Part 1: Enlightment like the sun
Part 2: Opening up new horizons
For the first time in the revolutionary history of colonial peoples, the Communist Party of Vietnam, only 15 years old, led the people to successfully launch the August Revolution, bringing the Vietnamese nation into the era of national independence and socialism.
August is boiling
Remembering the victory of the August Revolution, Mr. Mai Thanh Chi, a veteran revolutionary cadre, proudly said: “With only 5,000 party members, the Communist Party of Vietnam wisely seized the favorable opportunity, led the people to carry out a general uprising, overthrew the ruling regimes of the two colonial armies of France and Japanese fascism, won independence for the nation, established the first people's democratic state in Southeast Asia, marking the victorious beginning of the national liberation movement on a worldwide scale.”
The victory of the August Revolution brought our country into the era of independence, freedom and socialism. For the first time in history, our people changed from being slaves to becoming masters of the country and their own destiny. Our country changed from a colonial and semi-feudal country to an independent and democratic one. The August Revolution opened a new horizon for our people to move forward to build a prosperous and happy life.
Assessing the historical significance of the August Revolution, Uncle Ho wrote: “Not only can the working class and the Vietnamese people be proud, but the working class and oppressed peoples elsewhere can also be proud that: This is the first time in the revolutionary history of colonial and semi-colonial peoples that a party only 15 years old has successfully led the revolution and taken power nationwide.”
Mr. Huynh Binh Minh, a veteran revolutionary cadre in Thu Dau Mot City, said: “After the victory of the August Revolution in 1945, for the first time in history, a democratic republic was born, closely linked to the people - a state of the people, by the people and for the people. It was also the first people's democratic state in Southeast Asia. The victory of the August Revolution and the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam strongly encouraged oppressed peoples in Asian, African and Latin American countries to rise up and fight to overthrow the domination of colonialism and imperialism, and gain national independence. At the same time, the August Revolution contributed to strengthening the strength of progressive and peace-loving forces in the world to fight for independence, freedom and social progress; prevent war, and protect world peace”.
Lessons on building revolutionary forces
The August Revolution in Thu Dau Mot was a part of the general uprising led by our Party; it was not only a direct result of the national liberation movement in the period 1939-1945 but also a result of the revolutionary movement since 1930, when the first communist organizations were born.
Under the leadership of the CPV and President Ho Chi Minh, the people of the whole country rose up and carried out a general uprising in the August Revolution. On the morning of August 19, 1945, following the call of the Viet Minh, the whole of Hanoi rose up under the forest of red flags with yellow stars and took to the streets and headed straight to the center of the City Theater to attend the rally. After the flag salute and the Tien Quan Ca song, the representative of the Revolutionary Military Committee read the call of the Viet Minh. The rally turned into an armed demonstration to occupy the Imperial Commissioner's Palace, the security barracks and the facilities of the puppet government. The uprising of the people of the capital was completely victorious. From Hanoi, the revolutionary wave spread everywhere, the whole country rose up to fight for power and won consecutive victories. The August Revolution was a great success nationwide on August 28, 1945. On August 30, 1945, Bao Dai - the last king of the Nguyen Dynasty announced his abdication, handing over the golden seal and jewel-encrusted sword to the representative of the Viet Minh. For the first time in the history of the Vietnamese nation, the whole country's power belonged to the people. |
Mr. Mai Thanh Chi added that after 15 years of fighting with great sacrifices and hardships, overcoming countless difficulties, despite the terror and massacre of the enemy, the communists in Thu Dau Mot persevered in staying firmly in the masses, persistently mobilizing and leading the masses of workers, farmers and compatriots to rise up and fight in the 1930-1931, 1936-1939 and in the 1940 Southern Uprising. Through those climaxes of struggle, the communists in Thu Dau Mot accumulated extremely rich experiences in many aspects, especially in mobilizing and launching the masses. During the process of preparing for the uprising, the Thu Dau Mot Provincial Party Committee boldly organized the masses to openly and legally operate, using the vanguard youth as the shock force alongside the key force, the Workers' and Peasants' National Salvation Association.
The mass uprising movement during the August Revolution in Thu Dau Mot was very strong. All classes of people stood firmly on the Viet Minh side. The reason for this situation was that cadres and party members in Thu Dau Mot, in their work of mobilizing the masses, gradually realized and effectively applied the principle that they should not make general appeals, but should educate and lead them to fight for material and spiritual rights; at the same time, they should be aware of self-liberation, not waiting for others, building their faith in the revolution, and closely attached to the Party's leadership at the grassroots level.
Another reason for the success of the Thu Dau Mot Provincial Party Committee in the process of mobilizing the masses was that the communists here not only defeated the class enemy and the national enemy, but they also fought successfully against non-proletarian ideologies to maintain close internal unity, not being divided by "leftist" or "rightist". Thanks to that, in the mass organization, there was only the Viet Minh Front. The entire Party Committee focused its spearhead in one direction, all party members and the masses followed the unified direction of the Uprising Committee, and proceeded to seize power.
An indispensable important factor in the August general uprising in Thu Dau Mot was the result of the process of building a contingent of party members and cadres, building the provincial Party Committee as the revolutionary leadership force of the people in the province. From a place with only small communist organizations, going through 15 years of fighting in the extremely fierce terror and massacre of the enemy, with ups and downs, the provincial Party Committee grew stronger every day and when the opportunity came, it promptly stood up to lead the masses to rise up in unison, making a glorious cause of taking power into the hands of the people, contributing to adding more color to the heroic history of the nation.
The victory of the August 1945 general uprising opened a new page in the history of the people of the whole country as well as in the province; at the same time, it created important premises for the people to enter the next revolutionary stage, the stage of resistance against the invading French colonialists.
To be continued
Reported by Thu Thao - Translated by Vi Bao
