Bodies and Structures 2.0: Deep-Mapping Modern East Asian HistoryMain MenuGet to Know the SiteGuided TourShow Me HowA click-by-click guide to using this siteModulesRead the seventeen spatial stories that make up Bodies and Structures 2.0Tag MapExplore conceptsComplete Grid VisualizationDiscover connectionsGeotagged MapFind materials by geographic locationLensesCreate your own visualizationsWhat We LearnedLearn how multivocal spatial history changed how we approach our researchAboutFind information about contributors and advisory board members, citing this site, image permissions and licensing, and site documentationTroubleshootingA guide to known issuesAcknowledgmentsThank youDavid Ambaras1337d6b66b25164b57abc529e56445d238145277Kate McDonald306bb1134bc892ab2ada669bed7aecb100ef7d5fThis project was made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Japanese Biological Weapons in World War II (1)
12019-11-18T15:48:27-05:00Kate McDonald306bb1134bc892ab2ada669bed7aecb100ef7d5f359Unit 731 and 1000.plain2021-08-26T18:44:07-04:00Northeast China and Korea1953?Nhan Dan Trieu Trung Chien Thang Chien Tranh Vi Trung. Published by Phong Phong Benh Cuc Quan Y. Held at the Vietnam National Library, Hanoi.Public domain.Michitake AsoMA-0036Kate McDonald306bb1134bc892ab2ada669bed7aecb100ef7d5f
The Việt Minh pamphlet partially presented in the gallery above begins by recounting the Chinese and North Korean accusations of US germ warfare. It next presents the well-document biological weapons program developed by the Japanese military, including Units 731 and 1000. This history is one key to the charges of US germ warfare as it connects a proven case of germ warfare with an unproven instance of germ warfare. As the next set of images shows, the US military let those responsible for the Japanese biological warfare program go in exchange for the information that they had gathered from their experiments, including on Chinese and Soviet soldiers. This gathering of information, in combination with the United States' own research in biological weapons before and during World War II, provided two circumstantial pieces of evidence for the US use of these weapons in the Korean war. Finally, imperialism served as an overarching logic linking Japan and the US. From the perspective of many in Vietnam, including the leaders of the Việt Minh, it seemed inevitable that imperialist nations would use biological weapons.
