It was at 8:15 AM on August 6th, 1945, when the Enola Gay released the first atomic bomb over the City of Hiroshima.
As the bomb reached an altitude of 2,000 feet, it exploded. The explosion virtually destroying all of Hiroshima, killing an estimated 70,000 people immediately.
70,000 more would die in the following weeks due to radiation poisoning. More would succumb over the next five years because of cancers and other illnesses due to exposure of high levels of radiation released from the explosion.
72 years later, Hiroshima is a bustling city of 1.2 million people with very few reminders of the devastation left behind by the first use of a nuclear weapon.
The Peace Memorial park, also known by the iconic Genbaku Dome (A-Bomb Dome) holds the skeletal remains of the Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall.
The hall sat approximately 150 metres from the centre of the blast. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in /1996.
The dome stands almost exactly as it did after the bombing. Bricks, stones and other debris laying exactly where it landed on August 6, 1945. Only minimal changes have been made to ensure the stability and safety of the structure.
The location of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park was once the city’s busiest downtown commercial and residential district but destroyed by the nuclear explosion. Today there are memorials, monuments, museums, and lecture halls, which draw over a million visitors annually.
The day we visited, the park was celebrating the Hiroshima Flower Festival. The festival included many entertainment stages with varieties of entertainment. Our favourite were the Taiko drummers. You have got to be in good shape to be a Taiko drummer.
The park was jam packed with a 2 hour wait to get into the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, dedicated to documenting the atomic bombing of Hiroshima for future generations. The crowds were large and the line was long but the Japanese were up to the task making sure that everyone knew where the end of the line was.
In November of last year, we paid a visit to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum located near Dulles Airport outside Washington DC. I took a photo of the Enola Gay, knowing that we would be visiting Hiroshima 5 months later. While looking at the plane made me a bit queasy, standing in front of the Genbaku Dome, left me queasy and speechless.
In 1945 a Gallup poll was immediately taken after the bombing which found that 85% of Americans approved of using this new atomic weapon on Japanese Cities. Pearl Harbour was still on their minds. In 1991, a Detroit Free Press survey conducted in both Japan and the US found that 63% of Americans thought the actions were a justified means to end the war while only 29% thought the action was unjustified. In Japan, 29% thought the bombing was justified while 64% thought it unwarranted. In 2015, a Pew Research Centre Survey found that now only 56% thought the bombing was justified while 34% saying it was not. In Japan, only 14% said the bombing was justified and 79% who said it was not. What would the Americans and Japanese say now with North Korea and a vitriolic Trump, fresh in their minds.
Can there be any justification for the use of nuclear weapons.
I think not.
The location of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park was once the city’s busiest downtown commercial and residential district but destroyed by the nuclear explosion. Today there are memorials, monuments, museums, and lecture halls, which draw over a million visitors annually.
The day we visited, the park was celebrating the Hiroshima Flower Festival. The festival included many entertainment stages with varieties of entertainment. Our favourite were the Taiko drummers. You have got to be in good shape to be a Taiko drummer.
The park was jam packed with a 2 hour wait to get into the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, dedicated to documenting the atomic bombing of Hiroshima for future generations. The crowds were large and the line was long but the Japanese were up to the task making sure that everyone knew where the end of the line was.
In November of last year, we paid a visit to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum located near Dulles Airport outside Washington DC. I took a photo of the Enola Gay, knowing that we would be visiting Hiroshima 5 months later. While looking at the plane made me a bit queasy, standing in front of the Genbaku Dome, left me queasy and speechless.
In 1945 a Gallup poll was immediately taken after the bombing which found that 85% of Americans approved of using this new atomic weapon on Japanese Cities. Pearl Harbour was still on their minds. In 1991, a Detroit Free Press survey conducted in both Japan and the US found that 63% of Americans thought the actions were a justified means to end the war while only 29% thought the action was unjustified. In Japan, 29% thought the bombing was justified while 64% thought it unwarranted. In 2015, a Pew Research Centre Survey found that now only 56% thought the bombing was justified while 34% saying it was not. In Japan, only 14% said the bombing was justified and 79% who said it was not. What would the Americans and Japanese say now with North Korea and a vitriolic Trump, fresh in their minds.
Can there be any justification for the use of nuclear weapons.
I think not.
It was a late train back to Kobe. We had lots to think about.
Tomorrow, we head to Tokyo.
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