Gaining a better understanding of the 1945 famine.

Eighty years have passed, but the memory of the 1945 famine, a catastrophe that claimed the lives of over 2 million Vietnamese people, remains a haunting one. His book, "The Truth About the 1945 Famine (Through Historical Documents and Memories)," by historian Nguyen Quang An, recently published by the National Political Publishing House, helps readers better understand this event.

 

The book consists of four parts. The first part focuses on introducing contemporary documents about the famine of 1945. Through this, it helps readers visualize the overall social landscape of Vietnam in 1945, the final stage of World War II, when the Japanese fascists replaced the French colonialists in the ruling apparatus but continued their brutal exploitation policies. Coupled with natural disasters and crop failures in many provinces of the Northern Delta, the policies of plundering rice, forced jute cultivation, and the disruption of food transport routes created a catastrophic mass starvation. This is most clearly seen through press materials from newspapers such as Dan Toc, Lao Dong, Cuu Quoc, and Co Giai Phong… The press not only described the reality of hunger and starvation but also reflected the role of revolutionary organizations in mobilizing the people to alleviate the famine, provide mutual assistance, and call for community sharing.

In the second part, the book compiles documents written after the famine, including representative studies by renowned historians such as Tran Huy Lieu and Tran Van Giau, memoirs by writer To Hoai, educator Luu Van Lang, and researcher Le Xuan Quang...

In the third part, the book presents the results of field investigations by author Nguyen Quang An and his colleagues at 19 locations in 8 provinces where famine once raged fiercely. Thanks to this, the author provides pages full of rare and valuable documents, helping readers visualize the extent of the losses, consequences, and community responses to the famine.

The fourth section covers the investigative, research, international cooperation, and media activities concerning the 1945 famine by Vietnamese and Japanese historians and journalists.

Beyond merely documenting the suffering, the book delves into the causes and nature of the famine. It is a man-made calamity resulting from the brutal exploitation policies of the Japanese fascists and French colonialists, and the incompetence and indifference of the puppet regime. From within the loss and pain of this disaster, the light of human compassion shines forth. This includes movements like the "rice jar for famine relief," "sharing food and clothing," the Viet Minh's actions in breaking into Japanese granaries to distribute grain, and the courage of those who campaigned for famine relief despite repression and arrest. This spirit of mutual support and compassion contributed to the rekindling of the will for independence and faith in a new government ruled by the people.

With his concise historical writing style, scientific presentation, and personal knowledge and experience, researcher Nguyen Quang An has truly revealed "the truth about the 1945 famine," with many convincing and vivid pieces of evidence and images.

Based on the practical research of author Nguyen Quang An and his colleagues, the severity of the famine "far exceeded any literary description." In many communes such as Viet Thuan (Thai Binh), Quan Muc ( Hai Phong ), and Tay Yen (Ninh Binh), the number of people who died of starvation reached 40-50% of the population within a few months. Stories of people eating moss, gnawing on banana peels, roasting rats, or collecting corpses to... cook porridge, are no longer just oral traditions but are documented with specific evidence from surveys, witness testimonies, photographs, and statistics.

DUY LỮ

 

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/hieu-hon-ve-nan-doi-nam-1945-a189506.html