Ever heard of Unit 731? Unit 731 was a covert biological and chemical warfare research and development unit of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. In this weeks post, I’ll be taking you on a tour inside the secret facility. Please be warned…viewer discretion is advised.
The research program was one of the great secrets of Japan during and after World War II. The main goal of Unit 731 was to develop weapons of biological warfare, including plague, anthrax, cholera and countless numbers of other harmful pathogens.
Led by Lieutenant-General Ishii Shiro, a team of 3,000 Japanese researchers infected live human beings with diseases such as the plague and anthrax and then eviscerated them without anesthesia to see how the diseases infected human organs.
Some prisoners sent to Unit 731 were taken outside and tied to stakes. The Japanese would then test new biological weapons such as plague cultures or bombs filled with plague-infested fleas on them.
Other studies involved exposing human guinea pigs, called ‘logs’ by the Japanese scientists, to their limits. Humans were locked inside pressure chambers to test how much the body could take before their eyes popped out.
Some human test subjects were taken outside during the harsh winter until their limbs froze off for the doctors to experiment how best to treat frostbite.
Because of the Unit’s secret nature, there is no known complete list of the experiments that were undertaken by Unit 731.
On March 17, 1995, the New York Times released an article entitled “Unmasking Horror” featuring a former surgeon who worked at the facility. In the article the surgeons states,
“The fellow knew that it was over for him, and so he didn’t struggle when they led him into the room and tied him down. But when I picked up the scalpel, that’s when he began screaming. I cut him open from the chest to the stomach, and he screamed terribly, and his face was all twisted in agony. He made this unimaginable sound, he was screaming so horribly. But then finally he stopped. This was all in a day’s work for the surgeons, but it really left an impression on me because it was my first time.”
(Photos recovered from Unit 731)
(It is reported no prisoner came out alive of the Unit’s gates)
The Japanese Imperial Army used biological weapons developed and manufactured by Unit 731’s laboratory throughout China, killing an approximate 300,000 people.
It is also documented that plague-infected animals were released into the Japanese population as the war was ending causing outbreaks of a plague that killed approximately 30,000 people in the Harbin area from 1946 through 1948.
Realizing he would be prosecuted for war crimes, Dr. Shiro Ishii faked his own death and went into hiding to evade justice. He was found in 1946 and turned over to American Occupation Forces for interrogation.
After his capture, Dr. Ishii offered to reveal details of the experiments conducted at Unit 731 in exchange for immunity from all of the war crimes he committed. The US agreed to the plea bargain, which also included immunity for top-level members of Ishii’s medical research team. In addition to the promise of not being prosecuted for war crimes, these researchers were enticed with money and other gifts from the US to share what was learned at Unit 731.
(Actual location where Unit 731 was located. The original facility was demolished after its exposure.)
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New York Times: Unmasking Horror –A special report: http://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/17/world/unmasking-horror-a-special-report-japan-confronting-gruesome-war-atrocity.html?pagewanted=all
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