Xu Jingyi
   (Xu Jingyi, retired worker of Nanfen iron mine. This material is rearranged on Xu's tape-recording in December, 1999)
         My name is Xu Jingyi, born on April 22nd,1926. I am 74 this year. My home was in the Xiaoshi lake in Nanfen before 1932. My father died when I was 5 year old , then my mother brought me to Mr. Wang who lived in Fengjia road in Miaoergou. Because of poverty, I had to work in the iron mine in Nanfen when I was 13. What I do then were drilling hole on the hill, digging iron ore and push the ore truck . I was working more than 12 hour per day under extremely dangerous condition, and if I could not finish the task I would be beaten.
    There were Japan police service department and other secret service which suppressed workers at the ore, Japanese assigned Gangmaster(labor's leader) to supervise and force workers to work. There were 21 gangmasters there altogether who scattered throughout the mine. Gangmaster were very cruel , not hesitating to kill you. The Japanese gangmaster of Jinye was more malicious, who might kill you with a handful pickaxe if he dislike you. Once a worker ask to leave to gangmaster Zhang Wanyu for getting marriage, Zhang said:"You still want to get married, I make you dizzy first !"Saying that  Zhang beat this worker to death. A family of 12 members came to the iron mine in Miaoergou, and 8 of them died several mouths later. One day when I was 14, I was so tired that I stood up for some relax when the Japanese supervisor "Bapi" caught sight of me. He came over and broke my head by a hammer without saying a word. I was serious wounded and taken home with the help of my workmates. It took me half a year to recover and had to go on to work in the iron mine. Now, There is a large scar in my head , which is the evidence of the encounter.
       What the miners ate is "steamed bread" made of powder of acorn and maize, where I live were the big house in which were two layer bed, and what we do were the work which should do by oxes and horse. Many people died of fatigue, beating and hunger, and the bodies were throw to the mass grave in Dayanggou or Xiaochayang.
       The Japanese began to build houses for Mingsheng brigade(criminals) in 1939, and force the residents to leave their home. We had to live in the former Chengchayangzi in a small house made of grass. The Mingsheng brigade move from Daijia Inn to the prison in Donggou Gate. Electric wire, block houses and machine guns were set up around the high wall, and many so-called "criminals" were enclosed here. They were force to dress yellow coats with Mingsheng brigade and numbers on the back. The number of these persons kept on increasing, and at most of several thousand in 1943 and 1944. Japanese treat these people more malicious. They were forced to do heave manual labor such as digging  and carrying ore. Two persons push an ore truck weighing more than 10 tons and must finish 12 trucks of ore per day, otherwise they would be beaten to death by the supervisor and gangmasters. Japanese supervisor Yiteng and more than 100 guard policemen force the miners to do the hard work, as a result, many miners had to suicide in the well. At the night, fire lightened up the Mingsheng brigade where the voice of torture and cry of desperation and suffering was on and on. The Japanese devils dig a pool as water dungeon in which there were many pillars with holes. Japanese bind some miners on the pillars and bare feet were in the cold water, after a while when the miners can't stand the suffering and lay down to be   drown. Once a woman came to look after her relative who was an "economic criminal "from Changtu, Japanese was attracted by her beauty and raped her. The woman hanged herself later.
     The mine of Miaoergou and Mingsheng brigade had become sites of slaughter where many miners died here. Japanese forced miners dig deep pitches in the mountain which might extend from the foot of hill to the hillside. Dead miners of fatigue, hunger, illness and torture were carried here, some of them even were alive but still thrown out. Later, pitches were filled up, and the carcass then were thrown on the hill casually. There were layers of bodies throughout the hill. Instead of "Pit of ten thousand people", it is "Pit of tens of thousand people"! Scores of dogs in the Heibei ditch were eating the bodies with red eyes. People were arrested to the yard of the Mingsheng brigade constantly but no one was let out, where are they? They were thrown to the mass grave. Before 1945, few people will come to Miaoergou, why? The stench! There was the smell of bodies anywhere in Miaoergou. How thick the accumulation of the bone  is! Most of them are young person. That the Japanese and gangmasters kill our Chinese is like killing an ant. Never forget the vice of Japanese devils and the suffering of the Chinese, NEVER!
    What Isaid are all I have seen and encountered. I have witnessed much, but because of the aging, I can't recall anymore now, say these.
