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Post by yenilira on Feb 21, 2011 16:00:08 GMT 1
Following on from the 'Auschwitz' and 'WW2 ..still at war..' articles, I have just read an article this morning regarding an excavation of the site of a former medical school in Tokyo where horrific experiments on POWs are thought to have been carried out. This is subsequent to revelations by a former nurse that she helped to bury body parts as US Forces began occupying the city.
The dig site is linked to Unit 731, a Japanese WW2 germ and biological outfit, who injected captives with typhus, cholera, and other deadly viruses.
One did wonder who was also into this sort of thing in the last war.
YL.
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Post by whitstabletangerin on Feb 21, 2011 19:37:41 GMT 1
Unit 731 was operated by the Japanese in Manchuria during ww2 when 3,000 prisioners were experimented on, some then executed and others died from decease. It is believed as late as 1995, 17 countries still had biological weapons according to the United States Technology Assessment Centre, including Russia, Cuba, North and South Korea. The vet cong used chemical agents in the Vietnam war. As far as the 2nd World War goes, an Atom bomb or two in the case of Japan dosn't get much worse. However much disgust one feels for the use of such deadly agents, I still don't see how the bombing of civilian populations such as Cologne (where only the Cathedral was left standing), Dresden or Hamburg or in our case Coventry and much of east London where thousands were killed outright or burnt to cinders is any better. After all these years and we still bomb civilian populations even with laser guided missiles able to find their targets within a few feet. In answer to your question Yeni, I would guess most of the participants of the war had some form of chemical agents, certainly Russia had chemicals in tanks carried by aircraft able to kill sheep, cows etc . There is a saying, all is fair in love and war, but without the use chemical and biological agents.
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Post by bigjohncraven on Feb 21, 2011 19:46:11 GMT 1
Sorry Yeni..
Misread the thread and thought it was a new Makélelé Ollie had spotted in Japan.
God I need a game !!!
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Post by yenilira on Feb 21, 2011 20:58:40 GMT 1
John, I take it you didn't have your 'tangerine framed glasses' on, then? ;D They do look similar.
Whit: good points. Though I believe you invertedly omitted the 'Clydebank Blitz' within your para. in relation to Dresden, Coventry & London, etc. The raids on 13 & 14 March 1941 caused that much devastation there on the Clyde including at Brown’s Yards and Singer’s factory, 528 people died, and over 35,000 people were made homeless. In all only seven houses out of a total of 12,000 remained intact, and therefore suffering the worst destruction in the whole of the UK at that time. My Godparents lived thru it.
YL.
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Post by whitstabletangerin on Feb 21, 2011 22:26:37 GMT 1
Yes Yeni, appologies for not mentioning the suffering North of the border and indeed for anyone else whose cities suffered from the raids in ww2. My intention was not to mention cities at all, but to highlight the loss of civilian life in conflict whether it be bombing or by germ warfare.
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Post by yenilira on Feb 21, 2011 22:34:54 GMT 1
Fair dos, Whit; #ok# I realise you were just giving brief examples of what occurred.
Though it does pain me at times when people mention just Coventry and London - Clydebank was far worse, unfortunately.
YL.
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