On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Geneva Agreement (July 21, 1954 - July 21, 2024) and the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Vinh Linh (August 25, 1954 - August 25, 2024), Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House introduces to readers the publication "The Borderlands" (1954-1967) by Associate Professor, Dr. Hoang Chi Hieu.
The book recreates the outstanding events on both sides of Hien Luong - Parallel 17 from the time the two parts of the country were temporarily divided (from July 1954) until the complete liberation of the Southern demilitarized zone, officially abolishing the dividing line of the country (1967).
Author Hoang Chi Hieu has made initial contributions and clarified the prominent historical issues that took place in the area on both sides of the border, considered a "miniature image" of Vietnam during the period 1954 - 1975. Many cadres, comrades, and compatriots gathered in the North with the promise to return two years later... Many families fell into the situation of "Northern husband, Southern wife", "a river apart, but here and there, love and miss each other"... To cross the river less than 100m wide, the entire nation had to go through a 21-year long journey, with many losses and sacrifices to reunite the North and South.
The 328-page book consists of two main parts: Part 1: The establishment of the temporary military demarcation line and demilitarized zone at the 17th Parallel after the 1954 Geneva Agreement; Part 2: Revolutionary struggle in the demilitarized zone - 17th Parallel (1954-1967).
The work is the author's passion for many years of research on the demilitarized zone on both sides of the border. After the first printing in 2014, in this reprint, the author continues to add some new research results so that readers have a more comprehensive view of the whole picture of the two sides of the border since 1954. At the same time, the author also adds content comparing the circumstances of the three countries of Germany, North Korea and Vietnam, all of which made efforts to reunify the country despite the obstacles caused by the Cold War.
During those 21 years of pain and heroism, on both banks of Hien Luong, there was a "silent" but equally tense and fierce confrontation in many fields, even special and "unique" ones such as loudspeaker battles, chess battles, bridge painting, enemy propaganda work... Overcoming all the fierce resistance of the US and the Saigon government, the Vietnamese bravery and intelligence of those working to protect the border, together with the great support of the people of Vinh Linh in particular, the whole country in general and international friends, gained the upper hand against the new colonial regime of the US on the southern bank.
Turning pain into action, each village is a fortress, each citizen is a soldier, Vinh Linh has become a "Heroic Steel Rampart", "Diamond Land". The two sides of the border are therefore the convergence of the pain of division and the aspiration for national unification of the nation as well as reaching the peak of revolutionary heroism in the period 1954 - 1975. With no other choice, the Vietnamese people had to fight to unify the country, and the 17th Parallel was the first boundary to cross.
From being chosen by history, the 17th Parallel became a place that witnessed the pain of the country's division for a long time. This is also the place to carry out a meaningful mission of connecting news and feelings of the people of the two regions, the South and the North. Through Hien Luong Bridge, millions of postcards carrying the feelings of love and longing of the people of the two regions have reached each other, despite many years of fighting for this. Through the limitations of the number of predetermined lines and strict regulations on information content, the people's wishes for family reunion and national unification have been realized. That is a living proof of the truth: "Vietnam is one, the Vietnamese people are one".
QUYNH YEN
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/doi-bo-gioi-tuyen-1954-1967-noi-ghi-dau-khat-khao-thong-nhat-non-song-post750115.html
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