Human Enclosures: A Documentary Investigation of Atrocities Committed by the Japanese Invaders in Kuancheng, Hebei

Human Enclosures provides a rigorous documentary reconstruction of the "no-man's land" policy implemented by the Imperial Japanese Army in Kuancheng County, Hebei. This volume investigates one of the most devastating yet under-researched depopulation campaigns of the twentieth century, where thousands of villages were razed to create a vast, uninhabited buffer zone.

Drawing on a decade of fieldwork and interviews with over 360 survivors, Zhang Mingyun synthesizes oral testimonies with rare visual archives and official wartime documents. The book offers a meticulous analysis of the following:

- The "concentration settlement" policy: The systematic forced relocation of rural populations into fortified enclosures.
- Socio-economic impact: Statistical data on the destruction of local communities and the systematic violence against civilians.
- Archival evidence: Inclusion of primary source materials and historical photographs that document the "Thousand-Mile No-Man's Land."

As a vital contribution to Holocaust and Genocide Studies, this work fills a significant gap in the historiography of the Second Sino-Japanese War. It serves as an essential primary resource for academic libraries focusing on military history, human rights, and the social impact of total war.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Royal Collins Publishing Company
Published: 09/15/2026
ISBN: 9781487813680
Pages: 544
Weight: 2.80lbs
Size: 10.23h x 7.32w x 1.41d