Death squad

After the first shock had passed, Mother Shi told me something about Grandpa and Grandma's past. The story was long and bitter, but I only heard the whole story through Zhang Li's inquiries. I myself, as you understand, would not ask an old woman about anything. To say that the story shocked me is to say nothing, I was just crushed by pain. Sixty-four years ago, my grandparents, who were only twenty years old at the time, were brought under escort to the town of Pingfang, which was located near Harbin. After mother Shi's confused and emotional story, I sat in the library for more than a month to understand and try to feel what my dearest people experienced when they got to the laboratory No. 9, "detachment 731". Unit 731 was the name of this bunch of killers in white coats. That's what I read from newspapers and books.
“The outbreak of World War II cast an ominous shadow over Harbin. In 1939, "Detachment 731" or "Ishii Detachment" was stationed in the Harbin suburb of Pingfang. Now the activities of this detachment are known all over the world, and in the 1930s and 40s this group was strictly classified.
It all started in Tokyo, where in 1931 an army medical school was established, and with it an epidemic control laboratory. Subsequently, she received the code name "Detachment 731". He repeatedly relocated, until he settled down, in Harbin Pingfan ... "Logs" did not need human names. All prisoners of the detachment were given three-digit numbers, according to which they were distributed among research groups as material for experiments.
The groups were not interested in either the past of these people, or even their age.
In the gendarmerie, before being sent to the detachment, no matter how cruel interrogations they were subjected to, they were still people who had a language and who had to speak.
But from the time these people got into the detachment, they became just experimental material - "logs" - and none of them could get out of there alive.
"Logs" were also women - Russians, Chinese women - captured on suspicion of anti-Japanese sentiments. Women were used mainly for research on venereal diseases.
In the center of the "Ro" block was a two-story concrete structure. Inside it was surrounded by corridors, where the doors of the cells opened. Each door had a viewing window. This building, which communicated with the premises of the research groups, was a "log warehouse", that is, a special detachment prison.
The log warehouse, which was run by a special group, was divided into two parts - right and left - which were called building seven and building eight. In the seventh building there were men, in the eighth - women, but since there were fewer “logs” - women, men were also placed in the eighth building.
According to the testimony of the defendant Kawashima at the Khabarovsk trial, there were always between two hundred and three hundred "logs" in the detachment, but this is not known for sure.
"Logs", depending on the purpose of the research, were placed in separate chambers or common. Three to ten people were kept in common cells.
Upon arrival at the detachment, all torture and ill-treatment to which the prisoners were subjected in the gendarmerie ceased. “Logs” were not interrogated, they were not forced to do hard work. Moreover, they were well fed: they received a full three meals a day, which sometimes included a dessert - fruit. They were able to sleep enough, they were given vitamins. The prisoners were to recover their strength and become physically healthy as soon as possible.
The "logs" that received abundant food quickly recovered, they had no work. From the moment they began to be used for experiments, either certain death awaited them, or suffering comparable only to the torments of hell. And before that, empty days dragged on, similar to one another. "Logs" languished from forced idleness.
One of the "logs", a Chinese teacher, twisted strips of paper and skillfully wove small Chinese shoes from them. Others were engaged in other manual work. Such was the daily life of the "logs".
But the days when they were well fed passed quickly.
The circulation of "logs" was very intense. On average, every two days, three new people became test subjects.
Later, the Khabarovsk trial in the case of former servicemen of the Japanese army, based on the testimony of the defendant Kawashima, will register in their documents that during the period from 1940 to 1945, "detachment 731" was "consumed" at least three thousand people. “In reality, this number was even higher,” the former members of the detachment unanimously testified.
The Kwantung Army highly valued the secret special missions carried out by "Detachment 731" and took every measure to provide its research work with everything necessary.
These "measures" included an uninterrupted supply of "logs".
People, when it was their turn to become experimental subjects, were inoculated with the bacteria of plague, cholera, typhoid, dysentery, syphilis spirochete, and other cultures of live bacteria. They were introduced into the body with food or in some other way. ATThere were also experiments on frostbite, infection with gas gangrene, executions were carried out for experimental purposes.
Grandfather and grandmother were not placed with the other Logs. Lab #9 was different. The living quarters adjacent to the laboratory were like a five-star hotel. But what was done to the grandparents and the other seven captives brought in later was no less horrendous. And my grandmother at that time was already pregnant with my father. The gestation period was two months. But back to Mother Shi. Remembering her grandmother's story, the elderly woman became so agitated that her heart became ill. The cafe staff immediately called an ambulance and Mother Shi was taken to the hospital. After paying, we soon left the cafe. The way back was agonizing. I kept talking and talking and couldn't stop. The hysterical chatter was interspersed with bursts of laughter and weeping. Finally, Zhang Li decided to stop this torture. He got off the bike and put me down. Pressing me to him, he did not let me say a word for about five minutes, until I calmed down completely. It wasn’t long before we got home, so we didn’t get on the bikes anymore, but took them with us. I calmed down completely, but Zhang Li's proposal, which he made right in front of the gates of my house, made me internally gather myself and reconsider my attitude towards this young man. Zhang Li offered to help me sort through the archive that my family left behind. I had already heard this offer from Lee more than once, but, touched by his care, I still found the strength to reject it. Today's persistence has awakened in me the worst thoughts and suspicions. As a result, farewell to Zhang Li was crumpled. Catching the guy's puzzled look, I turned and disappeared into the depths of sihuan.
