Ciara VanCour

May 7, 2013

Today our group visited the Peace Memorial Park and the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima. We began the day with a lecture given by the chairman of the museum. The lecturer basically told us that the purpose of the museum is to promote peace throughout the world by advocating for the abolition of nuclear weapons. The people of the museum want to ensure that what happened in Hiroshima during World War II (the dropping of the atomic bomb) never happens anywhere else in the world.

After the lecture, a survivor of the A-bomb presented to our group and told us her experience on August 6, 1945. The presenter’s name was Keiko Ogura and she was 8 years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. On the morning of August 6, Keiko’s father told her she shouldn’t go to school because he had a strange feeling. She, however, wanted to go to school and see all of her friends. While she was walking toward the road outside of her house, she saw a  flash of bright light and was knocked to the ground by some sort of force. When she regained consciousness, everything had gone black. Keiko and her family had no idea what had just happened. As the minutes dragged by, refugees from Hiroshima began to make their way past her house. Keiko described how awful they looked, with their skin melting off and their organs protruding from their bodies. When she tried to give them water, some fell dead instantly. After that day, Keiko described her life as being permanently scarred. Being a survivor was not viewed as a good thing in post atomic bomb Hiroshima. Men did not want to marry a woman that survived Hiroshima because she was weak and a health risk. For decades, Keiko was fearful of sharing her story with the rest of the world. Now that she has, however, she hopes to inspire younger generations to strive for a nuclear-free world.

Keiko’s story was followed by a tour of the museum. The Peace Memorial Museum begins with the events that preceded the atomic bomb all the way through to the reconstruction period. As previously stated, the bomb was dropped at 8:15 on August 6, 1945. The hypocenter of the explosion was decimated and there were no survivors. The museum is actually built on the location of the hypocenter. The A-bomb killed thousands of people, both initially and due to severe burns. Even years after Hiroshima, people died as a result of radiation-induced cancer and other lethal illnesses.

Hiroshima was chosen by the United States as a target for numerous reasons. One of the major reasons was because the Japanese had a military academy and base located in the city. Another reason was because Hiroshima had yet to be effected by airstrikes, therefore the Japanese government would not see the attack coming.

After the attack on Hiroshima, the Japanese government sent relief and aid to the city. Nurses and doctors came from neighboring towns to provide medical assistance. Schools were transformed into hospitals, where those injured came to find treatment. Many of the people that came to these makeshift hospitals died. The city of Hiroshima kept a ledger of the names of those who perished after the initial bombing. It was very interesting to learn that some organizations in the United States sent relief packages to the city. This demonstrates that the citizens, not the government, are the good will of a country.

            Eventually, the city of Hiroshima was rebuilt. It is now a major advocate for world peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons. The mayor of the city writes letters of protests to the leaders of nations who continue to test nuclear weapons. The last letter written to President Obama was in March 2013.