Info Speech - Unit 731 - Grade: A PDF

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Summary

Speech about Unit 731, Covert Military Biological Warfare Program during WWII:
I. Unit 731 originated during WWII, as Japan felt the only way to win the war was by using chemical & biological weapons.
II. Horrifying experiments were carried out upon innocent civilians. When given an aut...

Description

Introduction I.

II. III. IV. V.

As observed by Professor Phillip Zimbardo, who led the Stanford Prison Experiment, “When given a commanding position without limitations, individuals are likely to abuse their power of authority in prisoner and guard roles.” a. During a time of war, scientists are often posed with the moral dilemma of engaging in questionable activity in order to develop technologies that can lead to their country’s victory. Unit 731 was a covert military research program led by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. These events are not covered in our history books, as THEY DID NOT IMPACT THE US DECISION TO ENTER THE WAR. However, because this is a part of my cultural history, I feel that it is important to share with you today. In order to understand the atrocities committed by Unit 731, you will need to know about its origins, the horrifying experiments performed, and the results of these war crimes. a. Please note that both my speech and my supporting images do contain graphic content.

Body I.

II. 

III.

Unit 731 originated as a biological and chemical research base of the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. a. According to The National Archives, the goal was “To provide research on biological and chemical warfare on human test subjects, many of them Chinese and Russian civilians from neighboring villages in the province.” Experimentation began with the intention of furthering biological and chemical WARFARE. a. However, with the approval of the Emperor and without anyone watching, anything could and did happen. Some experiments included: o Prisoner’s arms being amputated without anesthesia and reattached to the opposite side of their body. o Civilians had limbs submerged in ice in order to develop frostbite. o Men, women, and children were subjected to live vivisections without anesthesia. Medical professionals removed organs and reattached them in bizarre ways (ex: removed stomach, reattached esophagus directly to intestines) o Women were routinely subjected to rape by guards and were forced to engage in intercourse with other prisoners to spread venereal diseases among the victims. Those who became pregnant were vivisected to observe if these diseases affected fetuses in the mother’s wombs. o Prisoners were injected with diseases disguised as vaccinations and sprayed with chemicals.  Yoshio Shinozuka, a Unit 731 Medical Researcher was quoted in the New York Times stating, “We were testing the effectiveness of diseases, to determine how many people would be killed without giving a vaccine.” o Ceramic bombs containing fleas infested with Bubonic Plague and Anthrax were dropped on surrounding villages killing more than 200,000 civilians.  Grandmother was born in 1913 (currently 105); was in her late twenties when Japan invaded; “After they invaded, everyone started getting sick.”  After dad died, cried out in state of despair “I have outlived all of my children”—it was then that I discovered my dad once had an older sister who died during the war, but I could never bring myself to ask about her death. Results of experiments took lives of hundreds of thousands of Chinese & Russian civilians, so why is it that Unit 731’s war crimes are still relatively unknown and obscure till this day? a. After Japan surrendered, U.S. government agreed to pardon all participants in exchange for their research material, most of them insubstantial to the scientific & medical community. b. Only a handful of discoveries resulted from Unit 731’s research, however they could have been discovered in more humane ways: i. The progression and management of frostbitten appendages ii. Reaction of human organs to anthrax (discovered by live vivisection) iii. Reaction of human organs to bubonic plague (discovered by live vivisection) c. Most significant discovery from Unit 731’s CHEMICAL research led a powerful herbicide, commonly known as Agent Orange, which was later used by U.S. forces against Vietnamese army & civilians during Vietnam War.

Conclusion I. II.

III.

Unit 731 originated during WWII, as Japan felt the only way to win the war was by using chemical & biological weapons. Horrifying experiments were carried out upon innocent civilians. When given an authoritative role with no limitations, morbid curiosity clouded the judgement of respected scientists and medical professionals. The results of these experiments & war crimes committed at these facilities were not substantial to the scientific & medical community, but instead aided in the creation of another horrifying chemical weapon that was to be used by the United States in a following war....