Why Chairman Mao Is Responsible For More Than 45 Million Deaths | Mao's Great Famine | Timeline

Dan Snow introduces History Hit TV, a platform offering a plethora of historical documentaries and interviews. He discusses the Great Leap Forward, a campaign initiated by Mao Zedong in 1958 with the aim of rapidly industrializing China. However, the campaign led to one of the most devastating famines in history, causing the death of approximately 45 million people. Despite the tragedy, the Chinese Communist Party has largely maintained silence on the issue for 50 years. The documentary aims to break this silence and share the testimonies of survivors, collected by a brave young historian from Hong Kong.

Mao sought economic aid and a strategic alliance with the USSR, visiting Moscow to negotiate with Stalin. Despite the USSR's condescending treatment of Mao, a friendship treaty was signed, providing China with arms, factories, and advisors. This marked the beginning of China's dependency on the USSR. Following the Soviet model, the Chinese Communists initiated a massive agricultural reform that redistributed land to 300 million peasants. However, Mao's fear of a re-emergence of small landowners led to the formation of collectives, which were met with mistrust by the peasants. The documentary also touches upon the Hundred Flowers Campaign, which was designed to encourage criticism of the Communist Party but resulted in the persecution of intellectuals.

Mao's Great Leap Forward led to the recruitment of 100 million peasants to work on large-scale construction projects. The campaign's slogan 'Dare to think, dare to act' was widely promoted, and Mao himself participated in work sites to show support. However, the campaign also introduced absurd policies, such as the eradication of sparrows, which led to an increase in insect populations that devastated crops. The formation of People's Communes, consisting of up to two thousand families, abolished private property and enforced a strict collective lifestyle, which severely affected individual freedoms and family structures.

The establishment of communal canteens and the abolition of private cooking led to a decline in morale and productivity among the peasants. The system of work points determined food distribution, causing severe malnutrition and starvation. Peasants were subjected to military training and had no say in agricultural decisions, leading to poor harvests and further food shortages. The state's grain taxes were based on exaggerated production figures, resulting in the state claiming most of the harvest and leaving the communes with little to survive on.

The narrative describes how the state prioritized repaying debts to the USSR, even at the cost of its own people's survival. Food was taken from the communes to repay debts, leaving the population with nothing. The cadres, who controlled food distribution, often allocated more to themselves, leading to widespread corruption and further starvation. The principle 'he who does not work shall not eat' was applied, resulting in vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and pregnant women, being deliberately starved.

Mao's demand for 100 million tons of steel led to the use of small, inefficient blast furnaces, which wasted resources and manpower. The population was mobilized to produce steel, further depleting agricultural resources and contributing to the famine. Despite the official claim of producing millions of tons of steel, the output was mostly unusable. The focus on steel production over agriculture led to a catastrophic decline in food production and an increase in the death toll.

A top-secret document reveals that Mao was fully aware of the famine and chose to sacrifice the countryside to feed the cities and industrial centers. Despite the famine, the state granaries were full, but the Communist Party refused to distribute the food, allowing millions to starve. The regions affected by the famine were sealed off, preventing people from escaping or information from circulating. The narrative also highlights the Sino-Soviet split, as Khrushchev suspended cooperation with China due to Mao's radical policies.

High-ranking officials conducted investigations into the famine, revealing that the death toll was significantly higher than reported. Their findings were suppressed by the local authorities to hide the true extent of the disaster. Cases of cannibalism were recorded, and there were instances of people being forced to bury their own children alive for stealing food. The investigations were eventually suppressed, and the truth was hidden from the public.

The Great Leap Forward was eventually halted in 1962, with farming returning to privately owned plots and the establishment of free markets. However, the Chinese leadership continued to hide the truth of the famine, even staging scenes for foreign journalists to believe that China was free of famine. The narrative discusses the power dynamics within the Communist Party and the responsibility of Mao and the party for the tragedy. The question of accountability for the famine remains a contentious issue.

Mao, in an effort to regain power, initiated the Cultural Revolution, mobilizing the youth against party bureaucrats. This movement led to the arrest and eventual death of Liu Xiaoqi, who had acknowledged the party's responsibility for the famine. The narrative concludes with a discussion on the responsibility for the famine, attributing it to both Mao and the Communist Party system. The legacy of the Great Leap Forward and the refusal of the authorities to acknowledge the famine is also addressed.

The video script ends with a discussion on the varying estimates of the death toll from the Great Famine, ranging from 36 million to 55 million people. It highlights the lack of official commemoration in China for the victims of the famine, with the exception of a small monument erected by a peasant. The narrative emphasizes the importance of remembering the tragedy and the need for historical accountability.