Hiroshima
In the years following the Meiji restoration of 1868, Japan underwent an economic and military expansion, and driven by a combination of nationalistic members of the military and government and a need for resources, embarked on a number of aggressive actions in neighbouring areas - including China and Russia, seizing the whole of the Korean peninsula in 1910. This put it in conflict with the west, eventually leading to a total oil embargo (oil being crucial both for interior demands and continuing military action - 80% being imported from the US). Japan was to either back down and comply with demands to halt action in China or go to war with the allies. This eventually led to the attack on Pearl Harbour in Hawaii, initiating the Pacific War and bringing the US fully into the global war. Meanwhile, the discovery and development of nuclear fission in Germany in the years preceding the Second World War led to the instigation of the Manhattan Project - a US led programme that involved the UK and Canada to create a functioning nuclear weapon, out of fear that Nazi Germany would do the same.
The Pacific War saw Japanese forces sweep through the Philippenes, Burma and Indonesia. However, by 1944 defeat was in sight and the 1945 Potsdam Declaration called for their complete surrender (with no mention of the possible continuation of the Emporer). After their failure to respond, the US and allies had several options for ending the war - the deployment of atomic bombs was chosen possibly also as a way to curb Russian influence after the war (instead of using Russian forces in a land invasion). Several cities were chosen as potential targets, originally including Kyoto, but the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the final targets. Hiroshima was a city of note for both academic and military importance.
At 8:15 on August 6th 1945, the Little Boy uranium based atomic bomb was dropped from the Enola Gay, a B-29 bomber that had set of from Tinian (a large island in the Mariana chain). At 600m above the ground the uranium 'bullet' was shot into the main mass of the 60kg payload, causing it to go supercritical and 0.7kg undergoing nuclear fission. This was enough to generate an explosion equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT and measured 3-4000 degrees celsius on the ground. A devastating amount of radiation and heat was released on the populace of 255,000, immediately killing 80,000 and destroying 80-90% of the city buildings. Those who did not die instantly from the heat and pressure were exposed to massive doses of radiation that, even though they had subsided a week later, caused leukaemia, cancers, cataracts, organ failure and birth defects for years afterwards. It is estimated that in total 140,000 people died from the effects of the bomb. The heat effects from the explosion caused burns on people within a 3.5lm radius, and organ damage within 1.2km. The dark patterns on clothing were burnt directly onto the skin beneath, and the writing on paper and cloth burned instantly even far from the source, stone steps turned white with a shadow of the person sitting there. The effects of the pressure waves and 440m/s wind collapsed the mostly wooden buildings instantly, shooting shards of glass and brick into bodies. A fire conflagration raged for three days, and a black rain began to fall, even up to 29km away.
The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are still a subject of fierce debate, though undoubtedly they contributed to the surrender by Japan soon afterwards, and thus the commencement of US occupation until 1952. In the years following, Japan underwent an astonishing recovery, the economy given a boost during the Korean war as a result of manufacturing most of the supplies and food for the US forces. In the sixties the country had on the surface turned around completely - exports growing twice as fast as the rest of the world.
Immediately after stepping off the train, I was hit by an extremely strange and sad feeling ... I hadn't really had time to meditate on what had actually happened at Hiroshima as we had been rushing around everywhere before, but even though the situation itself was utterly normal (an upmarket commuter station with marble walls and huge advertising screens) it still felt incredibly strange to be visiting an area of such sadness and historical significance. Hiroshima today looks like any other highly developed city, with a population of over a million and nicely sculpted walkways and buildings. It was difficult to reconcile this with the horrific images of human destruction and tragedy, there are still thousands of people who survived living in the completely rebuilt city.
Walking around the associated museum, I was shocked by the personal accounts of the survivors - graphic details of the injuries sustained by those not immediately killed, the confusion they felt of not knowing the nature of what had happened. Information concerning the workings and effects of nuclear weaponry were suppressed by occupying US forces for several years immediately afterwards. 150,000 people left the city in the years following, those that stayed suffered a lowered resistance to disease, scarce medical supplies, clothing and shelter (most of the infrastructure having been destroyed) - many of the shelters built were washed away by a typhoon later. The spoken personal accounts were too much to listen to in parts, and I had to wait for a bit to go and read the written accounts (the museum had an extensive database of recorded and written accounts). Many of them were from the 6300 students mobilized to demolish buildings and create firebreaks - they told of the appalling sights that lay throughout the city, and the anguish felt by finding loved ones dead or unrecognizably burnt.
The museum now works to promote abolishment of nuclear weapons testing and development throughout the world - every time a test occurs, the city government of Hiroshima sends a letter of protest. Without wanting to politicize this too much, I was reminded that Britain is currently trying to replenish it's Trident missile stockpile. It is also worth noting that the Hydrogen bombs used today are 1,000 times as powerful as the Atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
In the centre of the city, 160m south east of the bomb's hypocentre stands the Atomic Bomb Dome, which was originally the Prefectural Industrial Promotions Hall. The bomb detonated 600m above, this is one of the only buildings not completely destroyed - it is thought that this is because the blast was almost completely above, so did not blow the walls apart. It now forms part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.
The Memorial Cenotaph, framing the Atomic Bomb Dome.
Wrist watch stopped at 8:15.
