Tag: war crimes

  • Researching the role of the Western powers in concealing Japanese War Crimes

    Researching the role of the Western powers in concealing Japanese War Crimes

    Recent UoP history graduate Benjamin Taylor wrote his third-year dissertation on Japanese war crimes, discovering that the US and other Western states played a far larger role in the cover-up than has been previously acknowledged.  Below he writes about the trial and error process of writing his dissertation, and how the guidance of his supervisor, Dr Rudolph Ng, has been vital.

    General Tojo was among seven defendants sentenced to death by hanging at the Tokyo War Crimes trials from 1946-48.
    General Tojo was among 7 defendants sentenced to death by hanging at the Tokyo War Crimes trials from 1946-48.

    My chosen topic for my dissertation was an investigation of the cover-up that has surrounded Japanese war crimes. Specifically, my dissertation sought to answer two questions: has there been a cover-up surrounding Japanese war crimes? And two, if so, which country was most instrumental in creating and perpetuating this cover-up? Throughout my dissertation, I argued that the U.S. played a far larger role in creating and perpetuating the cover-up than most traditional scholars attribute to them. The topic of covering up Japanese war crimes may seem like a strange project to research given the wealth of other options. However, the topic fascinated me. As a historian, I believe one of the most important aspects of history is remembrance and acceptance of our past, whether it is pretty and paints us well or not. When I learned of how much effort had been put into making sure this part of history was forgotten, I viewed it as a personal mission to expose the efforts that have gone into concealing these crimes on the part of not just Japan but the whole world.

    I began my research initially by diving into the resources that surrounded the two most notorious of Japan’s war crimes, the Nanjing massacre and the atrocities of Unit 731. These resources helped me write my dissertation’s first draft, which I sent to my supervisor to get his initial opinions. The email I received back was not exactly thrilling, with my supervisor telling me he was glad that I had sent this to him early as, in its current form, the dissertation would have failed spectacularly. I hope it eases your nerves a little to know when writing your own dissertation that my dissertation, which eventually received a first, was a complete failure on its first draft. However, I decided that I would not let this end here. I rewrote the first part of the dissertation and again sent it to my supervisor. It got much the same result, though he did admit it had improved a little. At this point, I knew something needed to change and met with my supervisor to discuss a better approach to my dissertation. After a quick meeting where I refined the questions my dissertation would ask, I got to work on draft number three.

    In 1949, 12 members of the Japanese Kwantung Army were tried as war criminals in the Russian city of Khabarovsk for manufacturing and using biological weapons and carrying out medical experiments during WWII. They were sentenced to terms in labour camps.
    In 1949, 12 members of the Japanese Kwantung Army were tried as war criminals in the Russian city of Khabarovsk for manufacturing and using biological weapons and carrying out medical experiments during WWII. They were sentenced to terms in labour camps and released in 1956.

    After refining my questions, I then looked further into the topic by researching and gathering sources related to the Tokyo war crimes trials, the Soviet Khabarovsk trials, the Chinese Shenyang trials, and gathering sources on the cover-up efforts of the wider world, including those committed by the Dutch, French, and British. During the writing of draft number three, I found an invaluable set of primary sources in the archives of the Pacific Atrocities Education Charity, which had received their documents from the national archives of the United States. These archives contained many documents relating directly to how and why Japanese war crimes were covered up, and these documents proved invaluable to my research. A few weeks later, I sent the newly written, complete draft to my supervisor, and using his helpful feedback comments, I refined the dissertation even further. I ended up writing two more drafts before sending in my work for its final evaluation.

    Prosecutors of Japanese war criminals at the Special Military Tribunal of the Supreme People's Court held in Shenyang in 1656.
    Prosecutors of Japanese war criminals at the Special Military Tribunal held in Shenyang, China, in 1956.

    My takeaways from this experience are as follows: Number one, and I cannot stress this enough, is to give yourself time. By starting my dissertation relatively early, I had time to fail and refine it without the stress of knowing that my deadline was next week. Number two: don’t expect it to be great on your first try. My first try, as mentioned before, failed spectacularly. It took me five drafts to get my dissertation right, and many people take even more drafts than that. Don’t be afraid to go back to scratch; it is better than trying to make something you know is wrong work. Number three: take some time off. A dissertation can feel overwhelming. I certainly felt that I should be working on it all day every day, but it will not help. Taking some time to yourself does an immense amount of good, and often you’ll find your work is better once you have taken a break. Number four is probably the most important takeaway of all: have fun. Do not research a topic you hate because you think it will get you a good grade. I personally loved researching my dissertation, and while there were parts I did not enjoy, overall, researching and writing about a topic that I was genuinely interested in helped the whole process go a lot smoother. Remember, this is your project at the end of the day. And number 5, if I can do it, so can you? My grades coming into this year were not exactly stellar, and I genuinely thought I did not have any chance of getting a first grade the hard work will pay off.

     

  • The long-term impact of Japanese Imperialism in China, 1931-1945

    The long-term impact of Japanese Imperialism in China, 1931-1945

    Third-year UoP student Brandon Lawson used his dissertation study to discover more about Asian history in the twentieth century, a topic he felt deserved more attention in historical studies.  His dissertation was entitled Shadows of war: “Justice” and geopolitical tension caused by Japanese Imperialism on China, 1931-1945.  Brandon’s supervisor was Dr Rudolph Ng.

