History Undercover

Unit 731: Nightmare in Manchuria

During World War II, Japanese scientists, led by Shiro Ishii, built a medical facility in Manchuria. It is in this place, Unit 731, that Ishii and his scientists conducted some of the most horrific war crimes of the 20th century. The goal of Unit 731 was to experiment with germ warfare, with the ultimate aim of using these weapons on the United States during the war. Experiments were conducted on Chinese civilians, soldiers and American prisoners of war. They ranged from live dissections to the deliberate infection of surrounding villages with diseases such as the bubonic plague. Now, over fifty years later, activists, journalists and historians are uncovering the story of Unit 731, and the American complicity that let these war crimes go unpunished.

Unit 731: Nightmare in Manchuria would be useful for classes on World History, Asian History, American History, Military History, History of Medicine and Ethics. It is appropriate for middle school, high school and college students.

Students will explore the ethics of war and war crimes. They will analyze the political expediency that permitted the United States to cover-up these crimes. They will also examine how activists, journalists, and historians are uncovering these atrocities and the role of human rights in war and politics.

Unit 731: Nightmare in Manchuria fulfills the following National Standards for History for grades 5-12: chronological thinking, historical comprehension, historical analysis and interpretations, and historical research capabilities for World History eras 8 and 9.

• Arrogance
• Atrocities
• Autopsy
• Bureaucracy
• Capricious
• Fodder
• Heinous
• Impunity
• Incendiary
• Pathogen
• Protocol
• Vivisect

Discussion Questions

1. Every society establishes its own code of ethics. What are ethics? How are they culturally defined? What are some commonalties between different cultures' ethics? What are the ethics of our society?

2. What did Japan want from China?

3. The Japanese government established Unit 731 to experiment with biochemical weapons. What are biochemical weapons? How do they differ from conventional weapons? Why are they so dangerous?

4. Why did Shiro Ishii, the head of Unit 731, establish the unit in Manchuria?

5. Unit 731 was shrouded in secrecy during World War II and remained so until recently. Why was it such an important secret, during the war and after it?

6. Discuss the program of dehumanization necessary for programs such as Unit 731 to exist.

7. Surgeons at Unit 731 performed vivisections. What are vivisections? How do they violate the ethical codes of medicine?

8. How did the Japanese scientists at Unit 731 dispose of the bodies?

9. Compare the atrocities of Unit 731 to the atrocities of the Holocaust. How is it possible that both these acts of inhumanity occurred?

10. Bubonic plague is an especially deadly plague that once killed almost one-third of the population of Europe in the 14th century. How did the scientists of Unit 731 infect Chinese villagers with this plague? What were their plans for spreading this disease?

11. How did World War II end? What were/are the moral implications of this action?

12. Why have the scientists of Unit 731 escaped prosecution for their war crimes?

13. What is the legacy of Unit 731?

Extended Activities

1. Write an essay in which you discuss the morality and ethics of human conduct during times of war.

2. On a world map, locate and mark the Japanese Empire during World War II. How are the boundaries of Asia different today than they were during the war?

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