The Pacific War saw Japanese forces sweep through the Philippenes, Burma and Indonesia. However, by 1944 defeat was in sight and the 1945 Potsdam Declaration called for their complete surrender (with no mention of the possible continuation of the Emporer). After their failure to respond, the US and allies had several options for ending the war - the deployment of atomic bombs was chosen possibly also as a way to curb Russian influence after the war (instead of using Russian forces in a land invasion). Several cities were chosen as potential targets, originally including Kyoto, but the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the final targets. Hiroshima was a city of note for both academic and military importance.
At 8:15 on August 6th 1945, the Little Boy uranium based atomic bomb was dropped from the Enola Gay, a B-29 bomber that had set of from Tinian (a large island in the Mariana chain). At 600m above the ground the uranium 'bullet' was shot into the main mass of the 60kg payload, causing it to go supercritical and 0.7kg undergoing nuclear fission. This was enough to generate an explosion equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT and measured 3-4000 degrees celsius on the ground. A devastating amount of radiation and heat was released on the populace of 255,000, immediately killing 80,000 and destroying 80-90% of the city buildings. Those who did not die instantly from the heat and pressure were exposed to massive doses of radiation that, even though they had subsided a week later, caused leukaemia, cancers, cataracts, organ failure and birth defects for years afterwards. It is estimated that in total 140,000 people died from the effects of the bomb. The heat effects from the explosion caused burns on people within a 3.5lm radius, and organ damage within 1.2km. The dark patterns on clothing were burnt directly onto the skin beneath, and the writing on paper and cloth burned instantly even far from the source, stone steps turned white with a shadow of the person sitting there. The effects of the pressure waves and 440m/s wind collapsed the mostly wooden buildings instantly, shooting shards of glass and brick into bodies. A fire conflagration raged for three days, and a black rain began to fall, even up to 29km away.
The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are still a subject of fierce debate, though undoubtedly they contributed to the surrender by Japan soon afterwards, and thus the commencement of US occupation until 1952. In the years following, Japan underwent an astonishing recovery, the economy given a boost during the Korean war as a result of manufacturing most of the supplies and food for the US forces. In the sixties the country had on the surface turned around completely - exports growing twice as fast as the rest of the world.
Immediately after stepping off the train, I was hit by an extremely strange and sad feeling ... I hadn't really had time to meditate on what had actually happened at Hiroshima as we had been rushing around everywhere before, but even though the situation itself was utterly normal (an upmarket commuter station with marble walls and huge advertising screens) it still felt incredibly strange to be visiting an area of such sadness and historical significance. Hiroshima today looks like any other highly developed city, with a population of over a million and nicely sculpted walkways and buildings. It was difficult to reconcile this with the horrific images of human destruction and tragedy, there are still thousands of people who survived living in the completely rebuilt city.
Walking around the associated museum, I was shocked by the personal accounts of the survivors - graphic details of the injuries sustained by those not immediately killed, the confusion they felt of not knowing the nature of what had happened. Information concerning the workings and effects of nuclear weaponry were suppressed by occupying US forces for several years immediately afterwards. 150,000 people left the city in the years following, those that stayed suffered a lowered resistance to disease, scarce medical supplies, clothing and shelter (most of the infrastructure having been destroyed) - many of the shelters built were washed away by a typhoon later. The spoken personal accounts were too much to listen to in parts, and I had to wait for a bit to go and read the written accounts (the museum had an extensive database of recorded and written accounts). Many of them were from the 6300 students mobilized to demolish buildings and create firebreaks - they told of the appalling sights that lay throughout the city, and the anguish felt by finding loved ones dead or unrecognizably burnt.
The museum now works to promote abolishment of nuclear weapons testing and development throughout the world - every time a test occurs, the city government of Hiroshima sends a letter of protest. Without wanting to politicize this too much, I was reminded that Britain is currently trying to replenish it's Trident missile stockpile. It is also worth noting that the Hydrogen bombs used today are 1,000 times as powerful as the Atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
In the centre of the city, 160m south east of the bomb's hypocentre stands the Atomic Bomb Dome, which was originally the Prefectural Industrial Promotions Hall. The bomb detonated 600m above, this is one of the only buildings not completely destroyed - it is thought that this is because the blast was almost completely above, so did not blow the walls apart. It now forms part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.
The Memorial Cenotaph, framing the Atomic Bomb Dome.
Wrist watch stopped at 8:15.
posted by James at
3:02 AM
2 Comments:
This is some spooky reading, James. I guess it's an un-nerving experience to walk on the site of a genocide, where you know so much suffering happened at once...
Is there a memorial or anything at the spot where the bomb landed? Did you visit that spot?
Also, do you know if there is any lasting radioactivity in the area? I am woefully uneducated about this.
Hope you're both safe - sounds like you're fine, and making good with your time!
J
By
JS, at 4:43 PM
I wondered about that just before we left ... the answer is no, the radiation levels had fallen to a millionth of the initial burst within a week. There were all sorts of things on display at the museum, melted iron girders and roofing tiles that had bubbled and cracked miles away from the blast - but there were signs up saying it was safe to touch them. I couldn't actually bring myself to do it, I still felt a lot of irrational fear of anything that might be even slightly radioactive. The Atomic Bomb Dome was sort of a memorial for the hypocentre, but I think there was a small marker at the precise location.
By
James, at 3:54 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home