    The conquest of Chinese territory by the Imperial Japanese Army in the 1930s led to a horrific and deadly campaign across the land, decimating the lives of their victims and cities in their path across vast swathes of Asia.  However the impact that the territorial expansion had on China society spanned many decades up to the modern era.

    Bloody Saturday, Shanghai, 1937. This terrified baby was one of the only human beings left alive in Shanghai's South Station after its bombing by the Japanese. Photograph by Chinese photojournalist H. S. Wong.
    Bloody Saturday, Shanghai, 1937. This baby was one of the only human beings left alive in Shanghai’s South Station after its bombing by the Japanese. Photograph by Chinese photojournalist H. S. Wong.

    The premise of the atrocities severely impacting Japan and China after the war was the fundamental basis of the dissertation. Political figures within China, such as Mao Zedong and Xi Jinping have been recorded as highly critical of the actions undertaken by the Japanese and follow the established stance amongst the majority of historians that the invasion was unjust and the Empire committed a myriad of atrocities and human rights violations. This is in contrast to a growing revisionist approach amongst many notable people in Japan who have attempted to change the accepted stance on the war to a larger reverence of the ancestors who were involved in it and a denial of the war crimes that were committed. This is in clear contrast to the Kono statement, which solidified the perspective of Japan at the time, as one of acknowledgement and opposition to the actions of the Imperial Japanese Army.[1]

    A photograph of a Chinese girl from one of the Japanese army's 'comfort battalions', photo taken 8 August 1945, No. 9 British Army Film & Photographic Unit
    A Chinese girl from one of the Japanese army’s ‘comfort battalions’, photo taken 8 August 1945, No. 9 British Army Film & Photographic Unit

     

    Nevertheless, both stances show a clear bias in favour of their country historically. The truth seems to align more closely with that position taken by the government of the People’s Republic of China who subscribe to the orthodox notion of the Japanese actions as a war of aggression and heinous acts committed by their soldiers against Chinese civilians.

    Unit 731, Human experimentation facility in Harbin, China, https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/unit-731-museum
    Unit 731, Human experimentation facility in Harbin, China, https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/unit-731-museum

    From the very moment I began my dissertation in December, I noticed that information surrounding the atrocities was scarce: at Unit 731, a covert biological and chemical warfare research and development unit of the Imperial Japanese army that engaged in lethal human experimentation,  many of the documents that would have detailed the events were destroyed. This made analysing the impact more difficult. Due to the fact, that understanding what occurred became increasingly challenging. However, this minor inconvenience was easy to overcome with the implementation of primary source material documenting the ordeal that the victims would have gone through, as well as the Khabarovsk trials, where twelve researchers from the facility were tried and found guilty. Although their sentences were light it was confirmation of the events that occurred.

    During my research into the topic, it became clear that the stance taken by politicians and historians from Japan and China on the topic were heavily influenced by the views that dominated each society. Using the arguments put forth by historians from each country also creates the problem that there is the potential for their work to be hindered by their unconscious bias. This is important when analysing their perspectives, as it allows for deeper analysis of the validity of different arguments. Throughout the analysis of my dissertation, my supervisor, Rudolph Ng was fundamental in aiding my analysis of the atrocities, especially in establishing the effects that the atrocities had after the war.

    I decided upon this particular dissertation topic due to my undergraduate studies being heavily focused on the twentieth century, with Asian history in the twentieth century missing from the topics learnt. It is important when deciding on a dissertation topic to implement previous topics in order to understand the context of your dissertation. However, the most important part of choosing a dissertation topic is to choose one that you have a deep interest in and can study for a prolonged period of time.

    When approaching a dissertation, the most important factor to understand is, the usually underestimated, amount of time and effort that is needed to write a 10,000-word dissertation. Not only is the word limit high and takes a lot of time to write and edit, but the time needed to analyse and included primary and secondary sources is by far the most time-consuming and detail-heavy part of the project. Therefore, when approaching the project, it is important to leave plenty of time to address all aspects of the dissertation in full. Furthermore, when writing the dissertation, it is important to re-write the entire dissertation at least twice in order to corroborate and solidify arguments while also putting time and detail into the implementation and accuracy of references.

    Writing the dissertation is the most enjoyable part of undergraduate study, as you will have complete control over the topic that you write about and the independence in research allows you to explore the topic in any way that you want. However, with a high amount of independence comes an understanding that needs to be developed at the very start of what your strongest way to work is and an awareness of trying to hone your topic down to create one point that encompasses your entire argument. At some points, it may feel overwhelming with no end in sight, but the more engrossed you get into the development of your argument the easier it becomes. Furthermore, the skills that you develop through completing the dissertation are invaluable and you will look back on it fondly. Overall, all you can do is try your hardest and as long as you do that then the grade that you will get will reflect your ability and allow you to look back on your study with no regret.

    Good luck!

    [1] The Kono Statement refers to a statement released by the Japanese Government on 4 August 1993 confirming the conclusion of a government study that found that the Japanese Imperial Army had forced women, known as comfort women, to work in military-run brothels during World War II.