Hiroshima

The A-Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945, and devastated a radius of 4.7 km from ground zero.  Just under where the bomb detonated was the Industrial Promotion Hall and miraculously, this building was left still standing in the epicenter of the blast.  Today, this building is known as the A-bomb Dome and is permanently preserved as part of the Peace Park that now stands in the middle of this once ravaged city.

The Peace Park itself contains a large number of statues and memorials to the dead of Hiroshima, and a number of monuments dedicated to world peace.  Particularly touching is the Children’s Peace Monument, which is surrounded by thousands of folded paper cranes (symbolising peace) donated by children all over the world (new cranes are added almost daily).

In the center of the park is the Peace Memorial Museum in which you can learn about that horrible day: the lead up to the bomb, an hour by hour recount of the days following that blast, and chronological details of the years that followed.  On the day itself, the damage caused by the bomb was unfathomable, with buildings in the blast being instantly levelled.

The initial blast had a force equivalent to 21,000 tons of TNT, and gusted winds at up to 1005 km/h – shattering windows, and blowing entire buildings over.  This was followed quickly by the fireball, which heated the ground up to 3,900 celsius – liquefying roof tiles, melting crockery together, and starting fires over a 4.4 mile radius.  In all, 4.7 square miles of ground were flattened – effectively removing the city of Hiroshima from existence.

The human tragedy was even harder to stomach – 70,000 people were killed instantly, and over the following 5 years 130,000 more lives have been lost as a result of the aftereffects.  The museum goes in to quite graphic detail about the type and nature of the damage: from melting flesh, instant vaporisation, shadows being burned onto buildings, shrapnel penetration, acid rain poisoning, and so much more.  The effects of this bomb (and the one at Nagasaki) were horrendous, and too numerous (or too sickening) to go on listing here.

I can’t begin to comprehend how the people responsible for this could have lived with the reality – but surprisingly, the Japanese have turned this event into something positive.  Instead of pointing fingers or harboring resentment, they have chosen to admit the part they played in the war and have shouldered responsibility for that day: the attitude seems to be that if they hadn’t picked the fight, that the bomb would not have been dropped! This attitude was surprising, and refreshingly responsible.  It’s not one I can imagine many other countries being brave enough to take.  Rather than linger on the tragedy, they have instead concentrated on pursuing and encouraging peace.

Nowadays, Hiroshima has become a focal point for anti-nuclear campaigners.  Each year they hold a peace rally, run any number of travelling exhibitions that raise awareness of nuclear weapon proliferation, as well as campaigning against it.  The mayors of Hiroshima city also write to each head of state involved whenever a nuclear test is carried out, urging them to pursue disarmament.  The efforts of the Mayors for Peace program seems justified and admirable, and it’s certainly worth adding your name to their petition like I have.

Hiroshima was a fitting and thought-provoking memorial, much like Pearl Harbour was for the flip side of that coin. In fact – both sites manage to convey, with clarity, the horrible deeds that man has inflicted on each other – without inflaming old wounds.  Hiroshima is certainly the more powerful of the two though and I would urge you to visit if you ever get the chance.  If not, then I would certainly recommend having a read of their website, and reflecting on the fact that there are currently bombs available, tested, and ready to launch, that are 3,100 times more powerful than the one used at Hiroshima – lets hope we never see the day.