coming up the sound documentary of the red children about childhood in china this morning a website to tell to talk can follow us on twitter i mean see grandchildren. thanks so much. and one which of course a. video. anytime anywhere.

it's in 1966 china was swept up by the rising tide of the cultural revolution in august more than 1000000 people gathered on chin on many square to celebrate. chairman mao tse launched a movement for the masses the aim was to weed out anyone who appeared eager to steer the revolution and people's mindsets toward capitalism the young people of china became messengers of miles' communist doctrine. they were joined by people from all over the world who believed in mao's philosophy. more than 400 foreigners were involved in the cultural revolution. their sons and daughters known as the red children were given a communist education and as teenagers were drawn into the revolution their lives are a missing page in an otherwise well known chapter of chinese history. the

story of the red children begins with that of their parents during this tumultuous period of the 20th century they left their homes with the dream of helping to found a new china. well food's in the forefront say you my father was born into an upper middle class jewish family in england. that. 2 i knew but in 1028 my grandfather's business failed and he went bankrupt. wolf was in my father moved to china 938 hours to reading the book red star over china and he was impressed with the actions of the chinese communist party and federal got the. red star over china depict mao zedong as a hero aims to save the poor and pursue social equality for the masses knowledge

stablished the base of the revolution and you are not a remote part of central china. in an era when poverty and persecution were spreading throughout the world miles philosophy attracted young idealists like michael crooks father. and they're sure my father's 1st destination was john ahmann . he wanted to meet these great people that he had read about. like mounted on a joy and not with the obvious either. in 1939 michael's father david met canadian born isabella brown they married soon afterward the couple worked for the communist regime as language teachers for diplomats and other officials. my nama is mainly metal that my name is mimi miller nine's i was born in

china in 1950. my father my father was hans miller who was german. because he was half jewish he had to flee nazi persecution in germany and nazi died she learned. in 1933 the nazis seized power in germany after graduating from high school and miller escaped from a labor camp and fled to switzerland. while studying medicine at the university of basel he formed friendships with leftwing classmates including some international students from china. at the time china was fighting against japanese expansionism a chinese friend suggested that hans millar go to china and support the communists

. after graduating from university muller wanted to aid the fight against fascism and decided to put his medical skills to use in china. in $1039.00 after 5 months of travel here arrived at the base of the revolutionaries and he mediately requested to work at the front of the tunnel and the way to yon was relates carolus sometimes they had to break through the enemy blockades in the middle of the night . one soldier suffered a ruptured your research on the battlefield but there were very few surgeons in the area who were able to use modern surgical scalpels i will use my father operated on him using the scalpel he brought from switzerland. the surgery went well. and the people of the village started calling him the buddhist saint of the west time talent show that i got. in 1905 when she was

just 14 more i went to manchuria to study at a japanese nursing school soon afterward japan was defeated and the 2nd world war was over leaving kyoko stranded in the chaos and unable to return home. soon after that the chinese civil war resume 2 as a nurse kyoko naca moro was invaluable to the communists she was assigned to the front where she met dr hans muller who was working for the chinese army. when they were the right that know how. 2 i was surprised to see european dogs in the communist tell me. yes it was hard for me to understand so. he can i think you think. at 1st coco not them are always hesitant but she eventually found herself attracted to how. 2

they fell in love and resent. they joked about how to german fascism and japanese fascism met and got married in the chinese communist army after the war they stayed in china and in 1950 minnie was born in beijing i am in october 1949 mounted on founded the people's republic of china and quickly became a hero to the chinese people. about 100 foreigners from the us in europe was subscribed amounts or domes beliefs were given important positions and they enjoyed generous privileges. foreigners were few and far between in china at that time the families of red children received special treatment but also began to integrate into chinese society foreign ones yalit tell of our economic situation was relatively good my parents got a highest salary then that chinese colleagues say you are an idiot or you're sure

it's always you know. most of the red children and their families were provided with accommodation in the form of dormitories or rooms in what was called the friendship hotel in beijing. compared with chinese people the foreigners enjoyed good treatment but they were still subject to the control of the communist party and faced restrictions on moving freely to different provinces and choosing their jobs. read children attended local schools and receive the same education as chinese children they soon became fluent in chinese. shallot the. the 1st phrase i learned in primary school was great for chairman mao. hall and the next were labor and farmer. my mother supported me and was very strict in what she taught me the farmers are

suffering from poverty and landowners are crooks. they would teach us these ideas in the form of fairy tales if we're getting into i accepted this education without questioning it just as she sounded mean that you're shit on she was in chains on the job. in the 1950 s. a development boom began in the urban areas of beijing. with the cold war dividing europe and the west the communist party actively recruited experts from around the world for their professional and technical skills. just you know my name is money. i was born in mostly a 945. my father was an architect you know in 1951 he decided to go to china to help with the country's development.

