Page 113 - Unit 731 Testimony

It took about two hours to come here from my home. If I hadn't
come I would not have been able to hear these talks.

It is the intention of the author to enable to reader, as best as possible,
to share the experience of those who, like that high school student, were

impressed and shocked by the words of those who were involved.
Some of these recollections were tape-recorded at exhibition sites.
Others came from booklets of the testimonies which were printed up
afterward by the various localities where the exhibitions were staged,
largely as a volunteer effort.

Not all the speakers felt free to identify themselves. After living with
their secrets for fifty years, a reversal of behavior had to come in stages. For
most of the people testifying, this was the first stage.

Speaking of these things for the first time in front of people, they
reached back in time to reconstruct an ugly past while peeling down
emotional barriers layered on through a half-century of silence. These
catharses did not always come smoothly, and thoughts are sometimes left
ragged by emotions. As a result, some narratives may seem a bit disjointed

at times. Despite this tendency, however, meanings and sentiments come
through with painful clarity.
Persons are identified with the information available, or with that

which they permitted. In some cases, it was relatives who wished for the
speakers to keep their identities—and those of their families—confidential.
In other cases, half a century was not yet enough to provide a completely
healing balm for the scars left by Unit 731.

Researcher attached to Unit 1644 (Anonymous)

[The person who provided this testimony is compiling an account of his
experiences at Unit 1644. He and his family are not yet in agreement about
his releasing his name, and this excerpt was offered with that

understanding.]
I was working as a civilian employee at the Army Medical College in
Tokyo. In July 1942, I was transferred to China, and the following month I
was assigned to Unit 1644 in Nanjing. In October 1944, I became a member
of the army as an enlisted man in the Hygiene Corps.