The Viet Minh members took control of the meeting at the square in front of the Hanoi Opera House in Hanoi on August 19, 1945

Vu Oanh, former member of the Politburo and former Head of the Hanoi delegation to attend the People’s Congress in Tan Trao recalled his memories from 71 years ago. At that time the Communist Party of Vietnam had about 5,000 members. It founded the Viet Minh (Vietnam Independence League) to rally and lead about 20 million people to provoke a revolution unprecedented in Vietnam’s history. Two days prior to the general uprising, the People’s Congress ratified the Party’s general uprising initiative and established the National Liberation Committee, the interim government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam led by President Ho Chi Minh.

Vu Oanh said: “The People’s Congress in Tan Trao was a congress of national unity and solidarity. All localities sent their representatives to the congress including foreign delegates. President Ho Chi Minh underlined unity as a core factor for success. He created the motto “unity, unity, great unity, success, success, great success” and insisted on promoting popular strength to carry the revolution to victory. The people led the revolution to success.”

After the People’s Congress, people in Hanoi took to the streets to show support for the revolution and the Viet Minh. Le Duc Van was a Viet Minh member at Hoang Dieu cidatel: “The Hanoi city Party Committee ordered all of us to join the meeting of Tran Trong Kim’s administration to sabotage it and turn it into a Viet Minh meeting. We encouraged young people and women to engage in the national salvation. Every person brought a red flag with a gold star. A team was assigned to take control of the podium and appeal to all people to support the Viet Minh and advance for national independence.”

Tu Ngoc Hoan, a Viet Minh member at Hoang Dieu citadel, said it was a wise and sharp decision to carry out the revolution on August 19, 1945. “The success was thanks to the direction of the Hanoi city Party Committee and the bravery of the people at Hoang Dieu citadel. Never before had an attack on a military base captured 400 soldiers and confiscated an arsenal without using forces or even a single bullet.”