Young people from China, France donate WWII archives to Yunnan museum to safeguard history

(ECNS) -- Three young people, two from France and one from China, donated scanned copies of historical archives from the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression to the Yunnan Anti‑Japanese War Victory Memorial Hall in Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, on Monday.

The 16 pages of documents dating from 1938 to 1941 and donated by Bastien Ratat and Marcus Détrez from France and Zhong Haosong from China, detail Japanese air raids on Kunming, the strategic importance of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, and Kunming’s role as a vital aviation hub.

Marcus’ grandfather witnessed and photographed Japanese atrocities while living in Shanghai during the Japanese occupation. To preserve such memories, the trio founded the non-profit organization “Echoes of the World.”

The group is now leveraging AI technology, digital databases, and social media to share these historical truths globally. Bastien emphasized that these archives stand as undeniable testimony to Japanese wartime brutality.. By digitizing these records, the team aims to ensure this history is never erased or distorted.

(By Intern Lin Qiaochu, Zhang Dongfang)