S05, Rikito Shimohori ‘18, Great-grandfather, Manchuria
I asked my grandfather how my great-grandfather would have thought about World War Il, if he were alive. My grandfather told me his story.
My grandpa was born in Manchuria, because my great-grandfather created a company there. My great-grandfather was not active in the war, and he was still working with the company during the war. Since he was known as a wealthy and aggressive man, the military kept an eye on him. After the war ended in 1945, the Soviet Union took control of Manchuria and arrested all Japanese men between the ages of 18 and 45. Since my great-grandmother was not taken into the Prisoner of War (PoW) camp, she and Grandpa went back to Japan. Whilst this was happening, my great-grandfather was taken to a PoW camp in Siberia.
My great-grandfather saw Japanese people killed while in the PoW camp, since everyone was treated harshly with intense labor. My great-grandfather was released when my grandpa was about four years old. They did not talk much about anything, and only my great-grandmother knew of the harsh labor in Siberia. Later on, my great-grandmother told my grandpa what happened to my great-grandfather.
I did not know anything about my great-grandfather until I talked to my grandpa about how he was in a PoW camp and how my grandpa was actually born in Manchuria.