  Yang Baofu
   (Yang Baofu, born in September 1st, 1919 ,in the Huangbaiyu village north to the Nanfen strip mine. He is the former chairman of the labor union in the Nanfen strip mine, retired now. This material is rearranged cleared up in August 1st,2000)
   My name is Yang Baofu, my native place is in Nanfen, Benxi, and lived in Erdaoquzi which was opposite to the Mingsheng Brigade. I worked in Miaoergou iron mine where I carried earth and filled up the ditches in the mine at the age of 16. I remember that the Mingsheng brigade located in the four big houses in Daijiadian, and about 200 or 300 persons were there at first. They are all the so-called economic criminals, ideological criminals and suspects. At that time, the Mingsheng brigade was called the second branch prison of Nanfen of Benxi prison. The chief leader of the Mingsheng Brigade was the wardenry, under whom were the police offices, the punishment offices and general office. The leader of all the department above were Japanese . All the leaders of the secret agent were called secretary externally and dean internally. Next were the traitor officers such as guards and factotums
       The main task of the Mingshen brigade was to build houses in the east of the mine, later to pick iron ore in the hill. More than 3000 people were working there.
      The Japanese and the Chinese traitors’ mean to torture Chinese were various.
   First, the devastation of life. There were 12 big house and temporary tents in which people laid very close to each other. The fume in the house was bad because they relieve themselves in the houses directly. Wall was full of the frost and shoes were frozen on the ground in winter, as to the summer, we could hardly breathe for the hotness and stand the sting by the mosquito. What we eat is powder made of broomcorn, corn, acorn, bean, but lack of vegetable. The houses were wet and full of deadful infectious disease.
    Second, the physical punishment. Someone were drawn on anklets and carried to the hill in a cave to do hard work. They were forced to gather ore up in carriages and push it to the well in pairs. Usually the work might last 14 hours and if the task didn’t completed, they will face the beat. Somebody collapsed and died in the work site for the extreme heat. There were guards supervising them with gun, and policemen with sticks in hands to see if somebody work slowly, the men who was found will be beat either wound or dead.
    Third, the excruciation. The excruciation usually acted at the night such as being pressed with thick sticks, tiger stool, inserting bamboo prod into the nail, drinking spicy water and cauterizing body with brand iron. The tortures above were what I heard about and what I have seen was drowning people in water dungeon and freezing person being hung in a big willow. People who passed by the water dungeon and the big willow could all see it. The water dungeon was made of stone three meters wide, four meters long where there were supervising guards.
   After the cruel torture, groups of Chinese enter the Mingsheng Brigade but none could come out alive. The dead Chinese were thrown in the mass grave, and more than 100 person were used to carry the bodies. At first they use coffins, which could move the motherboard away, so the bodies dropped down and corpses were laid in line. Later, when the number of the dead people was on the rise, so the corpses were rolled up by matting, and it is still not enough later, so we had to bind the limb on a bar and carry them. There were usually more than 10 people died and when the pestilence prevailed, more than 30. There were too many persons died for injustice, there are more than ten thousand corpses in the pit of ten thousand!
    There were revolt struggles in the Miaoergou also. The Japanese and guards had to be careful either. Though they seemed fierce in the day, they were often beaten to death secretly. They seldom walk outside at the night in case of being beaten. It is well know that the watchtower of Japanese was bungled and guards were dead. The Tiayuan brigade who were the captives of the Eighth Road Army from Shanxi was so stern that the Japanese and guards dared not to provoke them. Because of the cohesion, they were moved away before long.
   The   above mentioned, expect the inside the big house and torture, are all the truth I had witnessed myself.
  
Tian Feng
    (Tian Feng is the so-called Criminal in the Mingsheng Brigade in Nanfen iron mine, she could survive the hard time for the electrician technique. She was the electrician in the Electromechanic work shop in Nanfen iron mine after the founding of PRC. This material is cleared up based on the oral statement in July, 1963 )
     My name is Tian Feng, born in August 16th,1921, my native place is in Shandong. I am an electrician in a small factory in Haerbin at the age of 22. At a night when I was 23, the “stick team” rushed into my dorm abruptly and call my name, they said that I was an economic criminal and would send me to some place. They reply my allegation with several slaps in my face then carried me to the Mingsheng Brigade in Miaoergou in Benxi in a tank car.
