Story about the speaker at the Independence Ceremony on September 2, 1945 in Saigon

Professor Tran Van Giau.

Historical speech

During the August Revolution, as Secretary of the Southern Regional Party Committee, Chairman of the Southern Uprising Committee, Chairman of the Southern Revolutionary Committee, Mr. Tran Van Giau directly led the first successful uprising to seize power in the South, in his hometown of Tan An province (now Long An) on August 21, 1945.

Four days later, on August 25, 1945, he and his comrades led the people of Saigon to successfully rise up and seize power. On August 31, 1945, the Central Committee sent a telegram to the Southern Provisional Government announcing: At exactly 2:00 p.m. on September 2, 1945, at Ba Dinh Square - Hanoi, the Provisional Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) will present itself to the nation, President Ho Chi Minh will read the Declaration of Independence, giving birth to the DRV. The ceremony's organizing committee in Hanoi will rebroadcast the Voice of Vietnam radio so that the people of Saigon can listen directly to President Ho Chi Minh reading the Declaration of Independence broadcast from Hanoi.

With less than 2 days of preparation, Mr. Giau and the Southern Vietnam UBHCLT organized a large rally and parade in Saigon to celebrate Independence Day. More than 1 million people in Saigon and neighboring localities such as Cho Lon, Tan An, Binh Duong, Dong Nai... gathered at the ceremony location on Cong Hoa Avenue (now Le Duan Avenue) to wait for the opening ceremony.

The whole city was filled with revolutionary flags and slogans such as “Long live the Democratic Republic of Vietnam”, “Independence or Death”, “Down with French Colonialism”… written in five languages: Vietnamese, English, French, Chinese, and Russian. However, due to the bad weather and outdated technical equipment at that time, Saigon could not receive radio signals from Hanoi.

After 30 minutes, the Organizing Committee quickly consulted and assigned Mr. Tran Van Giau to represent the Southern Regional Committee to speak to the people. Mr. Tran Van Giau thought for a few minutes, quickly wrote down a few main ideas, then improvised a speech before millions of people.

General Vo Nguyen Giap and Professor Tran Van Giau. Photo: Internet

The main content of the speech was to call on the people to unite around President Ho Chi Minh, raise vigilance, and be ready to crush the French colonialists' plot of invasion.

At the beginning of his speech, Mr. Tran Van Giau declared: “Vietnam has gone from a colony to an independent country. Vietnam has gone from an empire to a republic. Vietnam is moving forward on the path of life. However, the revival of the nation is being threatened by the enemy. The enemy is plotting a plot to put an end to the yoke of slavery on the necks of 25 million compatriots...”.

Mr. Giau advised his compatriots to be vigilant: “Rejoice in the victory, but do not be intoxicated by the victory. Because our beloved Vietnam is facing a dangerous situation. If we are not careful, our country and our people could be forced back into slavery.” Then Mr. Giau asked: “Is there anyone here who would accept a mandarin ruling our country? Is there anyone willing to give up and let the colonial regime return?”

After each of his questions, millions of people answered in unison: “No! No! No!” Mr. Tran Van Giau ended his speech with a call: “Citizens, be ready to fight!... Stand up! Independence Day begins now! Move forward, for independence, for freedom, move forward forever! No wall can stop the will of the people on the road to liberation!”

Then, Dr. Pham Ngoc Thach - Minister of Health - on behalf of the Provisional Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam swore an oath to "Build complete independence for Vietnam". The representative of the people of Saigon continued to read the oath: Not to serve as a soldier for France - Not to work for France - Not to sell food to France - Not to lead the way for France! The Independence ceremony turned into a march of millions of compatriots on the streets of Saigon.

The French colonialists shot at the marching groups from high-rise buildings, killing and injuring 47 people. However, we were very restrained, only temporarily detaining the suspects, and did not take any revenge.

Commenting on the Independence Day in Saigon, Professor Tran Van Giau said that the desire for independence for nearly 100 years had made millions of people, as one, burning with the will to fight and sacrifice for the fate of the country. Professor Tran Van Giau said that the French colonialists had provoked on the Independence Day in Saigon, and in the following days they had been even more blatant in their provocations. What had to happen happened, and less than a month later, the people of the South entered the autumn resistance war, beginning a 9-year arduous resistance war against the invading French colonialists across the country.

Although the life of the Chairman of the Southern Vietnam UBHCLT later took a different turn and also achieved many great successes in historical research, philosophy, teaching..., he became a Professor, People's Teacher, Labor Hero, Ho Chi Minh Prize, but the mark of Independence Day September 2, 1945 in Saigon is always strong in the life of Professor Tran Van Giau. Before leaving, he visited that memorable place again.

A lifetime of loyalty

The love and fate of Professor Tran Van Giau and Mrs. Do Thi Dao was quite special, in the special circumstances of the country and his life. At the age of 17 (in 1928), after passing the Baccalaureate, Mr. Giau asked his family to go to France to study. His parents agreed on the condition that he had to get married before letting him go. An educated girl the same age as him (born in 1911) named Do Thi Dao was chosen for that hasty wedding. And then, that marriage lasted nearly 80 years, and towards the end of their lives, they loved each other more and more.

Professor Tran Van Giau and his wife (September 5, 1995). Photo: Internet

From the day they got married until peace was restored to half the country (1954), for 26 years in name only, Mr. Giau and Mrs. Dao were together, but the time Mr. Giau and Mrs. Dao spent together could only be counted in days. He went to study in France, joined the French Communist Party, then went to the Soviet Union to study at the Oriental School, returned to the country to participate in revolutionary activities, and was continuously arrested and imprisoned by the French invaders...

For a long time, Mrs. Dao was the “Nguyet Nga” who took care of her elderly parents, replacing her husband who was busy with national affairs. They were only truly together in the North after the Geneva Agreement was signed. But perhaps it was too late for them to have the happiness of being parents! Having no children, he donated all his assets to society and his homeland, including the Tran Van Giau Award for historical research works in the Southern region.

During his lifetime, Mr. Giau always spoke proudly about his wife: His successes in life had an important contribution from Mrs. Dao. Mr. Giau was the 10th in the family, but he called himself "Sau Giau" according to Mrs. Dao's "order" (Mrs. Dao was the 6th in the family).

He and she were both born in September 1911, he was born on the 6th, she was born on the 11th. For a long time, every year he celebrated her birthday (September 11th) and added his birthday (September 6th) to it “for fun”. Later on, he also took her birthday (September 11th) as his own. Currently, on his tombstone, his date of birth is written September 11th, 1911, the same as the date of birth on her tombstone next to it. She died in 2005, and from then on, he rapidly declined and passed away in 2010.

In his final days, he was suggested a worthy resting place in the Ho Chi Minh City Martyrs' Cemetery, but his last wish was to be buried next to his wife in the place where they became husband and wife 82 years ago, Hoi Xuan hamlet, Duong Xuan Hoi commune, Chau Thanh district, Long An province.