Transcripts For DW The Red Children 20240712

This in 1966 china was swept up by the rising tide of the cultural revolution in august more than 1000000 people gathered on kent on men square to celebrate. Chairman mao tse launched a movement for the masses the aim was to weed out anyone who appeared eager to steer the revolution and peoples mindsets toward capitalism the young people of china became messengers of miles communist doctrine. They were joined by people from all over the world who believed in maos philosophy. More than 400 foreigners were involved in the cultural revolution. Their sons and daughters known as the red children were given a communist education and as teenagers were drawn into the revolution their lives are a missing page in an otherwise well known chapter of chinese history. The story of the red children begins with that of their parents during this tumultuous period of the 20th century they left their homes with the dream of helping to found a new china. Off once in the fortune say you my father was born into an upper middle class jewish family in england. 2 but in 1028 my grandfathers business failed and he went bankrupt. Was in my father moved to china 938 ounce writing the book red star over china and he was impressed with the actions of the Chinese Communist party from federal got the. Red star over china depicts mao zedong as a hero games to save the poor man pursue social equality for the masses. Stablished the base of the revolution and you are not a remote part of central china. In an era when poverty and persecution were spreading throughout the world maos philosophy attracted young idealists like michael crooks father. But i assure you my fathers 1st destination was john i dont see how he wanted to meet these great people that he had read about. Like mounted on a joy and not with the obvious either. In 1939 michaels father david met canadian born Isabella Brown they married soon afterward the couple worked for the communist regime as language teachers for diplomats and other officials. My nama is me mimolette my name is mimi miller nines i was born in china in 1950. 5 my father was hans muna who was german. Because he was half jewish he had to flee nazi persecution in germany and in nazi died she learned. In 1933 the nazis seized power in germany after graduating from high school and miller escaped from a labor camp and fled to switzerland. While studying medicine at the university of basel he formed friendships with leftwing classmates including some International Students from china. At the time china was fighting against japanese expansionism a chinese friend suggested that hans millar go to china and support the communists. After graduating from university or wanted to aid the fight against fascism and decided to put his medical skills to use in china. In 1039. 00 after 5 months of travel here arrived at the base of the revolutionaries and immediately requested to work at the front of the tunnel and the way to yon was real its harold s. Sometimes they had to break through the enemy blockades in the middle of the night. And one soldier suffered a ruptured your research on the battlefield but there were very few surgeons in the area who were able to use modern surgical scalpels i will use my father operated on him using the scalpel he brought from switzerland its the surgery went well. And the people of the village started calling him the buddhist saint of the west trying to tell us about that and. In 1905 when she was just 14 camorra went to manchuria to study at a japanese Nursing School soon afterward japan was defeated and the 2nd world war was over leaving cocoa stranded in the chaos and unable to return home. Soon after that the chinese civil war resume 2 has a nurse kyoko naca moro was invaluable to the communists she was assigned to the front where she met dr hans muller who was working for the chinese army. There with the roy them though ah. 2 i was surprised to see european dogs in the communist alamy. Yes it was hard for me to understand the whole week i think it is. That 1st kill conoco morrow as has a much eventually found herself attracted to hans muller 2 they fell in love and resent. They joked about how to german fascism and japanese fascism met and got married in the Chinese Communist army after the war they stayed in china and in 1950 minnie was born in beijing am in october 1949 mounted on founded the peoples republic of china and quickly became a hero to the Chinese People. About 100 foreigners from the u. S. In europe was subscribed to mao tse domes beliefs were given important positions and enjoyed generous privileges. Foreigners were few and far between in china at that time the families of red children received special treatment but also began to integrate into Chinese Society far one jolly theology our Economic Situation was relatively good my parents got a highest salary then their chinese colleagues say you are an idiot or your sure you go with. Most of the red children and their families were provided with accommodation in the form of dormitories or rooms in what was called the Friendship Hotel in beijing. Compared with Chinese People the foreigners enjoyed good treatment but they were still subject to the control of the communist party and faced restrictions on moving freely to different provinces and choosing their jobs. Read children attended local schools and received the same education as chinese children they soon became fluent in chinese all shallot the easy. The 1st phrase i learned in Primary School was for chairman mao. Hall and the next were labor and farmer. My mother supported me and was very strict in what she talked me the farmers are suffering from poverty and landowners are crooks. They would teach us these ideas in the form of fairy tales. I accepted this education without questioning it just as she sounded and that youre shit on she was in chains on the job. In the 1950 s. A Development Boom began in the urban areas of beijing. With the cold war dividing europe and the west the communist party actively recruited experts from around the world for their professional and technical skills. Just you know my name is