father laon while i was born in beijing in 1912 to a chinese father and a polish mother. studied in paris and married here than a french woman during the 2nd world war he joined the resistance and fought against the german occupation. after the war laon worked as an architect and more say he had a good life in france but the opportunity to build up a new country appealed to him. something my brothers saw china as his home and felt that socialism was going well there. my parents were both members of the french communist party. but decided to go to china to give the full support of the country. in 1051 the family boarded

a cruise ship and moved to china. leone's experience as an architect in france was valued highly he played a central role in beijing's urban planning designing a hospital highway bridges and many other structures. my mother worked at china radio international and became a pioneer of the french broadcasting establishment. the family's happy life soon came to an end in 1057 months father was caught up in an unforeseen development. you know if you're the future which we yet i don't feel for my father pointed out that beijing city hall was to look your yes. in addition he submitted his opinion to the beijing institute of architectural design. all he did was provide advice on technical issues but it resulted in him being put before a kangaroo court so he. of human was yet. at the time

china was engaged in an anti rightist movement scholars and intellectuals who criticized the communists were branded as members of the right wing. they were denounced and forced to undergo reeducation and state sponsored manual labor programs. the roots of the movement can be traced back to the soviet union following the death of stalin in 1953 his successor nikita khrushchev launched a series of political reforms in 1956 he condemned some of those crimes committed under stalin and the cult of personality that had surrounded him. seizing the opportunity and electros in hungary poland and other communist countries in eastern europe encouraged uprisings in hope of bringing about reforms the soviet union responded by dispatching its military to crush the opposition.

was wary about the prospect of similar events in china a crackdown on intellectuals who criticized the party and branded over half a 1000000 people as right wing radicals. play on why i was among them he was removed from his position as supervisor of a major development project and forced to work on the construction site for a year after her father was branded a rightist also suffered repercussions. oh english all washed up when i was in junior high school i got into quarrels with my classmates they called me a little rightist. i got back at my classmates by slapping him in the face but it happened pretty awful. i was angry that my father was dismissed as right wing so i was even angrier when they called me a little bright. so. chairman mao i want to china to become the leader of

a communist world replacing the soviet union. he boasted that china would surpass britain within 15 years and in 1958 he launched the great leap forward the entire nation was expected to participate in agricultural and industrial development. the farming system was to be collectivized by placing it under the direct control of what we called peoples communes. banned private sector farms and strictly rationed food distribution around the country. between 158160 2 at least 45000000 people. worked starved beaten to death during the great leap forward food is forcibly taken from the countryside in order to see people in the cities in other words cities off friends thought. and they live in the bubble

all information is strictly controlled. very difficult for ordinary people never mind foreigners to actually know what is happening in the countryside . following collectivization and the destruction and collapse of agricultural production food shortages began to reach the cities. but the communist party regulated the media so the public was initially unaware of the situation. in 1962 the party leadership assessed the progress of the great leap forward. she was heir apparent inspected the grim reality of rural areas and admitted the party's failure. you reintroduced some capitalist policies that mao had eliminated. mao feared that this failure could be used to undermine his authority the result was the cultural revolution shortly after the founding of the people's republic

in 1949 the communist party had also set up a nationwide youth organization called the young pioneers. it sought to train the new generation to become the communist leaders of the future joining the young pioneers was effectively mandatory for schoolchildren and their red neckerchief remains to this day a symbol of pride and belonging. what you should not i was told that it was part of the national flag almost died in the blood of the motss of the revolution. my parents were very happy that i joined tonight took me on a trip to the great war with you. read scaf and i felt really on and.

in 1966 molly launched the cultural revolution in order to realize his ideal communist state he launched a nationwide campaign to eliminate dissidents and reeducate the chinese people. relied primarily on loyal young activists who had been steeped in his communist philosophies since childhood. they were highly motivated to overthrow any leaders of the communist party that might have had capitalist leanings. in may 1966 mao's stablished the cultural revolution group centered on his wife jiang ching. the propaganda arm of the party and the people's daily newspaper wielded the effective power in the group they began to disseminate propaganda about the cultural revolution and mahler's ideology around the same time some middle school students in beijing formed a group called the red guard. they said they wanted to combat so-called revisionist

