Date of letter:1993-06-01
Address of author:Dongan County, Yongzhou City, Hunan Province
Date of event:1944-07-20（lunar calendar）
Location of event:Dongan County, Yongzhou City, Hunan Province
Name of author:Zhou Hua
Name(s) of victim(s):Xie Gengzhong (villager) and multiple villagers
Type of atrocity:Others, Murders, Rapes, Bio-Chemical Warfare(BC, OT, MU, RA）
Other details:On July 20, 1944 on the lunar calendar, Japanese invaders splashed kerosene on houses and set fire, which burned hundreds of houses. Over 1000 people became homeless, they also uses living people as target and killed them, raped women and committed other towering crimes. Now I mail you the compensation signature form and brief description of persecution, and we demand the Japanese government must compensate all victims’ losses and apologize to victims.
Mr. Tong Zeng,
I’ve received your passionate reply. I haven’t replied you until now due to busy work.
The survey shows that the signature campaign has been well received by the people. I am sending several articles written by the family members of victims, which describe heinous crimes that Japanese imperialism committed in Dong’an.
Let’s keep in touch.
Best regards,
Zhou Hua
June 1, 1993
Equipment Factory of Xiangnan, Dong’an
Postal code: 425904
Pursuing Justice and Defending National Interests
The crimes that Japanese imperialism committed in Dong’an are described below:
In the autumn of 1944, the Japanese army invaded South Hunan. In August, Hengyang fell and in early September, the Japanese army invaded Guangxi along the Hengyang-Guangxi railway.
On lunar July 18, 1944, the Japanese army invaded Dong’an, where they killed men, raped and killed women, burned houses and plundered property by implementing the notorious Three Alls policy (the policy of burn all, kill all and loot all). According to Xiangyang Records, the Japanese army killed 9,456 people, injured 24,556 people, burned 18,186 buildings, grain of over 600 million dan (1 dan is about 75 kg) and countless tools and clothes, and slaughtered 28,437 heads of cattle, causing property losses of about RMB 130 billion.
Tragic events: On the night of July 20, 1944, the Japanese army entered Luhongshi Town and set fire to houses, burning down 315 shop houses and 896 residential houses, and causing 290 households of over 1,100 people homeless. Citizen Xie Gengshen was used as a target by Japanese soldiers and shot dead. An old man called Tang Renwang was beaten to death and thrown into a river. A woman surnamed Wei was raped in turns by nine Japanese soldiers and died with hatred. Chased by the Japanese soldiers, Lv Damao and his wife left their three-year-old daughter behind, who was bayoneted by a soldier for fun. In Luhongshi alone, the Japanese army killed 42 people, injured 255 people, took away 96 people as slave labors, (20 people’s whereabouts are unknown) and raped over 30 women. In Sujiachong, Huaqiao, farmers Su Guangsong, Su Shengqu, Su Shengji and other five people were killed by the Japanese army and young people Su Shenghao, Su Shengming, Su Guangmin and Su Sheng’an were buried alive. A young girl named Su Huayue was thrown by a soldier high into the air and then caught by another with a bayonet. It was too horrible to see.
In Shiqishi, the Japanese army bombed over 80 shops to the ground, causing over 300 households of people homeless. In Damiaokou, the Japanese army killed over 500 people, injured over 70 people, arrested over 320 people, burned 5 villages, including over 130 houses, grain of over 1.3 million kg and other countless property, and slaughtered over 150 heads of working cattle. What’s worse, the Japanese army killed unarmed civilians with bacterial weapons. Just Pengjiachong village, Jimuling alone, over 10 out of 30 households of people were all killed by bacteria weapons. The crimes of the Japanese robbers were indeed too many to be listed.
