Uncovering Hidden History: An Interview with Jenny Chan on Pacific Atrocities Education and the Forgotten Horrors of WWII
In a quiet office in San Francisco, Jenny Chan, founder and director of Pacific Atrocities Education, shares a story that many Americans have never heard. It’s a story of systematic atrocities, government censorship, and the enduring legacy of historical trauma that continues to affect millions across the Asia-Pacific region. As we discuss her organization’s mission to illuminate the dark corners of World War II history, the weight of forgotten suffering becomes palpable.
The Genesis of Pacific Atrocities Education
Pacific Atrocities Education (PAE) emerged from a deeply personal place. Founded in 2014 by Chan, the organization represents the culmination of stories passed down through generations of Chinese-American families. “We were formed by millennial Chinese-Americans who were inspired by their grandparents’ stories of World War II,” Chan explains, her voice carrying the gravity of ancestral memory. “We were stunned by the lack of mainstream awareness about what happened in the Asia-Pacific Theater, where 26 million lives were lost.”
The organization’s evolution from a grassroots effort to a federally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit reflects a growing recognition of this historical blind spot. Based in San Francisco’s vibrant Asian-American community, PAE has become a crucial voice in documenting and disseminating information about atrocities that have been, as Chan puts it, “long unheard, ignored, or changed by historical narratives.”
Roosevelt’s Shadow: The Censorship Controversy
One of the most provocative aspects of our discussion centers on the role of the United States government—particularly the Roosevelt administration—in shaping post-war narratives about Japanese war crimes. While Chan approaches this sensitive topic with scholarly restraint, the implications are profound.
Historical records reveal that American authorities made conscious decisions to suppress certain information about Imperial Japanese atrocities in the immediate post-war period. This censorship wasn’t merely bureaucratic oversight but rather a calculated strategy tied to geopolitical considerations of the emerging Cold War. The United States, in its efforts to rebuild Japan as a bulwark against communism in Asia, allegedly chose to downplay or ignore evidence of systematic war crimes.
“It was about creating a narrative that allowed for Japan’s rapid rehabilitation as an American ally,” Chan said. This revelation challenges the traditional American narrative of World War II as a clear-cut victory of good over evil, revealing instead the complex moral compromises that shaped the post-war world order.
Unit 731: Science Without Humanity
Perhaps no topic better exemplifies this historical neglect than Unit 731, the Imperial Japanese Army’s notorious biological and chemical warfare research unit. Operating in occupied Manchuria from 1936 to 1945, Unit 731 conducted horrific experiments on human subjects that rivaled anything perpetrated by Nazi doctors in Europe.
“They called their victims ‘logs,’” Chan explains, her voice steady but somber. “These weren’t just random acts of cruelty—they were systematic, scientific experiments designed to test the limits of human endurance and develop weapons of mass destruction.” The unit’s research included infecting prisoners with diseases like plague, cholera, and anthrax, conducting vivisections without anesthesia, and testing the effects of extreme cold and pressure on human bodies.
The scale of Unit 731’s operations was staggering. Field experiments included dropping ceramic bombs filled with plague-infected fleas over Chinese cities and contaminating water supplies with cholera. These actions resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians, yet the unit’s activities remained largely unknown in the West for decades.
What makes this history even more disturbing is the post-war fate of Unit 731’s researchers. Rather than facing prosecution for war crimes, many of these scientists were recruited by American intelligence agencies, who coveted their biological warfare research. In exchange for their cooperation and data, these perpetrators received immunity from prosecution—a deal that effectively erased their crimes from historical records.
Chinese Slaves of the Imperial Japanese Army
Chan emphasizes the broader phenomenon of forced labor under Japanese occupation. Millions of Chinese civilians were conscripted into slave labor, working under brutal conditions to support Japan’s war machine. These included factory workers, construction laborers, and agricultural workers who were often worked to death with minimal food, medical care, or basic human dignity.
This systematic exploitation extended beyond mere economic necessity—it represented a fundamental dehumanization that enabled other atrocities.
The legacy of this forced labor continues to affect Chinese families today, with many descendants still seeking recognition and compensation for their ancestors’ suffering. However, political sensitivities and diplomatic considerations have often complicated these efforts, leaving many families without closure or acknowledgment of their losses.
The Mission of Memory
As our interview concludes, Chan returns to Pacific Atrocities Education’s core mission: ensuring that these stories are not forgotten. Through publishing books, creating educational resources, producing over 500 historical videos for their Pacific Front Untold YouTube channel, and conducting archival projects, PAE works to fill what Chan calls “a glaring gap in public history.”
The organization’s website has attracted over half a million visitors in the past year, suggesting a growing hunger for this previously suppressed history. Their educational initiatives aim not just to document past atrocities but to help survivors find closure and reconciliation while increasing dialogue about contemporary human rights issues.
“Understanding this history isn’t about assigning blame or fostering resentment,” Chan emphasizes.
The work of Pacific Atrocities Education represents more than historical documentation—it’s an act of historical justice, giving voice to millions whose suffering was systematically ignored or minimized. In an era of rising tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, understanding this complex history becomes not just an academic exercise but a crucial foundation for building a more just and peaceful future.
As I leave our interview, I’m struck by how much of this history remains unknown to most Americans. The stories Chan shares—of Unit 731’s scientific atrocities, of comfort women’s systematic sexual enslavement, of forced labor and government cover-ups—challenge comfortable narratives about the “Good War” and force us to confront the full complexity of human cruelty and institutional evil.
In documenting these forgotten horrors, Pacific Atrocities Education performs an essential service not just to historical accuracy but to human dignity itself. By remembering and acknowledging these atrocities, we honor the victims and take a small step toward ensuring that such crimes are never repeated. The work continues, one story at a time, as Chan and her organization labor to bring light to the darkest corners of our shared past.
