The Awakening of a Prisoner's Soul (The Six-Year Journey of Japanese War Criminals in Chinese Reeducation Camps)

Author: (Japanese) Kitagawa Nobuo, translated by
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-09-01
Features: "The Awakening of Prisoner Souls" is the second installment in the trilogy of reflections on war by Japanese writer Kitagawa Nobuo, following "The Eternal Prayer." The book tells the story of approximately nine hundred Japanese prisoners of war who committed heinous crimes against the Chinese people during the Japanese invasion of China. Starting in the summer of 1950, they began receiving reeducation at the Fushun War Criminal Management Institute. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the staff of the institute underwent intense ideological struggles, using great humanitarian spirit and broad-mindedness to reform and educate the prisoners through the act of "repaying kindness with kindness." After six years of effort, this group of Japanese prisoners completed a unprecedented transformation from "devils" to "humans."