The police visits have taken a toll on my work. The weekly plan was not fulfilled. So I tried my best to catch up. Ignoring all the breaks, I even missed lunch time, but the matter remained at a standstill. The day flew by like an instant. Coming out of the factory gate, I was surprised to see that I joined the stream of people who were driving in the direction of the western station. My body turned out to be smarter than my head and did not want to obey its absurd conjectures. It's quite a distance from the factory to the northern station, but I made it in time. Beijing has four passenger railway stations. The largest of them is the Beijing West Station, from which Zhang Li had to leave. Entrance and exit to the station is strictly by tickets. Tickets must be kept until the end of the trip, otherwise you will have to pay your fare again. The square in front of the station was full of people.
At that moment, when the disorderly crowd rushed to the controllers, who were letting people leave for the platform, I was already inside the station. I was not afraid to overlook Zhang Li in the crowd. He was quite tall and his blond hair, bleached in the latest youth fashion, was visible in any crowd. Finally, the crowd thinned out, and Zhang Li was still not there. I got cold, did I miss it after all? Suddenly, my phone vibrated in my purse. I was not yet used to the melody that he was publishing, and therefore did not immediately realize what was happening. As time went. Zhang Li was still not there, and the phone was ringing. Finally, the thought came to my mind, what if it was Zhang Li who sent me a text message? And I'm standing here and pretending to be deaf. I ripped the zipper of my bag and pulled out my cell phone. There were many messages, but they had nothing to do with Zhang Li. I was in such a hurry.
There were nine messages, but they had the same text.
“Hints are not allowed. The hinter will be punished. Seek it yourself." he said. At first I was afraid for Zhang Li, but then I took a breath. He didn't tell me anything. Then who? Who have I been talking to lately? Mother Shi! I rushed to the exit of the station and ran into Zhang Li. He hurried to the train. He was late because he was waiting for me at the gate of my hutong. He had my phone number, but he didn't dare to call. To save mother Shi, Zhang Li went with me. The train on which he was supposed to leave had already left Beijing when we drove up to the house where my mother lived. Before we could do that, we had to go back home and find Grandma's address book, where Shi's mother's address was. This time, I let Zhang Li into my home without fear. The apartment on the third floor, where, according to our assumptions, the old woman lived, burned with might and main. I stopped, numb, and Zhang Li walked over to the firemen. Fortunately for us, and of course, for the happiness of Mother Shi, there was no one in the house at the time of the fire. The elderly woman was still in the hospital, while everyone else in the household was at work and school. As I found out later, on that day, mother Shi, at her insistence, was to be discharged from the hospital in order to continue treatment at home, but just before the discharge, mother again became ill, and the discussion about discharge was dropped. Zhang Li didn't go anywhere that day. He did not leave even by the end of the week, because after a conversation with Mother Shi, we were again called to the police. Or rather, they called me, mother Shi did not say anything about Zhang Li. odHowever, Lee could not leave me in trouble and went to the police with me. After comparing all three (beginning with my first contact with the police) cases, the police station came to the conclusion that I have a secret ill-wisher. All three cases were combined into one and an investigator was appointed. Finally, I could breathe freely, but I did not feel any relief. At work, a wall arose between me and the rest of the team. I wasn’t particularly sociable anyway, and now I’m completely isolated. Meanwhile, the messages stopped for a certain period. Zhang Li and I met every day, but one day he said that his business was urgent, and besides, his father was angry. After these words, I realized that the time of separation was not far off and nothing could prevent my friend's departure. On Friday evening, Zhang Li met me at the factory gate with flowers. Time rushed by at relentless speed. It's been two weeks since we met. Showing me the tickets for the train that left tomorrow, Zhang Li promised that he was leaving for a short time, only to settle his affairs and inform his relatives that he had a fiancee. When I heard those words, my bike swerved and I nearly fell over. But still, I was able to keep my restive horse and, as if nothing had happened, rolled on. My heart was beating like crazy. However, I did not ask any further questions. If he wants, he will explain everything himself. And he explained. After waiting at the hutong gate while I changed my clothes, he invited me to a cafe and put a ring on my finger. In response, he apparently waited for some words or emotions, but did not wait. I just didn't know how to behave. It seemed to me that any words in this situation would be superfluous. I lowered my head and tried to find the right words for the occasion. Zhang Li seemed to understand everything. Turning the conversation to some everyday topic, he gradually freed me from tetanus. Zhang Li left on Saturday. I saw him off even though he really didn't want to. The train was leaving late and Zhang Li was very worried about how I would get home. My assurances that there is almost no crime in Beijing did not reassure him. He agreed to let me go alone on the condition that I take the subway half the way. Fortunately, the descent into the subway was right on the station square.
On Sunday, at three o'clock in the morning, I received a text message, and the persecution resumed.
http://proza.ru/2014/07/28/238