money chua i was born in mosul you 945. My father was an architect you know in 1951 he decided to go to china to help with the countrys development. Father laon while i was born in beijing in 1912 to a chinese father and a polish mother. Studied in paris and married here i had a french woman during the 2nd world war he joined the resistance and fought against the german occupation. After the war leon worked as an architect and more say he had a good life in france but the opportunity to build up a new country appealed to him. My brothers saw the china as his home and felt that socialism was going well there. My parents were both members of the French Communist Party and. They decided to go to china to give their full support to the country. In 1051 a family boarded a cruise ship and moved to china. Leones experience as an architect in france was valued highly he played a central role in beijings urban planning designing a hospital highway bridges and many other structures. My mother worked in China Radio International and became a pioneer of the french broadcasting establishment. The familys happy life soon came to an end in 1057 months father was caught up in an unforeseen development. You know if youre to be you sure which we yet i dont what my father pointed out that beijing city hall was too luxury s. In addition he submitted his opinion to the beijing institute of architectural design. All he did was provide advice on technical issues but it resulted in him being put before a Kangaroo Court so yeah franco ego. At the time china was engaged in an anti Rightist Movement scholars and intellectuals who criticized the communists were branded as members of the right wing. They were denounced and forced to undergo reeducation and state sponsored manual labor programs. The roots of the movement can be traced back to the soviet Union Following the death of stalin in 1953 his successor Nikita Khrushchev launched a series of political reforms in 1956 he condemned some of those crimes committed under stalin and the cult of personality that had surrounded him. Seizing the opportunity and electrodes in hungary poland and other communist countries in Eastern Europe encouraged uprisings in hope of bringing about reforms the soviet union responded by dispatching its military to crush the opposition. Mounted on was wary about the prospect of similar events in china he cracked down on intellectuals who criticized the party and branded over half a 1000000 people as right wing radicals. Play on why i was among them he was removed from his position as supervisor of a Major Development project and forced to work on the construction site for a year after her father was branded a rightist also suffered repercussions. Oh national washouts when i was in Junior High School i got into quarrels with my classmates they called me a little rightist. I got back at my classmates by slapping them in the face but it happened pretty awful. Ford says i was angry that my father was dismissed as rightwing so i was even angrier when they called me a little rightist so. Chairman mao i want to try to become the leader of a communist world replacing the soviet union. He boasted that china would surpass britain within 15 year and in 1958 he launched the great leap forward the entire nation was expected to participate in agricultural and industrial development. The farming system was to be collectivized by placing it under the direct control of what we called peoples communes. Banned private sector farms and strictly rationed Food Distribution around the country. Between 158160 2 at least 45000000 people. Worked starved beaten to death during the great leap forward food is forcibly taken from the countryside in order to see people in the cities in other words cities off friends thought. And they live in the bubble all information is strictly controlled. Very difficult for ordinary people never mind foreign to actually know what is happening in the countryside. Following collectivization and the destruction and collapse of Agricultural Production Food Shortages began to reach the cities. But the communist party regulated the media so the public was initially unaware of the situation. In 1962 the Party Leadership assessed the progress of the great leap forward. She was heir apparent inspected the grim reality of rural areas and admitted the partys failure. You reintroduced some capitalist policies that mao had eliminated. Mao feared that this failure could be used to undermine his authority the result was the cultural revolution shortly after the founding of the peoples republic in 1949 the communist party had also set up a nationwide Youth Organization called the Young Pioneers. It sought to train the new generation to become the communist leaders of the future joining the Young Pioneers was effectively mandatory for schoolchildren and their red neckerchief remains to this day a symbol of pride and belonging straight away usually i was told that it was part of the National Flag almost died in the blood of the motss of the revolution. My parents were very happy that i joined tonight to me on a trip to the great wall with you. When i wore my red scarf and i felt really on and. In 1966 miles launched the cultural revolution in order to realize his ideal communist state he launched a nationwide campaign to eliminate dissidents and reeducate the Chinese People. Now rely primarily on loyal young activists who had been steeped in his communist philosophy since childhood. They were highly motivated to overthrow any leaders of the communist party that might have had capitalist leanings. In may 1966 maos stablished the Cultural Revolution Group centered on his wife jiang ching. The propaganda arm of the party and the peoples daily newspaper wielded the effective power in the group they began to disseminate propaganda about the cultural revolution and mahlers ideology around the same time some middle School Students in beijing formed a group called the red guard. They said they wanted to combat socalled revisionist authorities and attitudes soon red guard units began emerging in schools across the country. In the early stages of the cultural revolution