Tran Viet Hoa, Director of the Hanoi-based National Archives Centre No. 3 under the State Records and Archives Department of the Ministry of Home Affairs, said the centre is preserving a large number of documents and records about the historical context, directions, and preparations for the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, its developments, results, and significance, international opinions, the campaign’s logistics affairs, and the policies of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam) towards war invalids and surrendered troops.
The archives reflect the sound leadership as well as sharp decisions and strategies of the Party, Government, and Vietnam People’s Army, the solidarity and unanimity of the entire people and army in the safeguarding of national independence, and the role of General Vo Nguyen Giap – Commander-in-Chief of the campaign.
Meanwhile, the archives about the 1954 Geneva Conference on restoring peace in Indochina include documents and photos about the historical context, developments, and results of the conference, the impacts and enforcement of the Geneva Accords of 1954, international opinions about this meeting, the stances and viewpoints of the parties concerned, and international friends’ support for Vietnam.
The nearly 200 documents made public on this occasion are just a small part of the archives being kept on 14km of shelves by the centre, Hoa said, noting that they form important evidence helping with scientific research about historical events, military, diplomacy, and history of Vietnam, as well as with patriotism education.
To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 7, 1954 - 2024) and the signing of the Geneva Accords, the archives centre is coordinating with the Vietnam Military History Museum, the Department of Home Affairs of Bac Giang province, and the Department of Culture and Sports of Hanoi to hold exhibitions and publish books, she added.
The Dien Bien Phu Victory forced the French colonialists to sit down at the negotiation table to discuss and sign the Geneva Accords on ending the war and restoring peace in Indochina in July 1954, putting an end to the prolonged French colonial rule and heralding a new stage for the revolution in Indochina. This was a great and extremely significant victory in the history of Vietnam.
Under the accords, for the first time, the French Government and each state participating in the Geneva Conference pledged to respect the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Vietnam and absolutely not to intervene in the country’s internal affairs. The French troops must withdraw while North Vietnam was completely liberated, embarked on the building of socialism, and became a large and firm rear for people in the South to push ahead with the struggle for national liberation and reunification.
