Ōkunoshima
| Ōkunoshima | ||
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| Waters | Seto Inland Sea | |
| Geographical location | 34 ° 18 '31 " N , 132 ° 59' 35" E | |
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| length | 1.5 km | |
| width | 800 m | |
| surface | 70 ha | |
| main place | Tadanoumicho | |
Ōkunoshima ( Japanese 大 久 野 島 ) is a small Japanese island about 2 km long that belongs to the administrative area of the city of Takehara in Hiroshima Prefecture . It is located in the Seto Inland Sea , 3 km from the mainland.
history
The island became known because of the poison gas production that took place there from 1926 to 1945 .
From 1926 the plan was set to produce secret weapons there. Under the pretext of wanting to expand the island as the location of the local fishing industry (as the Showa government was doing massively throughout the country), as a sort of an advanced fishing location, a seawater desalination plant , an ice factory and a power station were built for the cooling systems that were emerging at that time Fish canning factory in the north expanded and more modern. Rats, martens, foxes and cats that had previously settled on the island were systematically exterminated under hygienic pretexts.
In 1938 the island was converted into a restricted military area . This went hand in hand with deletion from all registers, nautical charts as well as from history books and atlases; The island was no longer mentioned in local history lessons, even the naming of the island was no longer desired. The canned fish production facilities were converted into a chemical weapons factory. The factory visible from the coast was blown up and the ruins were overgrown with ivy. On the local nautical charts, the surrounding smaller islands were "relocated" in such a way that one would not even notice an "excess island" with only a minimal bearing error. In addition, the Japanese military modified the lighthouse lighting of the surrounding islands in such a way that identifying the island was made difficult or impossible due to the same or similar flashing codes, while regular Japanese sea traffic was not endangered. The cartographic representations of the shipping routes to Hiroshima , Mihara and Kure were modified so that no international ship would come near the island.
The production of mustard gas and similar substances soon began . The workforce employed was generally insufficiently trained and completely inadequately protected. In addition, the plant was a modified small industrial plant from the 20s, completely inadequate in terms of safety and efficiency. As a result, in spite of the relatively small production volume (about 6000 tons of unknown degree of enrichment were produced), very many workers were killed or seriously injured. Many still suffer from the long-term effects of their injuries today.
Many of the workers were compulsory Koreans who neither had sufficient command of Japanese characters nor were they experienced in the production of hazardous substances. Before the war they had mainly worked in soap factories or in the manufacture of medical articles. The technical supervision and more critical work was the responsibility of high school students. The internationally known experts on chemical weapons were observed by foreign secret services, as the Japanese secret service knew, and therefore organized the construction of the plant from their desks without ever seeing the plant or even supervising the production itself. Few specialists ever entered the production facilities. The required students had been recruited for this assignment after excellent grades in science, but for reasons of secrecy they had never been informed of the exact use of the facilities. Many paid for their ignorance with their life or health. In order to employ as few staff as possible on the island for reasons of confidentiality, there was no infirmary. Treatment usually took place in the barracks, when the hygienic conditions were inadequate and, as a result, often without success. Transporting the poison gas victims to the mainland and introducing them to well-trained and (until shortly before the end of the war) adequately equipped doctors was not in the interests of secrecy.
The test subjects were usually rabbits ; Rats were classified as too dangerous (risk of epidemics, etc.). But since you couldn't buy thousands of rabbits from large breeders, the military procured rabbits from farmers' markets. As a result, a great many different breeds of rabbits and rabbits were stabled in the experimental sites. Human experiments were not carried out at this point, but it cannot be ruled out that poison gas from Ōkunoshima was used in the experiments of Unit 731 .
The facility was not suitable for the reliable production and filling of chemical weapons. A closed system for the flammable and highly volatile substances was not feasible for reasons of confidentiality, so the workers had to do their job in protective suits made of thick PVC . Flexibility zones made of leather or rubber had been added, but it turned out that the suits themselves were massively contaminated and poisoned their wearers even when they ran smoothly. After a short period of use, irritations occurred in the crooks of the arms or in the pubic area, and extensive necrosis and gangrenous inflammation have been reported. For reasons of confidentiality, the suits were only re-ordered if they were completely unusable.
When the war defeat became apparent, production was accelerated and the safety standards further lowered. Workers were now literally being burned. As a result, of course, the practical experience of the workers decreased and serious accidents increased. Through massive, suicidal poison gas use, possibly in connection with kamikaze operations, the aim was to expand an invasion of mainland Japan into a human catastrophe of gigantic proportions. The military leadership had no scruples against the illegal deployment on its own territory. The only thing that was feared was that early detection would lead to attacks on Japan itself. It was completely inconceivable to the strategists that the USA would come into possession of an atomic bomb and would even be ready to use it, but if poison gas production facilities became known, they feared a targeted destruction of these facilities and the use of poison gas against the Japanese people.
In 1945 the existing poison gas production facilities on the island were blown up, the files destroyed and the military withdrew. It is not known whether foreign forced laborers were executed. The old, unfit for military service and those who refused to serve in weapons were obliged to take care of the animals.
present
Many of the chemical weapons victims have been cared for by Doctor Yukutake at Tadanoumi Hospital for decades. He is now a globally recognized specialist in the field of chemical weapons consequences and their treatment. In the summer of 2007, he traveled to Iran to work with Iranian colleagues on better treatment for the poison gas victims of the Iran-Iraq war . In addition, he informs both foreigners and Japanese about the history of Ōkunoshima, since even many Japanese are not familiar with the history of the island. He also supports victims in claiming war-disabled pensions, as the Japanese state is still finding it difficult to recognize damage or even to provide support.
Since there are no poisonous snakes or other predators on the island, numerous rabbits in all imaginable colors, sizes and fur variants now live on the island. This biodiversity seems to have prevented the spread of epidemics so far. Because of the absence of predators and the lack of hunting, the rabbits are largely tame and behave quite unnaturally.
Today there are hardly any pictures of the former production facilities, mostly pictures from the renovation phase. The facilities themselves have been blown up, but are freely accessible. Only a few underground areas are still contaminated and should be avoided.
On Ōkunoshima there is a conference and spa hotel, a tent camp and extensive sports facilities. A small golf course, several tennis courts and a small swimming pool represent the tourist entertainment offer. An information center can be visited as well as the destroyed factory buildings. There is also an information house for school groups that deals with topics such as ecological architecture and fresh water supply.
The mountain can be climbed in about 30 minutes on foot and offers a good overview of the sea and the surrounding islands.
The island is dominated by two masts of a 220 kV high voltage line that connects the islands. These two masts, erected in 1962, are the tallest overhead line masts in Japan at 226 meters and were the second tallest in the world when they were erected. The span of the line across the strait is 2,357 meters.
Web links
- Information page of Hiroshima Prefecture (English)
- PagePaper on Dr. Yukutake (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Florian Seidel: From the ex-secret laboratory Okunoshima, The island of guinea pigs in einestages.spiegel.de