procommunist foreigners were not allowed to assume active roles most of them were forced to remain in the Friendship Hotel and were placed under the supervision of the state administration of foreign experts affairs. Usually following chairman maos instructions non chinese were eventually allowed to participate in the revolution. As you young foreigners wanted to form a team of their own hugo woman since you say you know our parents encouraged us for so we built up a youth group for. Youth group. Washerwoman even though we were teenagers we wanted to be critical as well. Michael crook like other chinese teenagers believed in the political ideals of the cultural revolution at the time young people always carried a Little Red Book called quotations from chairman mao tse tung. It provided an introduction to his ideas and thoughts about the communist party and was originally published by the Peoples Liberation army in 1964. During the 10 years of the cultural revolution an estimated 1000000000 copies of the Little Red Book were printed and sold in china together with the selected works of mao zedong it was regarded by maos supporters as one of the treasured read books. At school and in the workplace everybody read it. Miles thoughts had infiltrated the public consciousness. In the summer of 1966 a series of events was organized to advertise the cultural revolution the rallies were captured on government propaganda film. It says he played the cello clip you. Know if you dont play del what is still going to. Get under. Branded Free Transportation for all participants over 1000000 Young Students from all over china attended a series of rallies. Also ordered to gatherings to be broadcast in theaters around the country to promote the movement and create an appealing image of the red guards. Well maybe not at all since they have other things still they think things like please list the list. Playfield says the only serious injuries yes i one red card later said we were enthusiastic mauers but at the same time we were a people discontented with reality i knew from a little before were from a family here why did the teenagers actively participate in the cultural revolution and join the red concerts or. Its. Or. Rebellious you. Chairman mao sad teenage is full of energy. So you go lets hear that fisher should join with you. At the rallies the leaders called for the red guards to destroy the for old old customs culture habits and ideas which they regarded as remnants of feudal and borzois society. The red guard soon set about destroying traditional temples buddhist statues and other Cultural Treasures anything deemed to symbolize the old authority. Meanwhile landowners and wealthy citizens believed to be capitalists were subject to do show trials scholars writers and artists were assaulted and in some cases beaten to death the police stood by silently. Mimi mullers chinese friends became red guards and took part in the cultural revolution she also read the Little Red Book every day on the bus and was proud to spread chairman maos doctrine. But her father hans muller who had helped to build the new china started to have doubts about the cultural revolution old comrades who had fought alongside him now found themselves coming under fire. Well you may will allow my father told be very clearly if you resort to violence do not come back home. So i tried to limit my involvement what youll find now long. At the time reading peoples homes had become a popular pastime among the red guards they would break into the homes of suspected capitalists searching for Hidden Assets and any papers to prove ownership of land which were held up as evidence of counterrevolutionary activity. And that my friend called me to search our classmates house mema mayor shahana show his hand to shoot it down from this kind of thing i was allowed back then so. Shoot shoot shoot charge and you know that. They fought us mail but to my father this acts as an forgivable gesture of eva so it was difficult for me to make a decision that. After some consideration i decided my father was wrong in this case. And i talked to him and he said russia if you join to any violent activities you must leave this household. So. So i only took part on one occasion. I watched without saying anything. When i broke into the house i was confused to. Just. I dont remember a thing well just see that they are my only memory is up a piece of gold rolling past me just a comment on. What you see that its challenging jordan at the time i thought it was the right thing to do for the revolution i didnt have any doubts. To chanels really get that and i didnt even think about why. Thats an easy way sharma to do just like wearing the latest fashion is built into we didnt ask for a reason but the asian nation while they were shot to with their sounds out. Of the show why should say. They sure had a course i was only 13 years old when the cultural revolution began to try me for loss or your i was very active. We broke into the offices of the art and music teachers because its really good the good ones too tried to beat the teacher with a battle buddy but it was stopped by the other students. I know what the trouble is i want went back to visit my former principal who i respected. You for that shed been beaten by her students and had hunted leg broken up she still had trouble walking when i visited her all those years later. Of the shore her children and what you are you sure you quiet. One year before the cultural revolution began moni chua had returned to france to study up to. I have yeah. I found out that the cultural revolution was underway in china when i knew there were reports about it in the newspaper this. Year and i wanted to go back and see what was happening but if i stayed in front i would never know the truth i think. I wanted to see it with my own millions. But. In the summer of 1967 monique dropped out of university and returned to china believing that helping the cultural revolution was a once in a lifetime opportunity but what she witnessed there was different from what she had imagined. So hero as you are to be sure is and then why was theres so much chaos