Tainan Prefecture Ground Zero
The bombing has long ceased, and the fallen houses are covered by weeds. Yet war has left its traces here …. 
Among the documents left from the Japanese Colonial Period,  some are now in government custody, and some have been collected by private individuals, families or foundations. Religious groups also have many of these documents.
 
For instance, Miao Hsin Temple collected more than one thousand of the Taiwan documents as well as over two thousand Buddhist statues, couplets, paintings and works of calligraphy. The History Department of the Taiwan Institute for the Humanities of National Chung Cheng University, sponsored by the National Science Council, obtained funding from the "Digitization Project for Literature and Archives on Wartime Disasters in Tainan Prefecture under the Japanese Occupation" to digitize portions of these documents. The results are presented in TELDAP’s Union Catalogue.
 
The compiled documents in the "Digitization Project for Literature and Archives on Wartime Disasters in Tainan Prefecture under the Japanese Occupation" were mainly from documents collected by Buddhist abbots and temple administrators of Southern Taiwan. The documents do not provide a complete picture of the administrative system in wartime Taiwan. However, they record the local government's measures to provide wartime relief under the Japanese occupation, and demonstrate the suffering of the Taiwanese during the Second World War.
 
Taiwan was bombarded by the U.S. during World War Two. According to the regulations of that time, civilian victims had to submit the appropriate documentation to claim indemnification. These papers would include the victims' census data. These documents tell the story of the Allied bombing of Taiwan, and help us to imagine the victims’ situation.
 
Apart from the aforementioned application forms, the digital archive includes the "Wartime Protection Regulations Procedure" and the "Wartime Protection Plan Procedure" of each village. They help historians better understand people's lives in the war.
 
Following the war, on account of Taiwan's close relationship with the U.S., this account of the U.S. bombing was ignored. The history of the military opposition was gradually forgotten over time as those involved passed away. We believe that it is necessary to reveal the civilians' helplessness and hardship with these yellowing pages.
 
 
Collections Related to Tainan Prefecture Ground Zero
 
Title: Application for Certificate of Injury Due to Wartime Calamaties
Subject And Keywords: Fonds Title: Wartime Disasters in Tainan Prefecture under the Japanese Occupation
Description: Content Description:Dryland farming. On the 22nd of March in the 20th year of Showa, the enemy aircraft's bombs caused Masao Takeda's immediate death at his own home. His neck and the chest were perforated by bomb debris … more
Identifier: Fonds number: jp
 
Title: Application for Certificate of Injury Due to Wartime Disasters
Subject And Keywords: Fonds Title: Tainan Prefecture Wartime Disaster Damage Under Japanese Occupation
Description: Content Description: dryland farming. Guo Geng died on the spot when the enemy aircraft dropped bombs in the Jhugaocuo public areas of Tainan City.
 
Title: Application for Certificate of Injury Due to Wartime Disasters
Subject And Keywords: Document Title: Wartime Disasters in Tainan Prefecture under the Japanese Occupation
Description: Content Description: Dryland farming. Toshio Kawamura died on the spot when the enemy aircraft dropped bombs in the Jhugaocuo public areas of Tainan City.