1 The horrors of nuclear

Figure 1 Hiroshima after the atomic bombing of 6 August 1945. Virtually all the buildings in central Hiroshima were destroyed; the surviving building on the right is now the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.

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A black-and-white photograph of the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Figure 1 Hiroshima after the atomic bombing of 6 August 1945. Virtually all the buildings in central Hiroshima were destroyed; the ...

Nuclear weapons have been used in war on two occasions. On 6 August 1945, during the Second World War, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, destroying the city and killing an estimated 100,000 to 140,000 people, the vast majority of whom were civilians. This was followed by a second nuclear attack on the city of Nagasaki on 9 August 1945, which killed an estimated 40,000 to 80,000 people. While the Second World War had seen large-scale bombing campaigns targeting civilians, the sheer scale of destruction unleashed by a single bomb on each occasion showed that nuclear weapons were categorically different from conventional bombs.

Survivors of these two nuclear attacks are known as hibakusha. Their first-hand experiences of witnessing and surviving the devastation caused by nuclear weapons are unique, and an invaluable resource for understanding the horrors of nuclear war. By sharing their stories and working to ensure nuclear weapons are never used again, the hibakusha have been among the most important actors in the global anti-nuclear movement.

Activity 1

Listen to the recording of Keiko Ogura, a hibakusha who was just eight years old when an atomic bomb was dropped on her city, Hiroshima. Then answer the questions below.

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Transcript

KEIKO OGURA

So there was a study in the high school girls’ day road. And what I want to say is what happened. First, in the morning, we did not know anything. But my father said you shouldn’t go to school today. He said, ‘I have a kind of feeling, strange feeling, today something will happen’. My father said so. Because previous night, on the 5th, around midnight, all of a sudden, there was a siren, you see? So we were so much afraid. ‘What’s that?’ We rushed to the shelter. That was around midnight. Nothing happened.

Usually, we heard some sound, far away place, no sound. ‘What’s that?’ we wondered. But we tried to sleep. And then again, 30 minutes later, another warning. We rushed to the shelter. Such a thing happened towards the morning, another warning, and so. And then later, I learned so many bomber, B-29, passed above Hiroshima. Didn’t drop any bomb. So we were so much alert and afraid, but nothing happened. So what happened in the centre of the city, in the bunker? And the soldiers, commanders, and the girls were waiting to release the air raid warning. But by and by, many airplanes came, just passed by. ‘Oh, America pilots didn't want to drop bomb on Hiroshima.’ Like that. Pilot. But people thought so. And when actually Enola Gay was above Hiroshima, there was no commander, but the girls and a low-rank soldier. They did not know what to do. Girls were screaming. There were around 30 girls. ‘What shall we do? Above Hiroshima-- already B-29.’ It happened.

And then, without warning, the bomb was released. In the morning, Father said, so I was behind the Japanese storage. All of a sudden, there was a flash, blinding flash. Everything didn’t have colour. Then, soon after that, that was so fast, the blast attacked. I couldn’t believe or stand. I felt like I was in the midst of a tornado or a typhoon. And then I was beaten on the road, blown on the road, and became unconscious. When I opened my eyes, everywhere was just dark. I couldn’t understand. ‘Oh, I slept. How many hours? It’s already evening’ I thought. But actually, it was not. And then no sound at all. First sound was my little brother’s cry. So hearing that, ‘Oh, my house must be this way’. So I started to go back.

This is what I saw. I was surprised. Instantly, everywhere was destroyed, and the roof tiles were scattered. But in front of me, there was one barn or cottage of the farmer. The roof was burning. That was at the original flash. Flammable things started to burn. That straw roof of the farmer’s cottage caught fire, and then the burning. And then that means in the centre part, soon by the original flash-- and then the clothes caught fire. And you saw many people fleeing with burning clothes. All of a sudden, it happened. And then, soon after that, blast came. And then, a certain time after the city-- there was no fire. My friend-- she was in the bunker. Miraculously, she could survive in the military base. She came out and saw the whole city. ‘The city must be burning first. But that time, there was no fire’, she said. Maybe 10 minutes or 20 minutes after that, everywhere-- khaki colour, just like rocks or rubbish and so on.

And then, that time, people tried to flee from under the building. So people try to-- mother, parents try to pull their children under the crushed down building. And the people, so many people tried to leave the city. But secondary, the big fire started here and there, over there. City started to burn again. And they even-- our family were caught under the crushed-down building asking for help. They are still alive and asking for help. But people left their beloved people.

That made all of the survivors feel guilty. So we were told, ask, Do you hate Americans or British people so? To tell the truth, so many of Hiroshima people, before they blame the enemy, they blame themselves. Yes.

Why I left? They were still alive, clinging our legs and so on, ‘Help! Help!’ But they couldn’t help. Fire reached, and they left. And then this is the reality. And then what happened? I returned home. And then, the room faces at the centre part of the city, all broken. And the ceiling was blown up, and hundreds, thousands of pieces of glass stuck on the wall. And my father was, at that time, in this room. But he was so lucky. He was between widely open glass doors behind the big pine tree. He was saved. And then, miraculously, he was not hurt at all. He started to work for cremation and so on. Through the evening, many people reached. And then, like my uncle, on his back, over 20 pieces of glass stuck on. And the bleeding came. Many people came to my house. I stepped out, and the black rain started to fall. I couldn’t understand what this meant. And then already, before and after, and junior high school students were working, as you see.

And my brother-- this is a piece of leverage now. Before that, this-- that wasn’t like that. And my brother and Nishu-- and then he was working on the road the previous day on the 5th. But on the 6th, he was not. Then he could survive. On the 6th, over 323, I heard, students from his school, first-year students, were working. Nobody could survive. All of the students died. And out of 10,000, around 7,000 students died at the hostels. This is before and after. And then, this is within this mould, there was a bunker where I was talking about 15-years-old girls. And they were rotated and the working 24 hours, one time around 30 girls. And then, 24 hours, they were working outside of the bunker. Other group was waiting outside of the bunker. They died. My friend was operator with the receiver. And then she was working. She could survive, miraculously, and told me what happened there. This is after work.

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1. How did Keiko Ogura survive the atomic bombing?
2. What part of her description of the bombing did you find most striking?

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Discussion

1. Keiko Ogura did not go to school on 6 August, as there had been an air raid siren the previous evening. The students who did go to her school, which was closer to where the bomb was dropped, were killed by the blast.
2. There is no single correct answer to this question. Keiko Ogura describes how the city was destroyed and was burning, how injured survivors had to be left behind, and how following the attack the city was covered by a black, radioactive rain. Her description provides a moving, first-hand account of the effects of nuclear weapons.

As devastating as the destruction witnessed on 6 and 9 August was, these nuclear attacks caused many further victims over the following months and years. The levels of radiation unleashed by the bombs caused radiation sickness, cancer, leukaemia, and other fatal illnesses among survivors. Among them was Sadako Sasaki, who was just two years old when she survived the nuclear attack on Hiroshima. She later developed leukaemia as a result of the radiation from the bomb and died at the age of 12. In hospital, she folded origami paper cranes (orizuru), which have since become a symbol of peace.

The bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were among the very first nuclear weapons ever made. Since 1945, the power of nuclear weapons has increased dramatically. In 1954, the Americans tested a nuclear weapon at Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific that was roughly one thousand times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima just nine years earlier. As devastating as the nuclear attacks of 1945 were, nuclear weapons today would be vastly more destructive.