oh. Yeah one time i saw someone being paraded around with her arms down behind her back. And an old woman who was forced to wear large cone shaped hands had an idea over there. And its all about that whole i witnessed scenes like this all around the city book. Tony the young people didnt have any sympathy so i would even make fun of them and then with 100. Gentil martha went to shore. And the holy by heard that in my school the red guards had basin and heated to death i know that the house. That teacher was a very unassuming person. Situation on the water i started to have doubts about the cultural revolution and where did miles i dont think this would lead. To. The revolution also spread to the workplace and local Government Special red guard factions sprang up everywhere and anyone who opposed them would be punished senior managers and political figures were replaced one after another. Eventually the purges reached the top of the government in 1987 she was dismissed as president summarily tried and placed under house arrest. Following severe maltreatment his health deteriorated he died in prison and was cremated in secrecy. You would see an october 17th 1967 a rebel faction of the beijing Foreign Studies University seized my father and accused him of being a foreign spy when i was told. Michael crooks father david taught at the university before he was arrested on campus by a rebel faction and taken to an unknown location. His family tried desperately to find out where he was. A mother and i came to appeal for his release. She said to the rebels you are wrong to detain my husband david and i are not just married we have comrades and partners of the revolution are hard at home she was then also seized by the rebel faction. A lot of the foreigners were targeted joining the cultural revolution. The wrongful capture of my father is just one example there are children. In september not you 66 a lot of the slogans are about capitalist road reversion ists a year later its all about trade to spot. Run again its not just about foreigners who might be spies its about anybody who might have an end in the link with the for so september 167. 00 onwards there is a good rates which the. Friend of michaels was born in beijing to a chinese father and an american actress. Her father. Had been born in the us to chinese expectorate and became a leading expert in metallurgy in 1950 he went to help with establishment of the new china and became the director of an Important Research laboratory. Because you had to pay came from the us and had an american wife he was criticized by a rebel faction within the laboratory and he was violently denounced. In 1968 he was held captive for a year in a cabin near the laboratory although he was the director he was not permitted to continue his work instead he was ordered to clean the toilets. After his release he ate you pay was diagnosed with late stage cancer but he continued writing his Research Papers trying to contribute what he could to chinas progress as a suspected counterrevolutionary he was denied treatment and eventually died. China destroyed my father. He could have done so much for china. Despite all he went through he went back to help the Chinese People. In 1967 and 68 a power struggle emerged among various rebel groups in cities around the Country Armed guards continued to turn around and kill one another. In shanghai she chong ching and other places rebel factions seized weapons from factories the cultural revolution devolved into a massive armed struggle. To combat this in december 1968 mount introduced a new policy measure called the down to the Countryside Movement the Young Leaders of the cultural revolution renew the urge to move from the urban to rural areas. Under the pretext of learning true values from poor farmers some 16000000. 00 people were relocated to rural labor programs for several years. Be urban use proven unsuited for farm work but their removal did help to reduce the violence committed by red guards in the cities michael crook and many of the other foreign red children were not sent to rural areas or ordered to work in factories in beijing michael worked in an Agricultural Machinery factory that tried in the factory we stood in a line in front of paul try to. Every want to help the Little Red Book and sang a song to its. Michaels reeducation in this factory continued for 2 years then he worked at a car repair factory for another 2 years in late 1968 the rebel faction at the Radio Station where monique was mother worked arrested monique without warning they had tapped her phone and had been monitoring her behavior. That time i was stunned and wondered what was going to happen. So down and confess your model you throw newspaper was chairman maos portrait on this in the trash wrong that you know where you are youre bolitho to defame chairman mao is to defame everyone you down the wall there was no one will forgive you. Changed your opinion if you do not confess your parents and your brother and sister will have no future. For. Me because i knew i was threatened like this day after day which are in many candles or do you know. No one told one example you that she had been taken away her sister katrine 14 years old at the time couldnt understand what was happening. Through they say we were sharing a room and all my sisters belongings were seized you will measure for a while i had no idea where my sister went oh. My gosh my mother was crying every day. My father was also very worried what you see what we didnt know what to do you know who that. Money was subjected to intensive questioning for more than a month she was told that if she confessed to her crime she would be released. So she signed her arrest warrant she did not know what was to come. Her and theyre going to be born why did your daughter then they told me that i was officially a rest stop. I couldnt believe it. So i had signed exactly what they told me to. I wanted to scream but i couldnt so that is what happened so much happened all at once to their own georgia. I had signed the werent sure how i was speechless. Although she had done nothing when a question are judged as a foreign spy man