After serious efforts for many years Sachiko Watanabe, national of the Land of the Rising Sun, achieved her aim in life. In distant, snow-covered Russia, in the city of Norilsk, a memorial stone was inaugurated to the honor of Japanese prisoners of war and internees, who did not return to their home country after World War II and who found their last resting-place far-away from home.
For more than 11 years it had been Sachiko Watanabe’s dream that now, on this frosty day in October, she would be able to fix a ritual garland made of paper cranes to this holy memorial stone behind the Polar circle. Having learned that her father, Yoshio Watanabe had spent his captivity as a prisoner of war in Norilsk camps, where he later died, the daughter of this Japanese man, who never returned home, set herself one aim in life: to not just visit the place of his death, but to perpetuate commemoration of her father and his compatriots.
Altogether Sachiko Watanabe visited Norilsk four times. Across the years she collected money in Japan for the memorial stone, held conversations with like-minded persons in Russia, in our town – with those, who wholeheartedly contributed to the good cause.
Related parties and friends were willing to help her – relatives of those who were unable to return home after the war had ended. Active support was also given by staff members of the museum on the history of the opening and development of the Norilsk industrial region, people from the culture and art sectors, master builders, experts in various fields of activity, representatives of local authorities.
The site for the memorial stone to be put up was not chosen by accidence. On „Norilsk Golgotha“ memorial complex there are already several memorial stones erected by veterans of different peoples and states, whose country fellows, according to different information, rest in this are area forever. The peculiarity of the tragic events of the period of totalitarianism is the fact that nowadays it is not possible anymore to determine exact data about number, place and circumstances of the death of numerous killed persons.
However, owing to some archive documents and statements of very few eye witnesses and participants in the events of those years, they were successful in finding out a number of places of mass graves of prisoners of the Norillag. The foot of Schmidt Mountain finally became the symbol of all the suffering and affliction which did not only befall our country in the middle of the past century, but the peoples of numerous other states, as well.
At „Norilsk Golgotha“ there is an orthodox chapel for all orthodox believers resting in this earth; in the course of years memorials were created in this place, signs of commemoration of the European people, Poled, Estonians, Letts and Lithuanians. Now Norilsk, apart from Sakhalin, Chita, Vladivostok and some other towns, has also become a place of commemoration to those citizens of Japan, who did not return back home.
At “Norilsk Golgotha” Sachiko Watanabe expressed her gratitude to all those, who had been kind enough to help her realizing the project thousands of kilometers away from home. In this context she named Norilsk architects and representatives of fine art, as well as production workers – staff members of polar regional affiliate of „Norilsk Nickel“, simple workers, who erected the monument under extremely difficult weather conditions.
According to the words of the participants of the project, the erection of the memorial for the citizens of Japan at times proved to be exceedingly difficult. A lot of time elapsed until they made the final decision about its design and size; later there were serious problems with delivery, safe transport and handling and the erection of the individual elements. All in all, however, all difficulties were successfully mastered, and Sachiko Watanabe expressed here gratitude to each of them.
- The monument we inaugurated today should not just be considered as a memorial for my father, but for all Japanese who were killed far away from home, - said Sachiko Watanabe during the ceremony. – After they had heard about my plans to visit far-away Russia, many people entirely unknown to me came to me bringing money, issued their blessing and expressed their preparedness to assist me in this project. Among them were lots of descendants of fathers and grandfathers who had not returned home from war. For this reason the most essential determination of my life should be the commemoration of suffering and affliction caused to our peoples by the war. We must never forget about all this horror and those times must never recur. And I am sure that everybody will give me his support in this.
And as if to confirm the Sachiko Watanabe’s words, the people of Norilsk approached her – representatives of the young generation, but also those who recall the measures of repression committed to their relatives, in order to embrace this courageous and single-minded women from the land of the rising sun.
Photos by: Denis Koshevnikov
Text: Denis Koshevnikov
„Polar Messenger“, 08.10.2015