Surgeon General, Shiro Ishii, was the leader and co-founder of Unit 731; the deadliest research facility of the 20th century and one of the most barbaric chapters of WWII. In this episode, Carly and Tab unpack the actions of the “most evil scientist in history”, ranking above notorious Nazi doctors and Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer (the father of the atomic bomb) and contemplate what made him test on men, women and children…without remorse.
Content warning: Explicit discussions of human experimentation and human casualties. Time points where discussions occur: 18:17-19:14, 28:20-33:15.
Case Sources:
- Byrd, Gregory Dean, “General Ishii Shiro: His Legacy is That of Genius and Madman” (2005). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1010. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1010
- https://medium.com/teatime-history/he-built-the-deadliest-science-lab-in-human-history-but-was-never-brought-to-justice-bc71b12bf1c5
- https://dirkdeklein.net/2016/09/23/dr-shiro-ishii-the-time-when-evil-went-unpunished/
- https://listverse.com/2007/11/18/top-10-evil-scientists/
- Biographics Documentary: https://youtu.be/_bZNTQ7F7c8?si=cLNDz5AT9Lsmeoa8
- https://www.nytimes.com/search?query=shiro+ishii
- https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/17/world/unmasking-horror-a-special-report-japan-confronting-gruesome-war-atrocity.html
- https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/
Historically Bad is created and produced by Tabitha Festa and Carly Sullivan.
Historically Bad Podcast 