Comrade Nguyen Duc Mau, the first District Party Secretary of Quynh Luu

Comrade Nguyen Duc Mau was born in 1905 in Ngo village, Quynh Son commune, Quynh Luu district. His father was Nguyen Duc Vinh, a gentle man who worked as a silkworm and spinning yarn to support the family. His mother died when he was 9 years old. Although his family was poor, they lived in a land of culture and tradition of learning.

Nguyen Duc Mau was able to study Chinese characters, then continued his studies at the French-Vietnamese Quynh Luu Primary School. Being intelligent, open-minded, and knowledgeable, after school hours he often went to Mr. Han Phon's house (a person who always supported new things and loved the new-learning youth) to borrow more books and newspapers to read with his friends. Books and newspapers, along with the lectures of a progressive teacher like Tran Van Dac, stimulated his patriotism and contempt for the powerful.

As a student who is eager to learn, Nguyen Duc Mau invited his friends to visit the Hung Nghiep Hoi Xa store at Si station, Dien Chau, through which he learned many new things about the activities of the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association in this locality.

In the primary school graduation exam that year, Nguyen Duc Mau was the top candidate in the whole district. With that diploma, at that time, people could become scribes or teachers, but with the consciousness of not being a servant of the French colonialists, Nguyen Duc Mau opened a private school in the village.

Teacher Mau always directed his students to pay attention to interesting current events such as the sound of bombs from Pham Hong Thai, the movement to demand amnesty for patriot Phan Boi Chau who was sentenced to death by the French imperialists, and the movement to pay tribute to Phan Chau Trinh.

Because of his virtue, talent and progressive thinking, modern parents sent their children to study there with secret hopes. In addition to teaching, Nguyen Duc Mau also organized "lecture conferences" and "friendship promotion conferences" to gather progressive youth in the region... To blind the "hounds", the books and newspapers brought out for commentary were often of the public type such as "Voice of the People", "Trung Bac Tan Van", "Tan The Ky"... Nguyen Duc Mau often selected news of struggles in various places to read and analyze to encourage everyone's patriotic spirit.

Learning from the experience of the Youth Association in Dien Chau, he established the Hung Nghiep Hoi Xa trading company. Thanks to those active activities, Nguyen Duc Mau soon joined the Youth Association and became the first communist party member in Quynh Luu district.

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On April 20, 1930, at Thanh Son (Son Hai), the Conference to establish the Communist Party of Vietnam in Quynh Luu district took place. Comrade Nguyen Duc Mau was appointed by the Party as the first Secretary.

Sensitive to the Party's revolutionary line, to the demands and aspirations of the working masses, and facing the fierce conflict between salt workers and Westerners and the soldiers of the commercial post, at the request of Nguyen Duc Mau, the Party Executive Committee decided to launch a struggle.

To prepare for this struggle, in addition to distributing leaflets and slogans, Comrade Mau also suggested that the District Executive Committee publish a secret newspaper called “Tia Sang” as a means of widespread propaganda among the masses. As the editor-in-chief of this newspaper, Nguyen Duc Mau wrote many articles introducing the Russian October Revolution and introducing Lenin’s biography. The newspaper also reported on struggles such as workers at the Nam Dinh textile factory, the Sawmill, the Vinh-Ben Thuy Match Factory going on strike, workers at the Dau Tieng and Phu Rieng plantations fighting, etc.

From May 1930 onwards, the atmosphere of struggle across the country was as intense as ever. The historic demonstration of workers and peasants in Vinh - Ben Thuy and Thanh Chuong on International Labor Day shocked public opinion everywhere. Through the newspaper "Tia Sang", the people of Quynh Luu, especially those in coastal areas, became more eager to fight.

According to the District Party Committee's plan, on June 20, 1930, a large demonstration was organized right in the Dinh market. After listening to the speech of the cadres, hundreds of people joined the protesters and marched straight to Phu Duc station. Faced with the boiling atmosphere of the masses, the notorious Guomen had to promise to resolve the demands of the salt workers. Leaving Phu Duc station, the protesters also marched to Thanh Dam station. The French stationed here also had to respond to some of the people's demands.

This historic demonstration brought the revolutionary movement in Quynh Luu up to speed with movements elsewhere in the early period of the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement. Nguyen Duc Mau's name is also associated with that demonstration.

Having been following Nguyen Duc Mau for a long time, after the day of the demonstration, local officials surrounded his house. They took him to the district and imprisoned him. The district chief, Ton That Dinh, used many cruel torture methods, enticed and bribed Nguyen Duc Mau, but all were ineffective. They turned around and tortured him with the most vicious attacks.

Nguyen Duc Mau's physical strength was not as good as that of his comrades, but his extraordinary willpower helped him endure the beatings that almost killed him. Although he was brutally tortured, Nguyen Duc Mau never forgot his responsibility as a communist party member. He always reminded his fellow prisoners not to reveal anything that was harmful to the organization. He also wrote leaflets to warn the enemy, both encouraging his comrades to persevere in the struggle and making the evil colonialists afraid.

Not long after, they released almost all the prisoners in the district prison. Nguyen Duc Mau, although there was no solid evidence to convict him, was still sentenced to 3 years in prison. After knowing for sure that Nguyen Duc Mau was the leader of the communist district in Quynh Luu, the French colonialists sent him to Vinh prison. At that time, Vinh prison was full of political prisoners, they selected 150 of the most "stubborn" people in the prison to exile to Kon Tum, including comrade Nguyen Duc Mau.

Along the way to Kon Tum, due to the poisonous air, the harsh food and brutal torture, some comrades sacrificed their lives. During the day they had to dig the ground to build wood, and at night they shackled three people together. Nguyen Duc Mau, Nguyen Huu Giang and Pham Hoan were shackled together. This group of confidants was one of the core groups of the entire group of prisoners in the struggle against the brutal regime in prison.

Nguyen Duc Mau always appeared calm, never screaming or groaning. When he went to work, whenever the guards were out of sight, he would recite poetry and tell stories to help his comrades relieve their fatigue. At night, he still read revolutionary poetry and told stories about the struggles in the country and around the world. The prison guards watched, threatened, and beat him many times. When he fainted, that was it, but when he woke up, he encouraged his comrades and attacked the enemy with appropriate words, making them both angry and ashamed.

On one hand, he encouraged everyone to unite and fight against the harsh prison regime, and on the other hand, he organized for his brothers to escape. The first escape was successful. Immediately after that, the repression became even more brutal. In that hell on earth, thousands of revolutionary soldiers sacrificed themselves in the middle of the wild forest and poisonous water. They beat the prisoners until they fainted, then tied ropes around their necks and dragged them to death. Some people were dying and they still gathered them under a tree and set them on fire. Of the 50 prisoners transferred from Vinh, only 32 remained. In 1932, comrade Nguyen Duc Mau heroically sacrificed himself along with 18 other comrades when he was only 27 years old.

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Comrade Nguyen Duc Mau is one of the outstanding children who actively contributed to the establishment of the District Party Committee, and was also the first District Party Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Party Committee of Quynh Luu District.

To pay tribute and commemorate the name, career and contributions of comrade Nguyen Duc Mau, in 2012, the District Party Committee, People's Council, People's Committee and Fatherland Front Committee of Quynh Luu district organized the construction of a memorial area where the district Party Committee was established to contribute to educating future generations to always remember the comrade's contributions in the struggle for national liberation.