sent to a prison in beijing that held people accused of political crimes. But i told them what i was sure for the 1st couple of months they gave me a book quotations from chairman mao and. She how they are for all of those and yet when i said i wanted to read Something Else they asked me whether i understood the entire book yet. Also i said most of it was. Topic i told me i was an insulin person youre a criminal keep reading. You had a hard time you know let me hear so i had no choice but to read it. Eventually i began to deny the charges i was deceived by rebel faction and i signed the arrest warrant even though im innocent its over shall i thought that the child i come up with i 10 every time i thought about it my entire body hurt finish and i was numb with pain. My more time. It continued like that for 3 years. I spent my time looking at the tree outside the prison all the time. Made him kind of a fool i started talking to the tree sit. Together for than are looking at the tree and this talk reminds me of those days to go boy bush really wish he saw it cuz ill show has the sound on the initial. In 1971 monique was sent to a labor camp she was released one year later there is no evidence of money ever being a spy. In the meantime a shift was underway that would have a profound impact on the lives of the red children. Amid rising tensions between china and the soviet Union Beijing sought to resume diplomatic relations with japan and the west this pave the way for a visit by u. S. President Richard Nixon in 1972 a historic event that ended 25 years of hostility and shift the balance of power in the cold war. As chinas International Relationships improved foreigners who had been wrongfully accused and imprisoned were released. Including michael crooks parents. In 1973 state premier joe and ally spoke at a gathering of foreign citizens to apologize on behalf of the government for their treatment during the cultural revolution. Maybe muller who had joined in at least one house raid left her factory in beijing after 2 years and reenrolled in university she married a swiss man and left china in 1986. Susanna yeah who had lost her father left china for the u. S. In 1973 she still lives in san francisco. Thats a mirror michael cook and his brothers moved to their fathers native britain they attended university there before michael returned to china. To tone died in 1976 the man who had had such a drastic impact on the lives of the red children. The socalled gang of 4 of elite political leaders including maos 3rd wife jiang chaney were arrested on charges of conspiracy against the state and party. Revolution had come to an end. The key must be that mao at this point has pretty much the cheve what he wanted to achieve hes eliminated most of his i mean. He has asserted as absolute authority now its atone for what has been written back into the constitution and there are no animes left standing. Ive tried to forget those painful memories. I dont want to remember the cultural revolution and all. Now. I feel chinese inside i feel this is my country looking back on the cultural revolution i think it was a. It was a soul stirring event. Money quad returned to paris in 1985 and worked as a chinese teacher until her retirement she published a set of chinese textbooks that became very popular in france and are still in print. But few readers were aware of the authors difficult early life in china. Eventually her parents also came back and spent their later life in france but the 3 of them never managed to reflect upon their life together in china so you know i thought oh well you know for a couple of weeks before my father passed away i went out to the suburbs with him on the. He took a look around and said he felt like a child much too often. Hey lets go to that Chinese Restaurant someday and have dinner with everything the one you know so you know its as if youve forgotten all the painful memories in this young of the. Cultural revolution in terms of death is actually not all that exceptional probably only up to about 2000000 people actually lost their lives between 19661976 when cham in melbourne but the key to understanding the damage done during the cultural revolution to ordinary people is not to look at death but to look at loss of trauma loss of face. Loss of trust in social relationships where people are obliged to denounce not only neighbors and colleagues but also their own family members but the entire social fabric is destroyed. In 1901 the communist party issued an appraisal of the countrys modern history it said the cultural revolution had been a serious mistake but the mounts are domes achievements al queda is failure. The idealists who travelled from overseas to help create a new china. And their red children who grow up amid d. O. Peoples of the cultural revolution. 2 generations whose lives were indelibly shaped by their experiences of red china. Eco africa. Hes known as the plastic man of. God who funds them campaigning for 15 years to get people in senegal to use less plastic ones in the. Corona restrictions are forcing him to stay at home but hes carrying on a fight. Eco account for. 30 minutes on d w. Every day counts for us and for our planet. Global ideas is on its way to bring you more conservation. How do we make cities screamer how can we protect animals and their habitats and what to do with all our waste. Can you make a difference by choosing reforestation through deforestation recycling or disposable Smart New Solutions oberstein said you know what. Is truly unique and we know that their uniqueness is what allows us to live and survive lou why do you assume the environmental soon to global 3000 d w. This is d. W. News live from berlin true for the leaders of this be internationals turkish branch sentenced to jail tara charges well hear from a german activist cleared in the same case was arrests pops another diplomatic route between turkey and germany also on the program. United states for past a mock Independence Day as its coronavirus caseload continues as many shelter in place bunch of others want to celebrate the 4th of july without restrictions on the freedom to have fun. On german