FSB documents: the Japanese dreamed of infecting the Soviet Union with plague, but did not have enough time to

Sergey Kron

The FSB representatives reminded Novye Izvestia that the Kvatun army included two large units engaged not only in the study of methods of conducting bacteriological warfare, but also in the production of biological weapons in quantities sufficient, as it seemed to the Japanese, for "total infection of Soviet people." We are talking about detachments No. 731 and No. 100, which were officially called the Office for Water Supply and Prevention of the Kwantung Army Units and the Epizootic Office of the Kwantung Army.

Judging by the documents, General Yamada admitted that Detachment 731, created in 1932, was a powerful institute for preparing bacteriological warfare with a staff of about 3,000 scientific and technical workers and laboratories equipped with the latest technology and equipment.

The detachment was commanded by the famous microbiologist Lieutenant General Shiro Ishii. The bacteriological bomb was named after him.

According to the FSB, the bomb invented by Ishii had a ceramic body filled with plague fleas. It was supposed to explode at an altitude of 50-100 meters, which ensured the widest possible contamination of the area.

According to the testimony of the Japanese who served in the detachment, the laboratories produced 600-900 kg of plague bacteria, 1200 kg of anthrax bacteria, or a ton of typhus bacteria every month.

At the trial in Khabarovsk, Yamada stated that Detachment 731 was created to prepare for bacteriological warfare, mainly against the Soviet Union, as well as against Mongolia, China and other allied states.

The detachment was stationed in a specially built and strictly guarded military town in the area of Pingfan station, 20 km from Harbin. In addition to the main station, Detachment 731 had four branches located along the Soviet-Manchu border: in Hailar, Linkou, Sunu, and Mudan-jiang, and the test range and airfield were located at Anta station. Along with this, the detachment annually went on the so-called expeditions, in particular, in 1939-1942. - to Central China and to the border with Mongolia.

It was not by chance that Manchuria was chosen as the location of the laboratory. In the 1930s-1940s, there were no technologies that would allow the long-term storage of biological weapons, so the Japanese military were forced to bring its production base closer to the places of its intended use.

The cynicism of the former head of the production department of Detachment 731, Kiyoshi Kawashima, is striking. At the Khabarovsk trial, when he was asked why Manchukuo became a platform for a monstrous experiment, he replied: "Manchuria was very convenient because there was enough experimental material".

The experiments were carried out on living people. The prisoners were infected with an infection, and then watched as the disease affects the body. If a prisoner, despite being infected with deadly bacteria, recovered, then this did not save him from repeated experiments, which continued until death occurred. "Test specimens" never left the laboratory alive.

The prisoners who survived, but were already unsuitable for further experiments, were led by the special group to a specially equipped room, where they were injected with 20 cubic meters. see chloroform. In less than a second, the victim began to suffocate, his eyes rolled out of their sockets, the body was covered with goose bumps, and death ensued. Up to 20 people per month were subjected to this experience.

In addition, according to Otozo Yamada, scientists have studied the limits of the human body's endurance in various conditions. For this, for example, people were placed in pressure chambers, their limbs were frozen, and the onset of gangrene was observed. Boiling water, drying, deprivation of food, water, electric current, vivisection were also used.

By the way, the book "Devil's Kitchen" by the Japanese writer Morimura Seichi tells about the crimes of Detachment 731. The author was able to trace the further fate of some of the employees of the laboratory for testing biological weapons. As it turned out, many of them received degrees and public recognition after the end of World War II. These include Masaji Kitano.

The head of the detachment, Shiro Ishii, and some of his associates moved to the United States, where they were appreciated for the knowledge they gained in Manchuria.

Some of the Japanese military doctors from the "death squad" later became famous surgeons performing unique operations, thanks to the skills acquired during the experiments in Detachment 731.

According to Seiichi, during the existence of Detachment 731, more than 10 thousand prisoners were tortured in its dungeons and laboratories. The Japanese researcher in his book also reported that 70% of the prisoners were Chinese, 30% were Russians.

According to Jing Side, a professor from the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, from 1931 to 1945. the Japanese used bacteriological weapons 16 times in a "training" manner. In general, the use of the bacteria cholera, anthrax, dysentery and other diseases led to the death of over 270 thousand people.

The Devil's Kitchen ended its existence in August 1945. When the Soviet troops approached Hailin, the Japanese destroyed all documents of Detachment 731, buildings and structures, food supplies, uniforms, as well as rats and fleas intended to infect suicide bombers. However, this did not help to avoid punishment. The investigation at the Khabarovsk trial proved not only the facts of preparations for bacteriological warfare, but also confirmed that Detachment 731 carried out other cruel experiments on living people.

At the Khabarovsk trial, the last commander of the Kwatun army, Yamada, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in a forced labor camp. A few months later, the Soviet Union, at the request of the PRC government, extradited him and other convicted Japanese military leaders to prosecute for crimes committed in China.

Yamada admitted that he was aware of responsibility for the crimes committed by his subordinates, after which he was detained for more than 5 years in the Chinese city of Fushun.

In June 1956, Yamada was amnestied and repatriated to Japan. The former general died on July 18, 1965 at the age of 83.