Memorial Site of the Yangzhai Massacre

Memorial Site of the Yangzhai Massacre

The Memorial Site of the Yangzhai Massacre is a cultural relic protection unit of Shandong Province.

The Memorial Site of the Yangzhai Massacre is located in Shuangyang Town, Zichuan District, Zibo City, dating back to 1938.

Because the villagers of Yangzhai had supported Hegedang Village and left behind earthen cannons after retreating, the Japanese army, after attacking Hegedang Village, turned their aggression toward the nearby Yangzhai Village. At dawn on February 2, 1938, the Japanese invaders stormed into Yangzhai, searching house-to-house, herding men, women, old and young alike to the lowland outside the south gate. Machine guns were set up around them as the invaders interrogated members of the Iron Plate Society. Seeing no one respond, the Japanese commander, in a fit of rage, ordered the machine gunners to open fire on the young and able-bodied men. One hundred and thirty-eight innocent youths fell one by one in pools of blood. The invaders then rampaged through the village, slaughtering and setting fire to homes, killing or burning another 31 people, and torching 80% of the village's houses.

On June 23, 2015, the Memorial Site of the Yangzhai Massacre was designated by the People’s Government of Shandong Province as part of the province’s fifth batch of provincial-level cultural relic protection units.

Yangzhai Village: Yangzhai Village…… More details about Yangzhai Village++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units in Shandong Province