二次大戰日陸軍軍法会議記録被發現

Last month the NHK News on-line reported the following:

旧陸軍の軍法会議の記録発見

8月3日 0時38分

焼かれるなどしてほとんど残されていないという戦時中の軍法会議の記録が見つかり、専門家は、戦況が悪化するなか、追い詰められていく隊員たちの心情を知ることができる貴重な記録だとしています。

見つかったのは、太平洋戦争末期の昭和１９年、当時、広島市にあった陸軍部隊の軍法会議で出された１４２件の判決文です。
軍法会議は、軍人や軍属の犯罪を裁くため軍の中に設置されていた裁判制度です。
見つかった判決のうち特に目立つのは、「窃盗」や、軍隊では重罪だった「逃亡」の罪です。
罪を犯した理由をみると、「年老いた母を思うあまり逃走した」とか、「下士官からたびたび殴られ、軍隊が嫌になった」といった記述が見られます。
判決が出された部隊は、船を使って人員や物資の輸送などを行っていた陸軍の通称「暁部隊」で、判決の中には、「敵の潜水艦から襲撃を受け、船が沈没し、危険な海上生活が怖くなった」といった記述もあり、戦況が悪化するなか、追い詰められていった隊員たちの心情を知ることができます。
軍法会議に詳しい獨協大学の松本一郎名誉教授は「軍法会議の記録は焼かれるなどしたため、原本が残っているのは珍しい。母や婚約者に会いたくて逃げ出したといった気の毒な例もあり、人間模様の一端がうかがえる」と話しています。

(試譯文)

Some court-martial records made during the wartime, which hardly could be left behind due to burning, was found; the specialists supposed that they were the precious record through which we could know the feelings of members who had been cornered while the war situation got worse.

What was found was the decision of 142 cases dealt with by the court-martial of the army unit in Hiroshima in those days during Showa 19^th year, being the last stage of the Pacific War.

The court-martial was a court system installed in the army in order to judge the crime of a military man or an army civilian employee.

The crimes of "theft" and "desertion", both serious crimes in the army, that were especially conspicuous among the judgments found.

Looking at the reasons for having committed the crime, "wanted to escape just because I am thinking of my old mother", and description "is being frequently hit by the non-commissioned officer and become dislike the army" were seen.

The unit that issued the judgment was the army unit which performed transportation of staff and goods etc. using the ship, and was commonly known as the "Dawn Unit". In the judgment there were also description about "receiving attacks from the enemy's submarine, the ship sank, and the dangerous life at sea was terrible". With the war situation getting worse, members' cornered feelings could be known.

Emeritus Professor Ichiro Matsumoto of the Dokkyo University who was familiar with the court-martial said that "because records of the court-martial have been subjected to burning etc., it is valuable to have the original remains. The wish to meet the mother and the fiancé were also pitiable examples of having to escape, and they suggest one end of the human relations".

It is an interesting discovery. Through these records, we can know more about Japan during the final stage of WWII.