President Ho Chi Minh's Testament: Priceless historical document of the nation

55 years have passed since the day our beloved Uncle Ho passed away, but his teachings and instructions are still remembered and implemented by generations of Vietnamese people, especially his Testament - a priceless legacy, crystallizing the quintessence of his ideology, morality and style.

Until now, His Testament is still a priceless historical document of the nation, a torch lighting the way for the revolutionary cause, building and developing the country today.

"A few words left behind"

In the 1960s, our nation's resistance war against the US to save the country was at a fierce stage, but was on the path to victory, requiring close solidarity and persistent fighting from the entire Party, people and army.

After failing in the "Special War" strategy, the US empire carried out the "Local War" strategy in the South, and at the same time escalated the first "Destructive War" in the North.

In March 1965, the 11th Conference of the 3rd Party Central Committee determined to defeat the American invaders.

At this time, although his mind was still sharp and his spirit was still clear, President Ho Chi Minh felt that his health had somewhat declined compared to previous years.

Therefore, on May 10, 1965, Uncle Ho wrote a very important document that he humbly called "A few words left behind." That was his sacred Testament.

In his memoirs, comrade Vu Ky (Uncle Ho's personal secretary) wrote: "At exactly 9 o'clock, Uncle Ho sat down to write attentively. The problem must have been pondered for a long time. The office on the stilt house was quiet. The wind was cool and gentle, with the faint fragrance of garden flowers... At that very moment, Uncle Ho put pen to paper and wrote the first lines in the "Top Secret" document to leave to future generations."

That was May 10, 1965, the first day Uncle Ho wrote his Will. Then the following days of May that year and the middle days of May of the following years, Uncle Ho wrote, revised, and supplemented his Will in the stilt house's office.

On May 19, 1969, Uncle Ho reviewed the Will: “At exactly 9 o'clock, Uncle Ho sat down at his desk with the Will in front of him. Outside, the sun was high. The clusters of royal poinciana flowers bloomed early, catching the sunlight and showing off their brilliant colors. The lake surface rippled, sparkling in the sunlight. A cool breeze blew in through the window, making Uncle Ho's silver hair flutter. He sat there, leaning back in his chair comfortably, leisurely, a thoughtful expression appearing on his broad forehead...”

On May 20, 1969, “He reviewed the documents one last time and put them in an envelope and put them away.”

After Uncle Ho passed away, on September 9, 1969, during his memorial service, General Secretary Le Duan was moved to announce his Will. It was a complete Will compiled from the Wills that Uncle Ho had written, edited, supplemented or replaced before.

20 years later, in 1989, when conditions permitted, all drafts of Uncle Ho's Testament were fully published by the Party Central Committee (term VI).

Specifically, on August 19, 1989, General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh signed and issued Notice No. 151-TB/TW, informing the entire Party, people and army about a number of issues related to Uncle Ho's Will and the date of his death.

According to the announcement: “In 1965, Uncle Ho wrote a three-page Will, typed by himself, with the date May 15, 1965 at the end. This is a complete Will with Uncle Ho's signature and next to it the signature of comrade Le Duan, First Secretary of the Party Central Committee at that time.

In 1968, Uncle Ho added a few more paragraphs, including six handwritten pages. In which, he rewrote the opening paragraph and the paragraph about "personal matters" written in the 1965 version, and added a few more paragraphs. These were paragraphs about the work that needed to be done after our people's resistance against the US and national salvation was completely victorious, such as: reorganizing the Party, taking care of the lives of all classes of people, exempting agricultural tax for one year for agricultural cooperatives, rebuilding cities and villages, restoring and developing the economy and culture, strengthening national defense, and preparing for national reunification.

On May 10, 1969, Uncle Ho rewrote the entire opening paragraph of his Will, including one handwritten page. In 1966 and 1967, Uncle Ho did not have any separate copies.

Thus, the Testament is a “document” that President Ho Chi Minh spent a lot of time and effort writing, revising and supplementing. He considered every idea and every word; but every idea and every word was as simple and sincere as the life he lived.