       I was lucky when recalling the experience. Several days after my arrival at Nanfen, the guards and Japanese asked me what I did for living. I told them I was an electrician and could do some sewing. Then the Japanese send me from the big house to a small room and asked me to maintain the electricity wires and head lamp. They  gave me a sartorius also to do some sewing for them. I was free compared with others in Mingsheng Brigade, and I work as this until the surrender of Japan.
     The arresting of the Mingsheng Brigade was various. Most of the captives were sent here at the night, and some in days. Some were pulled on anklet and cuffs, others were bound by rope. Sometimes they were sent here in groups and sometimes individually. But however, they were all under rigorous supervision of Japanese and policemen with stick, guns and sword. Getting off at the Eleventh plane Station, they walk to Mingsheng Brigade in line. Japanese named every captive with a number and call the numbers later, then captives were sent into the big house.
    The windows and doors of the big house were small and more than 100 person jundied inside. Someone sleeps on the ground and someone sleeps on the suspend bed. It is very cold in winter and makes them lose their breath in summer. Mosquito, flies, black beetles, cooties and bedbugs grabbled and bit anywhere because they relieved themselves inside the house. What they ate was even worse, broomcorn, bean cake, acorn and corn was all ground into powder. Without vegetable, the food is hard to eat and digest,  even though, it was not enough. How could man to live in such a ban condition?
    The brand of “the second branch prison in Nanfen of Benxi prison” was hung on the gate of the Mingsheng Briadge. The chief leader were wardenry, under whom were the Japanese leaders in departments of labor, police, punishment and logistics, and the Chinese traitors were their assistants.
    There were lots of way to murder and torture Chinese such as living in the big house and the bad food.
    Forcing to work. At the day breaking, members were sent to the cage road under escort and carried to the hill in cages. In the hill, they had to fill the carriage up with iron ore, and push it to the glide well. All the implement and ore were tough and dangerous. If someone were slow, the guard will beat him with the big handle of pickax. There were many tired person fall in a faint for the 14 hours hard work per day. Someone couldn’t stand the work and suicide and others were beaten to death for they didn’t carry sufficiently.
   I once heard that one called Zhu was going to go out the prison when his wife come to bring him home. But he was beaten to death several days ago by Japanese, his wife thus were raped and hanged herself. Shi Guifen who was from Chengde died like this also.
   Somebody would yet suffer kinds of tortures when they came back to the big house. For instance, being forced to drink spicy water, pressed legs by thick stick, scalded by flatirons. The Japanese even insert bamboo stick into their nails and froze them into a big ice-cube. The Japanese and Chinese traitors were so cruel that they kill people without thinking. When the flatiron touched the body, there was smoke rising and the criminal passed out after a scream. Then they were waken up by cold water and scalded again until died.
   The "pit of ten thousand people"(mass grave) is not exaggeration. I think there might about 17800 dead people there. More than ten people died per day and more than 30 when the plague prevailed. People who digged pit and carried corpses were more than 100. The alive people suffered, the died people are more miserable. At first the coffins with movable motherboard and mats were used, later they band the bodies' arms and legs on a stick and carried several bodies together. Some alive people were thrown into the mass grave either. Once I heard from a guard that there once were 108 persons captured from Rehe and remained only 4 when the Japanese surrendered. I don't know how the corpses were buried in the "pit of ten thousand people", but it was said that 100 corpses were piled up in two layers or stacked in a big pit. Dead miners were buried there at first and later were the members of Mingsheng Brigade, the native resident were seldom buried there. Without knowing the situation,  somebody came here to look after their relative, but were robbed of  their money and property then thrown into the mass grave. I have not seen these, I heard from others.
    Though the Japanese and traitors were so fierce atrocious, our Chinese were not waiting to die passively. There had been many struggles such as escaping across the wall and wire net, smashing the watchtowers, killing the guards and grabbing the guns.
    There once were some 300 persons from Shanxi who we call them Taiyuan brigade. There they fill some pit up with stones and earth. They have strong fighting spirit and cohesion, dared to fight with anybody. They once even beat Japanese in work site in the hill, and were moved to the Benxi Lake coal mine later. Most of what I said were that I had witnessed personally and those I heard of were the truth because the tragedies were discussing by many person including the guarding policemen and the members of Mingsheng brigade. The Japanese and Chinese traitors had brought us grave disaster, never forget their cruel crime!