit 731 research. Instead of punishment, many of these criminals were rewarded handsomely with great careers after the war, while thousands of Chinese families mourned their loved ones' lives which had lost at Unit 731 or dealt with the permeating consequences of sustaining a bacterial attack in their village.

Xinjiang Street in Pingfang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang appears like any other you might find in Northeast China. You pass spicy noodle restaurants, a supermarket, a gas station... then you see it—Unit 731. The crumbling buildings, wire fences, ghostly trees, and desolate clearings where thousands of innocent Chinese were robbed of their lives, human rights, and dignity not eighty years ago.

Hover over each image for a description.

Auschwitz of the East: This is the main building to Unit 731 in Harbin, China. What once stood as a harrowing symbol of torture and suffering now functions as a museum to remember rapidly vanishing WWII history, honor the many innocent victims of Unit 731, and educate the public on atrocities.

炼狱门: The sign on this bioweapons building in Unit 731 translates from Chinese to "Gates of Purgatory".

Never Forget: These are some remains of human experimental facilities which Japan attempted to destroy evidence of at the end of WWII.

Within these walls, Japanese doctors, researchers, and scientists ruthlessly conducted fatal human experimentation.

Within these walls, man subjected man to deadly bacterial agents, suffocation, live amputations, vivisections and more.

Within these walls, in less than a decade, Japan created enough germs to kill the world population three times over.

"I saw the little girl being poisoned to death, she was very young and cute. Whenever I sleep, she appears in my mind like a ghost."
-Former Japanese officer at Unit 731

Aftermath

From 1945-46, the U.S. & Allies unearthed the gruesome crimes Axis Powers had committed throughout the war. Though Japan & Germany attempted to liquidate evidence of their atrocious war crimes by burning facilities and destroying records, the Allies still uncovered horrifying truths of what happened at Nazi camps such as Auschwitz in Poland, and were made aware of the inhumane practices which had conspired at Unit 731. The world was aghast.

But in the following months, it became abundantly clear that the U.S. was dealing with war criminals from Germany and Japan very differently.

The death toll of the Europe Theater of WWII, including the millions of innocent lives lost in the Holocaust, was insurmountable. But some estimates note that half of the total deaths of WWII occurred in the Pacific Theater. The legacies of these crucial post-War years reactions left resounding echoes.Films portraying the Holocaust & European Theater have rightfully so become critically-acclaimed Hollywood masterpieces, providing a glimpse into the horrors of WWII. How often do you see mention of the Pacific War or Unit 731 in movies or history textbooks?

Grab a copy to learn more about the thousands of victims of Unit 731 in the forgotten Asian Holocaust. By educating yourself on crucial WWII history, we begin to piece together the puzzles of history and may work to make sure it never repeats.

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