Part one of the documentary. [Video provided to gojilin.gov.cn]

On the 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War, Jilin Radio and Television Station has produced a three-part documentary exploring a little-known chapter in wartime history – the story of the allied senior prisoners of war held in Liaoyuan.

The WWII Senior Allied Prisoners of War Camp was far more than a prison. It was a place of dehumanization, a living record of war crimes. In December 1944, in the bitter cold of -30 C in Xi'an county (today's Liaoyuan), the commanders huddled under moldy blankets in a brick barracks. When the Japanese commander entered, these men, who had once commanded vast armies, were forced to rise immediately and salute, not daring even to raise their heads.

Between 1942 and 1945, sixteen high-ranking allied commanders were secretly imprisoned by the Japanese in this remote corner of Northeast China. Their ordeal creates a haunting footnote in the Eastern Front of World War II.

This documentary sheds light on their suffering and resilience, bringing to the surface a rarely told story of courage and tragedy from World War II.