Dissections
Organs were removed from test subjects while they were still alive so that decomposition would not alter the results. Prisoners were also infected with STDs such as gonorrhea and syphilis to see how the diseases spread in the body without treatment. This is a vivisection of the pregnant woman (impregnated by one of the doctors) at the Unit 731. This pregnant young woman was infected with syphilis (sexually transmitted disease) for to study the efficiency of the new Japanese antibiotic terramycin on the infected fetus. |
Human Targets
Other prisoners literally became human targets for testing other weaponry such as flamethrowers, not to mention germ-releasing bombs and chemical weapons. These included testing chemical weapons on people trapped inside gas chambers; spinning victims in giant centrifuges until they perished; hanging individuals upside down to test their endurance before they choked to death; and injecting air into prisoners’ arteries and horse urine into their kidneys. This image shows a woman after a bomb test in Unit 731. |
A "Doctor" Returns to the Unit
In this video, one of the scientists returns to a building (one of the few still standing) to reflect on his actions in the Unit. In particular, he describes his first vivisection, which still haunts him today. This video is so impiortant because it uses a reliable source to confirm all that we thought we knew about the Unit and the things done. I also found it interesting how he referred to the victims as "guinea pigs"; even after all this time he still remembers his training and how the projects were to be treated. |
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Analysis
As you can assume, this section of the project was hardest to do. Seeing these images are not enjoyable, yet they have an enormous impact on how we think and feel about the subject. Propaganda is not always funny, clever, or comical; propaganda can be scary and hurtful and make an impact. For Japan, these images speak for themselves and show people why we need to take camps or units seriously. By displaying multiple images, it is shown that many things are happening, not just one act of crime. Multiple types of media (videos, images) also help highlight in different ways and reach out to different types of learners. This propaganda is different than the normal type of propaganda, my project is more of a call to action propaganda, which is the most important. Although all propaganda has a purpose, this project (especially Japanese) reaches out to the human emotion and how we should feel about what is happening in these other places.