Thursday , March 6, 2010
Yesterday I took the bullet train from Kyoto to Hiroshima and back on a day trip to visit Peace Memorial Park and the Peace Memorial museum.
In 1945 near the end of world war II the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. First Hiroshima followed by Nagasaki 3 days later.
At 8:15am on Monday, August 6, 1945 then US president Harry Truman ordered the dropping of a nuclear weapon on the city of Hiroshima. Nagasaki was next on August 9,1945 and Japan surrendered 6 days later officially ending World War II.
70 000 - 80 000 people were killed immediately and another 70 000 people were injured. Over 90% of the city's doctors and nurses were killed or injured as they were mostly in the downtown area which was the target. Less than 10% of the city's buildings survived. Everything within one mile of the epicenter was completely destroyed and within 3 miles badly damaged. Small fires that erupted soon merged to create a massive firestorm that engulfed 4.4 squared miles of the city killing anyone who had not escaped in the first few minutes of the attack. Tens of thousands of people who survived the nuclear attack ended up dying horrible painful deaths due to radiation sickness over the next 8 weeks. By the end of 1945 the death toll was more than 100 000 and over the next 5 years due to cancer deaths from radiation poisoning the numbers are closer to 200 000.
These are the only 2 nuclear attacks to have occurred in the history of warfare.
MODEL OF HIROSHIMA BEFORE THE ATOMIC BOMB
MODEL OF HIROSHIMA AFTER THE ATOMIC BOMB
ATOMIC BOMB MEMORIAL MOUND. CONTAINS THE ASHES OF 70000 PEOPLE CREMATED HERE AFTER THE BOMB.
CHILDREN'S PEACE MONUMENT. IN MEMORY OF SADAKO SASAKI AND DEDICATED TO ALL THE CHILDREN WHO DIED DUE TO THE ATOMIC BOMB. SADAKO WAS 2 WHEN THE BOMB WAS DROPPED. WHEN SHE TURNED 12 SHE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH LEUKEMIA AND DIED OCTOBER 1955. SHE HEARD A STORY FROM A CLASSMATE SAYING IF YOU FOLD 1000 PAPER CRANES YOU GET A WISH. SHE BELIEVED IF SHE FOLDED 1000 CRANES SHE WOULD RECOVER. SHE FOLDED 1000 CRANES, AND THEN CONTINUED TO FOLD THEM UNTIL HER DEATH. TO THIS DAY CHILDREN FROM AROUND THE WORLD FOLD CRANES AND SEND THEM TO HIROSHIMA WHERE THEY ARE PLACED AROUND THIS STATUE.
CRANES HANGING ON THE CHILDREN'S PEACE MONUMENT.
PEACE MEMORIAL PARK...THIS WAS THE EPICENTER OF THE BOMBING. IT'S HARD TO PICTURE THE DESTRUCTION THAT ONCE STOOD ON THIS SPOT, NOW A GORGEOUS PARK FULL OF MONUMENTS.
A BOMB DOME IN THE TOP RIGHT. THE ONLY REMAINING STRUCTURE AFTER THE BOMBING. IT WAS RIGHT BELOW THE EPICENTER. IT WAS THE FORMER INDUSTRIAL PROMOTION HALL AND WAS PRIZED FOR IT'S BEAUTIFUL GREEN COPPER DOME OF WHICH ONLY A SHELL REMAINS. IT WAS RENAMED THE A-BOMB DOME AND LEFT EXACTLY HOW IT WAS AFTER THE BOMBING.
A-BOMB DOME
A-BOMB DOME
