All language subtitles for Philosophy of a Knife - part 1

That place had been a
pretty big secret...

If any unauthorized Japanese aircraft,
or any military, was to fly over the area...

...its' pilot was immediately brought
back to Earth and shot without a trial.

At least, such incidents took place in
the documents I had a chance to see.

I was born in Harbin,
or rather, in the suburbs...

...where the steamboats
were repaired.

I was at a suburban school until I moved
into town in the fifth year of my studies.

I finished the seventh grade and went
to "4th middle high school"...

...as the Japanese
used to call it.

I was 8 when the Japanese
came to Harbin in 1931.

All I can recall is a Japanese
soldier treating me to sweets.

That's all I remember!

What changed after that?
All the Chinese warriors ran away...

It only took two Japanese divisions
to take over Manchuria...

China had millions of soldiers...

...all of whom dropped their weapons,
changed out of uniform and vanished.

The Japanese put everything
in order, at least in Harbin.

All the street crime just stopped.
They were very good at that!

The collected all the scum and sent
them off to strengthen the defense lines.

None of them
came back alive.

These things were known
to happen in Manchuria.

With the fortification work complete, they
were simply shot so word didn't spread.

The Japanese were familiar with cremation.
The corpses were burned, and that was it.

We met some Chinese prisoners around 1943,
or 44, I don't remember the exact date...

We were shown the so-called
"sacrificial works"...

They were to build a mountain
road to the Amur River.

We weren't far and would go out a few times
to look at the other river bank, the Soviet side.

Next to us, the Chinese were
working on another construction site...

Obviously, after the construction,
they didn't go anywhere.

After finishing middle school,
I studied...

...at the electrical mechanics faculty
at North Manchurian University.

There were two faculties there,
the other was economics.

I spent half the year studying there,
was given a grant and studied another year...

When I finished that, I saw
an advertisement saying:

"Russian students wanted to
enroll in the Medical University."

As you must understand, being
a doctor abroad is a decent living.

If I became an engineer, my
employment wouldn't be guaranteed...
as I doctor I need not worry about it.

Naturally, everyone rushed over...

While there were plenty of candidates,
only four were admitted. Including myself.

I'd always liked sports, ever since
my years at the gymnasium.

I didn't train regularly.
I didn't have the time.

I just participated once in a while,
and little by little, became the
Harbin champion at the age of 16.

There was no match
for me in town.

They called it 'Kamu Butai',
"Wild Geese Squadron".

It was a square building with a two
story prison inside, 4 stories in all.

The prison entrance
was underground.

Around the camp was an electric fence,
and the second, outer zone was
under constant military watch.

You had to keep quiet about Soviet citizens
and emigrants sympathetic to them...

It was very serious, so it was
essential to watch your tongue.

Chinese and Russian people would
come to town and then suddenly vanish...

You could report it to the police,
but it was no use...

The police had no
idea where they were.

They were quietly brought to the
unit area and taken underground...

A square construction, with
a two level prison inside...

Four stories high,
with an underground entrance...

If someone was finished, either
dead or of no further experimental use...

...they were disposed of
in the crematorium.

There's something I
should tell you...

Then they gathered the contaminated
rats, they were already dead...

But they still had to
remove the fleas somehow.

They couldn't just sit there
picking them with tweezers...

So they projected bright lights at them,
leaving a dark hole for the fleas to escape into.

And all the fleas would run
straight into the trap.

The trap would shut, and they
could then attach it to an airplane...

...finally releasing them
at the necessary place.

They discovered that they could only
drop a flea from a height of 250 meters.

If it was dropped from 300 meters,
it would die on impact.

So when they started an operation
against the Chinese military...

...the plane would fly high under darkness,
gain speed and then quickly lower itself
over the target area.

When they went back to their hangers,
they were met by groups...

...wearing protective suits
with special disinfectants.

If just one or two fleas were left,
an epidemic would break out in Harbin.

There were no epidemics because
the operation was so well planned.

And proof of their success?

A Chinese microbiologist questioned the origins
of contaminated fleas, as there were no
epidemics among rodents.

This newspaper was delivered to Unit 731,
and General Ishii was so proud of the article
he gathered all of his officers...

...so he could show it to them.
It all went very well for them.

The officers I met at the time of their
capture and trial didn't look like monsters.

They were officers
who obeyed their orders.

They knew no other way,
commit harakiri or keep working!

But to say that makes them monsters?
Of course, they'll say anything on TV...

Since ancient times, prostitution
has flourished in China.

You could arrive at any Chinese
village, and for the right price...

...could have an innocent
girl brought right to you.

There were Chinese brothels you could catch
all sorts of diseases from, like syphilis...

...but in decent Chinese brothels,
they celebrated the 'Flower Holiday'.

Regular clients would participate in a
lottery to decide who'd have the newest girl.

In pre-war Japan, parents would send
daughters to brothers, to earn their keep.

We bumped into Unit 731 once,
because my friend lived in Old Harbin.

About 25-30 meters away was a
beautiful wood, with lots of things to offer.

We went mushroom picking there.

My mother sometimes went and got plenty,
so we decided to go there ourselves.

As we went deeper into the woods,
someone yelled at us - STOP!

We did. It wasn't a good idea
to mess around with the military...

Another step and there
would be a gunshot.

A member of the patrol approached us,
asking: "Why have you come here? "

Being medical students,
we already knew Japanese.

We explained, showing him the
mushrooms we'd already picked.

naturally he was surprised:
"Why are you speaking Japanese? "

We said we were students
of Harbin University.

"Oh, I see... well, you're not allowed here.
Go back, and don't let us see you here again!"

We said: "Yes sir!",
turned around and left.

We didn't have the faintest idea
who and what they were.

It was only later on that
I remembered this incident.