Ngô Đình Nhu facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ngô Đình Nhu
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Nhu in 1943
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| Born | 7 October 1910 Huế, Annam, French Indochina
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| Died | 2 November 1963 (aged 53) |
| Cause of death | Assassination |
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| Education | École Nationale des Chartes |
| Political party | _-_Indomemoires.png){kind=small} Cần Lao |
| Spouse(s) | Trần Lệ Xuân (Madame Nhu) |
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Ngô Đình Nhu (7 October 1910 – 2 November 1963) was a powerful Vietnamese politician. He was the younger brother and main political advisor to South Vietnam's first president, Ngô Đình Diệm. Even though he didn't have an official government job, he held a lot of unofficial power. He was in charge of a special army unit and a political group called Cần Lao. This group acted like a secret police force for the Ngô family.
In his younger days, Nhu was a quiet person who loved books. He didn't seem interested in politics like his older brothers. While studying in France, Nhu became interested in a Catholic idea called personalism. When he returned to Vietnam, he helped his brother Diệm gain political power. Nhu was a very smart and tough planner. He created the secret Cần Lao Party, whose members were loyal only to the Ngô family. This party became their main source of power and their secret police. Nhu led this party until he was killed.
In 1955, Nhu's supporters helped rig an election that put his brother Diệm in power. Nhu used the Cần Lao Party to find and stop anyone who opposed the Ngô family. In 1963, the Ngô family's power weakened during the Buddhist crisis. Many people, especially the Buddhist majority, protested against the government, which seemed to favor Catholics. Nhu tried to stop the Buddhists by ordering attacks on their temples. However, his plan was discovered, which made military officers turn against the Ngô family. Nhu knew about plots against them but thought he could outsmart everyone. On 1 November 1963, a military takeover happened. Nhu and his brother Diệm were arrested and killed the next day.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Nhu's family came from a village in central Vietnam called Phú Cam. His father, Ngô Đình Khả, worked for the emperor during French rule. When the French removed the emperor, Khả quit his job in protest and became a farmer. Nhu was the fourth of six sons, born in 1910.
When he was young, Nhu stayed away from politics. He was known as a quiet person who loved to study. By the 1920s, his older brothers were becoming important in Vietnam. His brother Diệm became a government minister but soon resigned because he felt he had no real power. Nhu didn't seem interested in following them into politics.
Nhu earned a degree in literature in Paris. He then studied how to preserve old writings and manage libraries. He graduated from a school for archivists in Paris. He returned to Vietnam when World War II began. In Paris, he learned about "personalism," a Catholic idea that criticized both greedy capitalism and communism.
Nhu worked at the National Library in Hanoi. In 1943, he married Trần Lệ Xuân, who later became known as "Madame Nhu". She was Buddhist but changed to her husband's Catholic religion. The French government fired Nhu from his job because his brother Diệm was involved in nationalist activities. Nhu then moved to Đà Lạt, where he edited a newspaper and grew orchids.
After 1945, when Hồ Chí Minh's communist Viet Minh declared Vietnam independent, many groups fought for control. Nhu became more active in politics, helping his brothers gain support among Vietnamese Catholics. His brother Khôi had been killed by the communists, so Diệm became the main political leader in the family. Diệm struggled in the late 1940s and went into exile in 1950.
Nhu started to use personalist ideas in his brother's speeches. Diệm and Nhu believed personalism fit their ideas of being against both communism and colonial rule. After 1950, Nhu became important in gathering support for his brother among anti-communists. He pushed personalism as a way to guide Vietnam's social growth. In 1952, Nhu gave a speech about it at a military academy. He said this Catholic idea could help people from all backgrounds, especially against communism.
Nhu was known for giving long, confusing speeches that many Vietnamese didn't like. However, he was very good at organizing political groups. Around 1950, Nhu started the secret group that would become the Cần Lao. This group became the Ngô family's power base and control system. It was a secret organization, and most members only knew a few others. After 1954, its existence was announced, but its activities were mostly hidden. In the early 1950s, the Cần Lao helped gather support for Diệm's political campaigns.