authorities and attitudes soon red guard units began emerging in schools across the country. in the early stages of the cultural revolution pro-communist foreigners were not allowed to assume active roles most of them were forced to remain in the friendship hotel and were placed under the supervision of the state administration of foreign experts affairs. usually following chairman mao's instructions nanda chinese were eventually allowed to participate in the revolution. as you young foreigners wanted to form a team of their own. hugo one that since you say you know our parents encouraged us for so we built up a youth group for. youth group. that washerwoman even though we were teenagers we wanted to be critical as well. michel croaks like other chinese teenagers believed in the political ideals of the

cultural revolution at the time young people always carried a little red book called quotations from chairman mao tse tung. that provided an introduction to his ideas and thoughts about the communist party and was originally published by the people's liberation army in 1964. during the 10 years of the cultural revolution an estimated 1000000000 copies of the little red book were printed and sold in china together with the selected works of mao zedong it was regarded by mao's supporters as one of the treasured read books. at school and in the workplace everybody read it. mao's thoughts had infiltrated the public consciousness. in the summer of 1966 a series of events was organized to advertise the cultural revolution the rallies were captured on government propaganda film. if it says he

played the cello clip it was you know if you don't play del what she is doing but it seems you get a. smile granted free transportation for all participants over 1000000 young students from all over china attended a series of rallies. also ordered the gatherings to be broadcast in theaters around the country to promote the movement and create an appealing image of the red guards . woman be thought about the city they still leave the things that please don't let the list of those. things i'll play be a little a serious indeed yes i one regard later said we were enthusiastic mauer's but at the same time we were a people discontented with reality i knew from

a little before him before idea why did the teenage is actively participate in the cultural revolution and join the red gongs. it's. or because we were rebellious you. chairman mao san teenage is full of energy. so you go with your that's for sure sure joe it's you. at the rallies the leaders called for the red guards to destroy the 4 olds old customs culture habits and ideas which they regarded as remnants of feudal and bourgeois society. the red guard soon set about destroying traditional temples buddhist statues and other cultural treasures anything deemed to symbolize the old authority . meanwhile the landowners and wealthy citizens believed to be capitalists were subjected to show trials

scholars writers and artists were assaulted and in some cases beaten to death the police stood by silently. mimi muller's chinese friends became red guards and took part in the cultural revolution she also read the little red book every day on the bus and was proud to spread chairman mao's doctrine. but her father hans muller who had helped to build the new china started to have doubts about the cultural revolution old comrades who had fought alongside him now found themselves coming under fire. well you may will allow my father told be very clearly if you resort to violence do not come back home. so i try to limit my involvement or joy if i now long. at the time reading people's homes had become a popular pastime among the red guards they would break into the homes of suspected

capitalists searching for hidden assets and any papers to prove to ownership of land which were held up as evidence of counter revolutionary activity which. i have for what it cheerful and that my friend called me to search our classmates house men on their show on our show a chance you're sure to tell from this kind of thing was allowed back then. huge huge charge and you know that yeah. they fought us male but to my father this acts as an forgivable gesture of a father so it was difficult for me to make a decision that sounded bad. after some consideration i decided my father was wrong in this case. and i talked to him and he said russian if you join to any violent activities you must leave this household.

so. so i only took part on one occasion. i watched without saying anything. when i broke into the house and i was confused. to handle. i don't remember a thing which it is that they are my only memory is up a piece of gold rolling past me. on. what you see that challenge jordan egyptian at the time i thought it was the right thing to do for the revolution i didn't have any doubts. to chanelle sleep and i didn't even think about why. that's the way sharma to do just like wearing the latest fashion this new isn't it we didn't ask for a reason but the asian nation woman who shot you with our sounds out. of the thrower should say. they sure have

a question i was only 13 years old when the cultural revolution began to try though later last year year year i was very active. she. broke into the offices of the art and music teachers because it's for the good the good one student tried to beat the teacher with a battle b. but it was stopped by the other students. i know what the trouble is i was went back to visit my former principal who i respected. you for your she'd been beaten by her students and had 100 leg broken up she still had trouble walking when i visited her all those years later huge ego of the sure and what you are you sure you were. one year before the cultural revolution began moni chua had returned to france to study up to. i found out that the cultural revolution was underway in china but i knew they were reports

about it in the newspaper this. year and i wanted to go back and see what was happening but if i stayed in front i would never know the truth i think. what i wanted to see it with my own knowing this. woman. in the summer of 1967 monique dropped out of university and returned to china believing that helping the cultural revolution was a once in a lifetime opportunity but what she witnessed there was different from what she had imagined. so hero as you are to be sure is and then why was there's so much chaos. one time i saw someone being paraded around with her arms bound behind her back. an old woman who was forced to wear large cone shaped hats had an idea of. dylan's all

