>>64391937
The life of POWs in Siberia was harsh [see the Review of Falling Blossom in issue 4 for an individual account of one man who was captured in Manchuria and died in a labour camp in Siberia]. The Soviets disarmed the Japanese and divided them mostly into units of 1,000 each, then transported them on the trains to Siberia, where the prisoners were ordered to build their own camps. They were put to work in the forest to cut trees, to build railways, stations, ports, buildings for towns, to work in coal mines and in agricultural fields. Their rations were not enough so they scrambled for extra food by eating food waste from Soviet garbage bins and ate snakes, insects, and grass. Many died from chronic malnutrition. All who tried to escape were caught and shot to death. Many died from accidents with little medical treatment. Each prison was required to be financially independent and the salaries of the Soviet administrators were connected with work quotas filled by the POWs. Many administrators and guards stole food from the POWs to sell in the black market. According to the survivors, the worst enemy was the climate in which temperatures often dipped well below freezing in winter.
Worse than the physical hardships was the Soviet propaganda seeking to brainwash the Japanese. Lower ranking soldiers and non-commissioned officers were easy targets as they were already angry with the senior officers whom they blamed for losing the war against the Soviets. The Soviets did not break up the Imperial Army hierarchy as they figured that an orderly system was better for hard labour. While some Japanese officers tried to help their subordinates, many abused their positions to better themselves. Lower ranking soldiers retaliated by pointing figures at the senior officers as reactionary anti-communists, sometimes causing violence. The Soviets appointed their own officers in charge of propaganda;