Gaining Power
Nhu's brother Diệm became Prime Minister of South Vietnam after the French lost a major battle. In 1955, a vote was planned to decide the future of South Vietnam. It was between Bảo Đại, who wanted to bring back the monarchy, and Diệm, who wanted a republic. Nhu and his Cần Lao party helped organize and watch over the election.
Campaigning for Bảo Đại was not allowed. The election results were manipulated, and Diệm won with 98.2% of the votes. In Saigon, he received more votes than there were registered voters. Nhu created a network of secret political and security groups. He set up small groups of five people to spy on those who disagreed with the government and to promote people loyal to Diệm.
Nhu's Influence and Control
Nhu didn't have an official government job, but he controlled South Vietnam. He commanded private armies and a secret police force. He lived in the Presidential Palace with his brother Diệm and his wife. Nhu and his brother Ngô Đình Cẩn competed for money from U.S. contracts and rice trade. He controlled the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces, using them to keep his family in power, not to fight the Viet Cong.
People suspected of being communists or those who spoke out against the government were treated very harshly. His agents secretly joined labor unions and other groups. He increased the number of police officers. They could arrest people without warrants. Nhu was said to admire Adolf Hitler and based his Cần Lao secret party on Nazi Party ideas. Nhu and his wife made a lot of money from illegal gambling, changing money values, and demanding money from businesses in Saigon.
In 1959, Nhu tried to kill Prince Sihanouk, the leader of neighboring Cambodia. He sent bombs in packages to Sihanouk's palace. One bomb killed Sihanouk's head of protocol and a servant. At the same time, anti-Sihanouk messages were broadcast from South Vietnam, which many believed came from Nhu. This made relations between Vietnam and Cambodia very tense. Cambodia then gave safety to Vietnamese soldiers who tried to overthrow Diệm.
Strategic Hamlet Program
In 1962, Nhu started the Strategic Hamlet Program. This program aimed to build fortified villages to keep the Viet Cong away from rural Vietnamese people. The idea was to protect villagers and prevent the Viet Cong from getting supplies and new members. However, a secret agent working for the communists helped build these hamlets in areas where communists were strong. This allowed more communist supporters to get inside the villages, making it easier for the Viet Cong to operate.
The Buddhist Crisis
In May 1963, the Buddhist crisis began. Nine Buddhist protesters were killed in Huế while protesting a ban on the Buddhist flag. This led to many protests by the Buddhist majority against Diệm's government, which seemed to favor Catholics. Nhu wanted to deal with the Buddhists very strictly. He even said he would destroy the Xá Lợi Pagoda, a main Buddhist temple.
On 21 August 1963, Nhu used the declaration of martial law to order armed men to attack Buddhist pagodas. He chose a time when the U.S. Embassy didn't have an ambassador. Nhu's Special Forces and combat police, dressed in army uniforms, attacked the pagodas. Nhu wanted to make it look like the regular army was responsible for the attacks. He hoped this would make the public and Americans lose trust in the army generals who were planning against him.
Nhu's men broke into the Xá Lợi Pagoda, attacking monks and nuns. They used weapons and tear gas. It took about two hours to clear the pagoda. Nhu's men damaged the main altar and took the preserved heart of a monk named Thích Quảng Đức, who had set himself on fire in protest earlier. Some Buddhists escaped to the nearby U.S. aid office for safety. The violence was even worse in Huế, where many people were killed or injured. About 1,400 people were arrested across the country.
After the raids, government sources claimed that weapons and communist documents were found in the pagodas. However, these items had been placed there by Nhu's men. Madame Nhu said the raids were "the happiest day in my life." Nhu accused the Buddhists of using their temples to plan rebellions.
Nhu's actions led to protests from university and high school students. Many students were arrested, put in jail, and treated harshly. Some were even killed. Thousands of students were sent to re-education camps. Nhu also publicly threatened to kill his father-in-law for speaking out against the family.