about that whole i witnessed scenes like this all around the city look. tony the young people didn't have any sympathy they would even make fun of them being with. joy till martha went to shore. and the whole way behind her that in my school the red guards had basin and heated to death. the house. that teacher was a very unassuming person. situation on the water i started to have doubts about the cultural revolution and where did man's a donkey think this would lead. to. the revolution also spread to the workplace and local government special red guard factions sprang up everywhere and anyone who opposed them would be punished. or managers and political figures were replaced one after another. eventually the

purges reached the top of the government in 1987 lucia she was dismissed as president summarily tried and placed under house arrest. following severe maltreatment his health deteriorated he died in prison and was cremated in secrecy . you would see me on october 17th 1967 a rebel faction of the beijing foreign studies university seized my father and accused him of being a foreign spy when i was told. michael crooks father david taught at the university before he was arrested on campus by a rebel faction and taken to an unknown location. his family tried desperately to find out where he was. a mother and i came to appeal for his release. she said to the rebels you are wrong to detain my husband

david and i are not just married we have comrades and partners of the revolution. she was then also seized by the rebel faction. a lot of the foreigners were targeted during the cultural revolution. the wrongful capture of my father is just one example there are children. in september not a 66 a lot of the slogans are about capitalist road revisionists a year later it's all about trade to spot. run the games it's not just about foreigners who might be spies it's about anybody who might have an anime link with the 4 so september 1 to $67.00 onwards there is

a great witch hunt. susanna a friend of michael's was born in beijing to a chinese father and an american actress. her father. had been born in the us to chinese expatriates and became a leading expert in metallurgy 1951 to help with the establishment of the new china and became the director of an important research laboratory. because you had to pay came from the us and had an american wife he was criticized by a rebel faction within the laboratory and he was violently denounced. in 1988 he was held captive for a year in a cabin near the laboratory although he was the director he was not permitted to continue his work instead he was ordered to clean the toilets. after his release he ate to pay was diagnosed with late stage cancer but he continued writing his

research papers trying to contribute what he could to china's progress as a suspected counter-revolutionary he was denied treatment and eventually died. it's. china destroyed my father. he could have done so much for china. despite all he went through he went back to help the chinese people. in 1967 and 68 a power struggle emerged among various rebel groups in cities around the country armed guards continued to turn around and kill one another. in shanghai she chong ching and other places rebel factions seized weapons from factories the cultural revolution devolved into a massive armed struggle. to combat this in december 1968 mon introduced

a new policy measure called the down to the countryside movement the young leaders of the cultural revolution were encouraged to move from the urban to rural areas. under the pretext of learning true values from poor farmers some $16000000.00 people were relocated to rural labor programs for several years. before been used proving unsuited for farm work but their removal did help to reduce the violence committed by red guards in the cities michael crook and many of the other foreign red children were not sent to rural areas or ordered to work in factories in beijing michael worked in an agricultural machinery factory that tried in the factory we stood in a line in front of paul try to. every want to help the little red book and sang a song to its. michael's reeducation in this

factory continued for 2 years then he worked at a car repair factory for another 2 years. in late 1968 the rebel faction at the radio station where monique was mother worked arrested monique without warning they had tapped her phone and had been monitoring her behavior. towards i was stunned and wondered what was going to happen. sit down and confess and they go your model you throw newspaper was chairman mao's portrait on this in the trash wrong that you know you are your balls to defame chairman mao is to defame everyone you down the wall. no one will forgive you. changed your game if you do not confess your parents and your brother and sister will have no future. for.

me me because i knew i was threatened like this day after day which are in the candle to do you know. no one told one example you that she had been taken away her sister katrine 14 years old at the time couldn't understand what was happening what should they say we were sharing a room and all my sisters belongings were seized you will measure us for a while i had no idea where my sister went oh. my gosh my mother was crying every day. my father was also very worried what you see but we didn't know what to do you know just how cool that. monique was subjected to intensive questioning for more than a month she was told that if she confessed to her crime she would be released. so she signed her arrest warrant she did not know what was to come. her and they're

going to be. where did your daughter then they told me that i was officially a rest stop. i couldn't believe it. so i had signed exactly what they told me to. i wanted to scream but i couldn't so that is what happened so much happened all at once to their own daughter. here i had signed that weren't sure how i was speechless. although she had done nothing money questions are just as a foreign spy man sent to a prison in beijing that held people accused of political crimes. but i told them what i was sure for the 1st couple of months they gave me a book quotations from chairman mao and. all the nonsense yet when i said i

wanted to read something else they asked me whether i understood the entire book yes. also i said most of it. i told me i was an insolent person you're a criminal keep reading. you have a hard time you know let me hear now so i had no choice but to read it. eventually i began to deny the charges i was deceived by rebel faction and i signed the arrest warrant even though i'm innocent. 2 of her shall i point at the child i come up i 10 every time i thought about it my entire body hurt and i was numb with pain. my more time and.