The fact that he repeatedly edited, supplemented and rewrote his Will not only shows that he was a very thoughtful and perfectionist person, but also shows that he always worried and thought about the fate of the nation and the happiness of the people, even when he was near death.

Priceless historical documents of the nation

The contents of the Testament are President Ho Chi Minh's instructions about the Party and solidarity within the Party, about union members and youth, about the working people, about the resistance war against America, about the world communist movement and a few lines about personal matters.

Behind the instructions that President Ho Chi Minh carefully considered when writing each sentence and each word was his deep concern for all national issues, his immense love for all classes of people and his absolute belief in the victory of the nation in the resistance war against American imperialism.

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“Finally, I leave my endless love to all the people, the whole Party, the entire army, the youth and children.
…My final wish is: Our entire Party and people unite to strive to build a peaceful, unified, independent, democratic and prosperous Vietnam, and make a worthy contribution to the world revolutionary cause.”

President Ho Chi Minh

That is the wish, sentiment, belief, and responsibility of President Ho Chi Minh to the Fatherland, the people, and the revolutionary cause, deeply expressed in the prediction of the victory of the resistance war against American imperialism and the day of national reunification, in the instructions on the work of the unfinished revolutionary cause: “Our people's resistance war against America, to save the country, even though it must go through more hardships and sacrifices, will definitely achieve complete victory. That is a certainty.”

These are guidelines on building and consolidating the ruling Party with the key issues of Party building work being: maintaining “unity within the Party,” implementing the principle of democratic centralism, the principle of self-criticism and criticism, cultivating revolutionary ethics, upholding the sense of responsibility, wholeheartedly serving the people…; and the strategic task to maintain the Party’s leadership and ruling role - the work of Party rectification.

These are also instructions and reminders about the need to “cultivate revolutionary generations for the next generation”. Uncle emphasized: “Our union members and youth in general are good, they are enthusiastic in everything, not afraid of difficulties, and have a spirit of progress. The Party needs to take care of educating them in revolutionary ethics, training them to become successors in building socialism who are both “red” and “expert”.

In his Testament, Uncle Ho thought of people from all walks of life. For the working people, he advised: “The Party must have a good plan to develop the economy, culture, and society in order to constantly improve the people's lives.”

He paid special attention to disadvantaged groups. From those who contributed to the cause of national liberation: “we must find every way to provide them with a stable place to live, and at the same time open vocational training classes suitable for each person so that they can gradually become self-reliant;” to women: “we must have a practical plan to train, promote and help so that more and more women can take charge of all jobs, including leadership” and even victims of the old society (such as theft, gambling, smuggling, etc.): “we must both educate and use the law to reform them, helping them become honest workers.”

Through that, we can see more clearly Uncle Ho's kindness, tolerance, and boundless love for humanity.

In addition, Uncle Ho also outlined the theory of innovation in our country with important instructions on social management such as: training human resources, amending the education system, restoring and expanding economic sectors, agricultural tax exemption policy for farmers, social policy, and social justice.

It is called a Will, but inside there are few words mentioning the writer's own requests. Throughout his life, Uncle Ho struggled and sacrificed for only one purpose: "Freedom for my people, independence for my Fatherland, that is all I want, that is all I understand." Even before he passed away, his greatest regret was "not being able to serve longer, more."

What was most touching was that Uncle Ho left without taking anything with him, but "left behind endless love for the entire people, the entire Party, the entire army, the youth and children."

His final wish was that “our entire Party and people unite and strive to build a peaceful, unified, independent, democratic and prosperous Vietnam, making a worthy contribution to the world revolutionary cause.”

From his great contributions and rich experience in his revolutionary career, President Ho Chi Minh advised all the necessary, important, and essential things for the future of the nation. That is why Cuban leader Fidel Castro wrote: “Ho Chi Minh belongs to a special class of people whose death is the seed of life and an eternal source of encouragement.”

Over the years, President Ho Chi Minh's Testament remains an invaluable asset, a valuable guide, a source of great encouragement and motivation for the entire Party, people and army in the cause of building, protecting and developing the country today and in the future.