This first picture is from a bridge overlooking one of these rivers offering a view of the shiny new buildings along the bank.
It's hard to believe that only 62 years ago on August 6th that this entire city was destroyed when the atomic bomb landed on it. This building is the sole remaining evidence in the city that an event of such magnitude occured:
The city of Hiroshima houses a memorial museum that reminds all the visitors of the tragedy that struck here. Below is a picture of the memorial grounds. Entrance to the museum was only $0.50, and it was packed with visitors.
Inside the museum, they had a map on display of what the city looked like after the bomb. The red globe in the center marks the location where the bomb was dropped.
There was a life-size Diorama inside depicting a typical scene of the survivors after the blast.
Below are the trousers of a junior high school student. They were melted when the blast took him from behind.
A tricyle that was outside when the bomb struck.
The cloud of debris from the explosion caused a black rain to fall throughout parts of the city contaminating everything in the area with radioactive waste. Below is a section of wall that has been marred by the black rain.
A pile of glass bottles were fused together from the blast.
Click the image below to enlarge it. Look closely at the staircase. You will notice a darkened area. Someone had been sitting on these steps and his shadow was burned into the concrete from the blast.
After going through the museum I fealt heavy with the knowledge of what these people had to go through. The detonation of the A-Bomb was a tragic event, but it certainly lead to the end of World War II. How would the war have turned out if the U.S. did not drop the bomb? How different would the world be if the Allies lost the war? Does that justify what happened to these people?
I was amazed though at how quickly they rebuilt the city. Everything is new, and you could not tell that this city was the site of an atomic bomb.
Going through this museum reminded me of an Anime movie that I once saw called Grave of the Fireflies. It follows the story of two children after the firebombing of Kobe during WWII. Both experiences serve as a great reminder of how terrible a war can be.
4 comments:
What an interesting museum. It's hard to comprehend what war does, especially if you've never been or been attacked. Good post.
OMG, I think I'm ill.
Thanks for the post and photos, many of us will never get to see or know of that museum, and some people I'm sure had never even thought about the life/lives under the A-Bomb cloud. All I knew of it is what my AP History teacher told us (the shadows on the walls, the disintegration of people and objects), but it was merely passing trivia to a HS student's mind.
Did you see any info on what caused the war? I hear the japanese still denies what happened and still puts the US as the evil country.
Hey Flat Coke -- yea it is hard to understand until you've been there or seen the results.
Cindy - I'm glad you enjoyed the post. I also learned about the event in history class, but standing there in the city itself and going through the museum was quite an experience.
James - They did not mention too much about the war, who caused it, nor did they depict the united states as an evil country. They did however depict nuclear weapons as evil and made a point that Japan still refuses to build nuclear weapons. (Although they do have the capability and materials already built).
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