The U.S. government became very concerned. On 24 August, they sent a message to their ambassador, saying they wanted Nhu removed from power. This message basically encouraged a military takeover. The U.S. also broadcast a message blaming Nhu for the pagoda raids and saying the army was not responsible.
Nhu also met with a Polish diplomat to discuss a peace plan for Vietnam. Nhu then told an American journalist about this meeting. Nhu's goal was to pressure the U.S. by suggesting his government might make a deal with the communists if the U.S. kept criticizing them. However, U.S. officials were very angry about this and pushed even harder for a coup.
Nhu also ordered his men to kill an oversized carp that local Buddhists believed was a reincarnation of a Buddha's disciple. His forces used mines, machine guns, grenades, and flamethrowers to kill the fish and attack the pilgrims. This event only made the Ngô family look worse and gained more attention worldwide.
Military Takeover and Death
By this time, Diệm and Nhu knew that some army generals were planning a takeover. However, they didn't know that General Tôn Thất Đính was part of the plot. Nhu ordered Đính to plan a fake takeover to trick those who opposed the government. Nhu wanted to identify and remove his enemies. He also wanted to show how strong his government was.
Nhu's plan was called Operation Bravo. It involved some loyal soldiers pretending to be rebels and causing chaos in the capital. During this fake uprising, they would kill the main plotters and other important figures. Then, Nhu's men would pretend to fight back and "save" the government, making Diệm and Nhu look strong.
Đính was put in charge of this fake coup. He was also given control of the 7th Division, which was important for surrounding Saigon. Nhu and his loyal general Tung didn't know that Đính had secretly joined the real plotters. Đính tricked them into sending Tung's loyal Special Forces out of the capital, leaving the Ngô family unprotected.
On 1 November 1963, the real military takeover began. Tung's troops were isolated outside Saigon and couldn't help Diệm and Nhu. When the Ngô brothers realized it was a real coup, Tung was captured and killed. Diệm and Nhu tried to contact Đính, but other generals blocked their calls.
Around 8:00 PM, Diệm and Nhu quickly packed and escaped the palace with two loyal helpers. They were believed to have used a secret tunnel and went to a supporter's house in Cholon. Nhu suggested they split up to increase their chances of survival, but Diệm refused.
The brothers asked for safety from the Chinese embassy but were turned down. They stayed in the safe house, trying to get help from loyal soldiers and negotiate with the coup leaders. The generals thought the brothers were still in the palace, leading to a pointless battle for an empty building. Diệm and Nhu refused to surrender, so the 5th Division attacked the palace and captured it by dawn.
In the early morning of 2 November, Diệm and Nhu agreed to surrender. The army officers had promised them safe exile. However, the U.S. did not want them near Vietnam. When the main coup leader, Dương Văn Minh, found the palace empty, he was angry. He soon found out where the brothers were. Nhu and Diệm went to a nearby Catholic church, where they were arrested and put into an armored vehicle. Before the vehicle left, Minh reportedly gave a signal to his bodyguard, which was understood as an order to kill both brothers.
Nhu and Diệm were killed and buried in a secret location. Their burial place is still unknown, though some believe it was a military prison or a local cemetery. Later, their bodies were reburied in a cemetery in Lai Thieu, north of Ho Chi Minh City. Their tombstones simply say "Elder Brother" and "Younger Brother" in Vietnamese.
Family Life
- Ngô Đình Lệ Thủy (born 1945) died in April 1967 in a car accident in France.
- Ngô Đình Trác (born 1949) became an agricultural engineer. He was married and had four children. He passed away in 2022.
- Ngô Đình Quỳnh (born 1952) graduated from a business school and works as a trade representative in Belgium.
- Ngô Đình Lệ Quyên (born 1959) earned a PhD in Rome. She was a lawyer and lectured at the University of Rome. She also worked for Caritas Europe, helping immigrants. On 16 April 2012, she was killed in a car accident in Rome.]
