Frenchmen hand over Japanese invasion archives to Yunnan museum

Three men from France and China added international archival evidence to the study of China's resistance against Japanese aggression on Monday when they handed over copies of historical records documenting Japan's invasion to a museum in Kunming, Yunnan province.

The six documents, totaling 16 pages and dating from 1938 to 1941, include records of the Japanese bombing of Kunming and shed light on Yunnan's important military, economic, and transportation roles during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45).

The records, handed over by French nationals Bastien Ratat and Marcus Detrez and Chinese national Zhong Haosong, were given to a museum in Kunming that marks the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Ratat obtained the documents while researching at the Center of Diplomatic Archives in Nantes under the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

Ratat, Detrez, and Zhong co-founded Echoes of the World, a French nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting international awareness and academic research on China's wartime history.

Detrez said China's contribution to the global fight against fascism during World War II was enormous, but the extent of their resistance remains insufficiently understood in many Western societies. "I hope more people become aware of this part of history," he said.

In August last year, Detrez donated 618 wartime photographs to China. The images, taken and collected by his grandfather Roger-Pierre Laurens, a Frenchman who lived in Shanghai in the 1930s, documented atrocities committed by the invading forces.

Detrez said recent developments in Japan, including moves toward remilitarization and visits by right-wing politicians to the Yasukuni Shrine, have reinforced the importance of remembering the lessons of history. "If we don't act together, bad things are going to happen again," he said. "We need to learn from history, remember its lessons, protect peace and create a better world."