it continued like that for 3 years although i spent my time looking at the tree outside the prison all the time. made him kind of a fool i started talking to the trees it all you. other than are looking at the tree in this talk reminds me of those days to go boy bush foolish he said he cut all schul has a sound on the minister. in 1971 monique was sent to a labor camp she was released one year later there is no evidence of money ever being a spy. in the meantime a shift was underway that would have a profound impact on the lives of the red children. amid rising tensions between china and the soviet union beijing sought to resume diplomatic relations with japan

and the west this pave the way for a visit by u.s. president richard nixon in 1972 a historic event that ended 25 years of hostility and shifted the balance of power in the cold war. as china's international relationships improved foreigners who had been wrongfully accused and imprisoned were released. including michael crooks parents. in 1973 state premier joe and ally spoke at a gathering of foreign citizens to apologize on behalf of the government for their treatment during the cultural revolution. maybe muller who had joined in at least one house raid left her factory in beijing after 2 years and reenrolled in university she married a swiss man and left china in 1976. susan

a yeah who had lost her father left china for the u.s. in 1973 she still lives in san francisco. that's a mirror michael cook and his brothers moved to their father's native britain they attended university there before michael returned to china. died in 1976 the man who had had such a drastic impact on the lives of the red children. the so-called gang of 4 of elite political leaders including mao's 3rd wife john chaney were arrested on charges of conspiracy against the state and party the cultural revolution had come to an end. the key must be that mao at this point has pretty much the cheve what he wanted to achieve he's eliminated most of his i mean he's. he has asserted as absolute authority now it's atone for what has been written back into the constitution and there are no anime's left standing.

i've tried to forget those painful memories. i don't want to remember the cultural revolution at all. now that. i feel chinese inside i feel this is my country looking back on the cultural revolution i think it was a. it was a soul stirring event. money quad returned to paris in 1975 and worked as a chinese teacher until her retirement she published a set of chinese textbooks that became very popular in france and are still in

print. but few readers were aware of the author's difficult early life in china. eventually her parents also came back and spent their later life in france but the 3 of them never managed to reflect upon their life together in china so you know i thought oh well you know for a couple of weeks before my father passed away i went out to the suburbs with him. the younger he took a look around and said he felt like a child much too often. hey let's go to that chinese restaurant someday and have dinner with everybody the one you know so you know it's just if you've forgotten all the painful memories in this young of the yeah. the cultural revolution in terms of death is actually not all that exceptional probably only up to about 2000000 people actually lost their lives between

19661976 when chairman mao dies but the key to understanding the damage done during the cultural revolution to ordinary people is not to look at death but to look at loss of trauma loss of faith loss of trust in social relationships where people are obliged to denounce not only neighbors and colleagues but also their own family members where the entire social fabric is destroyed. in 1981 the communist party issued an appraisal of the country's modern history it said the cultural revolution had been a serious mistake but the monster tomes achievements outweighed his failures. the idealists who travelled from overseas to help create a new china. and their red children who grow up amid the oh peoples of the cultural

revolution. 2 generations whose lives work and delicately shaped by their experiences of red china. 2 brothers in slovakia caught between corruption in chambers. money and cuts not a businessman accused of hiring a hitman. even unconscious not a cafe owner fighting for democracy. 2 brothers who couldn't be more different and their torn country focused on europe for. the 90 minutes on the phone. it's time to take one step further.

and face. him time just such the other night. and find for the troops. time to overcome pounders and connecticut. until it's time for. the deed of idiots coming up ahead. finds. that they were systematically robbed by the nazis. after the war there were no signs of compensation. collectors' got to end else saw mine. today researchers are searching for the missing more so far the process for the descendants. starts feb 10th on t w. this

is t w news coming to you live from u.s. president double trouble has been cleared in his impeachment trial. is therefore ordered in a judge but the said donald trump beat and he is here by acquitted of the charges can set targets for the u.s. senate finds a trial did not abuse his power or obstruct congress ending a bid to al simferopol bush will get more from washington also coming up outrage here in germany as a political to boot is broken.