Date of Letter:1992-06-04
Address of Author:Wanrong County, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province
Date of Event:1942-04-15
Location of Event:Wanrong County, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province
Name of Author:Ning Shichang
Name(s) of victim(s):Ning Shichang’s 83 townsmen
Type of atrocity:Other Massacres (OM)
Other Details:On April 15, 1942, the Japanese army went to the village where Ning Shichang lived and took 83 men, all stripped and naked, shot them to death. Note: words on p4 are those written on the back of the picture on p3.
Comrade Tong Zeng,
Ni hao! You must be very busy at work!
I learned that your proposal to demand compensation from Japan has received wide support from the people. As the deputy secretary of the Party at the Xing Zheng Village, I have briefed the villagers, and many descendants of the victims eagerly signed the petition.
Ours is a small village in the mountainous area. April 15, 1942 (in lunar calendar) was a drizzly day and the villagers were harvesting wheat when the Japanese invaders entered the village. They rounded up 83 male peasants, stripped them naked and killed them one by one with guns and bayonets. Blood and rainwater formed a stream on the ground. Many families suffered losses, as many as 15 families were completely decimated. In some cases, when the sons were caught, the fathers went to their rescue, and both fathers and sons were killed. In the worst case, 3 members of the same family were killed. Since then, our village remained desolate for over 30 years.
In commemoration of this history of blood and tears, and to promote patriotism, the Party Branch built this “April 15 Massacre Memorial” in 1990. Each year, on this day, we would pay respect to the victims and teach the next generation to never forget the crimes committed by the Japanese imperialism.
The attached photo shows officials of the Prefecture Party Committee attending the ceremony.
On behalf of the people in our village, I hereby sign the petition to demand compensation of US $180 Billion.
Salute!
Chenyan Village, Niandi Township, Wanrong County, Shanxi province
Ning Shichang
June 2.
The Deputy Executive Officer Mr. Yan and the Deputy Director of the Publicity Department in front of the memorial
April 15, 1990 (Lunar calendar)
