Homeland in the revolutionary autumn days

Secret base of Central Vietnam Party Committee

During the years 1930 - 1945, at the 5-room house located at the foot of Nhon hill, Phuc My village (now hamlet 1, Hung Chau commune, Hung Nguyen district), the Central Region Party Committee regularly held secret meetings, discussing important contents for the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement (1930 - 1931) and the August Revolution of 1945. That house belonged to Mr. Hoang Vien's family.

Early on, Mr. Hoang Vien was honored to join the Party. Not letting down the trust of the organization, for 15 years, the family of that party member became a place to return to, contact, and hide many key cadres in the revolutionary movement such as comrades Nguyen Duy Trinh, Tran Van Quang, Chu Huy Man, Le Duc Anh...

Mr. Hoang Vien's house, the base of the Central Region Party Committee. Photo: CANA

Mrs. Vuong Thi Em (born in 1921) - Mr. Hoang Vien's daughter-in-law is 98 years old this year. Mrs. Em is the only remaining witness of the family who directly witnessed and has certain knowledge about the activities of the Central Region Party Committee in Hung Chau more than 70 years ago. At her "rare" age, Mrs. Em is still lucid.

She said that in the 5-room house, the 3 horizontal rooms are the kitchen and living space for the children, while the 2 upper rooms are for receiving guests and meetings. The upper house is divided into 2 rooms, of which the inner room is usually the resting place for the cadres and party members of the Regional Party Committee. There is an attic that is disguised as a place to store rice, paddy, etc., but is actually a hiding place whenever there is an "incident".
Behind the house there is a secret door leading to the Nhon forest; in particular, since hiding revolutionary cadres, Mr. Hoang Vien has dug a tunnel deep into the forest, to store secret documents and as a safe escape route when the enemy arrives.

Revolutionary propaganda publications are preserved at the Hoang Vien House Relic in Hung Chau Commune, Hung Nguyen District.

With a steadfast loyalty to the Party, Mr. Hoang Vien propagated, mobilized and enlightened his family members to join forces for the common cause. His wife and four biological children, along with his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Vuong Thi Em, during those turbulent years, did not fear hardships and difficulties, and together with her husband and father, did everything the revolution needed.

“Women worked hard in the fields and gardens, taking care of meals so that the comrades could focus on their activities. The men in the house all took on the role of liaison, transferring news, letters, and secret documents as requested by the organization. There were also times when the situation was tense, the enemy controlled strictly, and documents had to be given to us women to tuck into our headscarves to avoid detection…” - Mrs. Vuong Thi Em recalled.

During those years, Mr. Hoang Vien's house welcomed many key cadres of the Central Region Party Committee to work. At the end of 1940, comrade Muoi Cuc (former General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh) directly led the movement.

Historical documents recorded: Receiving the Central Committee's directive "Japan and France are fighting each other and our mission", everywhere arose the atmosphere of preparing for a nationwide general uprising.

On August 8, 1945, the Viet Minh inter-provincial Nghe - Tinh held a conference in Ru hamlet, Phuc My village to elect the Executive Committee of the Viet Minh inter-provincial Government and approved tasks to seize power. When the conference ended, news came that Japan was preparing to surrender to the Allies, and the uprising order was issued throughout the provinces.

During this time, the Central Region Party Committee met at Mr. Hoang Vien's house to assign tasks. From Thanh Thuy commune (now Nam Thanh commune, Nam Dan district) on August 16, to Quynh Luu on August 18, Hung Nguyen on August 19, Vinh on August 21, the general uprising achieved one victory after another. 74 years have passed, but in Mrs. Vuong Thi Em's mind, the memories of those days "like a rising tide and a waterfall" are still intact.

Mr. Hoang Vien's family in Hung Chau commune, Hung Nguyen district was awarded the certificate of "Contribution to the country" by Prime Minister Pham Van Dong. Photo: Thanh Duy

“At that time, I worked in the women's association, calling on women in the area to join the protesters, shouting slogans to overthrow Japan and France, to break the shackles of colonialism and feudalism... On both sides of the road, people from hamlets and villages were waiting, the crowd grew larger and larger as they went, the momentum was unstoppable”. With that momentum, Hung Nguyen, along with Nam Dan and Quynh Luu, became one of the three localities that gained power the earliest in Nghe An.

Mrs. Vuong Thi Em

Great unity in the general uprising

From the plain and coastal districts, the August Revolution movement in Nghe An spread to mountainous districts, remote and isolated areas.

To achieve this spread and prepare for the general uprising, cadres, party members, and patriotic intellectuals of the Central Region Party Committee often traveled upstream, hiding under the guise of timber traders and mountain agricultural product traders to the lowlands... to do propaganda, mobilize, and build revolutionary bases.

When the conditions were ripe, the moment of general uprising came, the people of all ethnic groups in the whole province stood up together, united as one, writing a heroic history for the most beautiful Autumn of their homeland.

In the quiet space of Nghe An Museum, there are special artifacts. Swords, spears, lances… which, when looking at them, are easily recognized as typical weapons used by ethnic minorities in the highlands during the uprising 74 years ago.

Ms. Hoang Thi Minh - Head of Inventory Department, Nghe An Museum introduces artifacts from the August Revolution period. Photo: Thanh Duy

Ms. Hoang Thi Minh - Head of the Inventory and Preservation Department of Nghe An Museum flipped through the notebook of artifacts, reading the neat handwriting: The sword is simple, sturdy, with a long, even blade, a slightly pointed, straight tip, no blood drain groove, a smooth oval shield, decorated with sawtooth shapes... is the weapon used during the 1945 takeover of power by the family of Ms. Vi Thi Khai - a Thai ethnic group, Tam Quang commune, Tuong Duong district.

Another page also states: The sword has a curved blade, a wooden handle with vertical grooves, and 12 grooves on both sides... was the weapon equipped for the Red Guards of Duc Son commune (Anh Son) to seize power in 1945. The sword belonged to Mr. Nguyen Pham Cat, a team member, and was handed over to the museum for preservation... These artifacts seem inanimate, but they are the most accurate evidence of a time when "The whole country's compatriots should rise up and use our own strength to liberate ourselves"!

The boiling days of August 1945 in the capital Hanoi. Photo archive

After reading the Declaration of Independence giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, amidst the hustle and bustle of work, President Ho Chi Minh wrote a “Letter to the comrades of the province” on September 17, 1945. In the letter, he pointed out the “great significance” and the reasons for the victory of “this successful national revolution” and the cause of national construction after the revolution, while pointing out the “biggest shortcomings” in the localities that “must be immediately corrected”. These were extremely valuable instructions, encouragement, motivation, and strong motivation for the province to overcome the hardships and challenges after the uprising, and these lessons still hold true today.

A corner of Vinh city on the bank of Lam river. Photo: Nguyen Sach

Those days of unanimous uprising of the ethnic people in Nghe An have become an indelible mark. After the successful uprising in Vinh, from August 22 to 26, 1945, the mass spirit rose like a flood, and the districts of Tuong Duong, Quy Chau... also took turns to seize power for the people.

Thus, within just 9 days (from August 18 to 26, 1945), the general uprising to seize power in Nghe An was completely victorious, contributing significantly to the overall victory of the whole country.

That victory not only went down in the nation's golden history, but was also a memorable event for many world history researchers, as historian Furuta Mooto (Japan) once exclaimed: A miraculous revolution and from there gradually led to many other great victories!