Unit 731 Testimony - Hal Gold (.mobi)

Some of the cruelest deeds of Japan's war in Asia did not occur on the battlefield, but in quiet, antiseptic medical wards in obscure parts of the continent. Far from front lines and prying eyes, Japanese doctors and their assistants subjected human guinea pigs to gruesome medical experiments.

In the first part of Unit 731: Testimony author Hal Gold draws upon a painstakingly accumulated reservoir of sources to construct a portrait of the Imperial Japanese Army's most notorious medical unit, giving an overview of its history and detailing its most shocking activities. The second half of the book consists almost entirely of the words of former unit members themselves, taken from remarks they made at a traveling Unit 731 exhibition held around Japan in 1994-95. These people recount their vivid first-hand memories of what it was like to cut open pregnant women as they lay awake on the vivisection table, inject plague germs into healthy farmers, and carry buckets of fresh blood and organs through corridors to their appropriate destinations.

About the Author

Hal Gold (1929-2009) was a writer, journalist, and historian who was a resident of Kyoto for over thirty years. He wrote many books, essays, and articles on Japanese history and culture, including Japan in a Sake Cup, Neutral War, and the translation From Shanghai to Shanghai: The War Diary of an Imperial Japanese Army Medical Officer, and several articles on turn-of-the-century Kyoto development.