Hiroshima on the Web

At 8:15AM on August 6, 2005: the 60th Anniversary of the Bombing

There is a lot of effort in remembering the dropping of atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki this year. Columns are being written, events planned. Past, present and future mingle as we use this anniversary to remind ourselves that nuclear weapons continue to be designed, manufactured, deployed and aimed. Here's a partial list:

Counter Punch: Hiroshima's 60th Anniversary and Crunch-time for Nukes in Iran

Demonstration: Toronto Says No to Nuclear Weapons

Conference: Los Alamos, New Mexico

History News Network: Even in Japan People Are Forgetting the Memory of Hiroshima

Things You Can Do in Remembrance of Hiroshima:

60th anniversary of Hiroshima remembered in Norwich, UK Peace Exhibition

The Inernational Shadow Project

Apocalypse Soon By Robert S. McNamara

The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by The Manhattan Engineer District, June 29, 1946.

WagingPeace.org: Toward the NPT Review Conference and the 60th Anniversary - A Citizen's Assembly to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

Fallout: Reflections on the 60th Anniversary of the Trinity Test

HIROSHIMA: The birth of nuclear warfare Second-tier powers join arms race Experts fear global spread of small nukes

Kuala Lumpur: Hiroshima Day Peace march to be held on Aug 6

Islamabad: Pakistani children's artwork to be displayed in Hiroshima

BBC: Hiroshima arguments rage 60 years on

Travel: Ground zero rising

Gates of Peace: Peace memorial completed in Hiroshima

Bangladesh: For a world free from hatred, violence and prejudices

Hiroshima Post: List of articles by world press.

www.enola-gay.org

A response to the Smithonian's presentation of the Enola Gay as a "great technological achievement" without any reference to the suffering of hundreds of thousands of non-combatants caused by the dropping of the first A-Bomb.

Recognizing the momentous implications of the onset of the nuclear age, in 1999 a national panel of distinguished journalists and scholars voted the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki the most significant news event of the 20th century. Yet, in a statement reflecting extraordinary callousness toward the victims, indifference to the deep divisions among American citizens about the propriety of these actions, and disregard for the feelings of most of the world's peoples, museum director Dailey declared, "We are displaying it [the Enola Gay] in all of its glory as a magnificent technological achievement." The plane, in fact, differs little from other B-29s and gains its notoriety only from the deadly and history-altering nature of its mission.

Gene Dannen's Hiroshima Links

A small page of important, useful links to Hiroshima A-Bomb information. Expanded, general A-Bomb links and content are available from the same site's Leo Szilard Online.

A-Bomb WWW Museum

The result of a web project begun in 1994, the A-Bomb WWW Museum lists two goals:

• to provide all readers with accurate information concerning the impact the first atomic bomb had on Hiroshima.
• to provide the context for a constructive discussion of what the world can learn from this event and why such weapons of total destruction should never again be used.

USA and China oppose Peace Memorial's inscription as a World Heritage site.

Inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1996, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) was the only structure left standing in the area where the first atomic bomb exploded on 6 August 1945. Through the efforts of many people, including those of the city of Hiroshima, it has been preserved in the same state as immediately after the bombing. Not only is it a stark and powerful symbol of the most destructive force ever created by humankind; it also expresses the hope for world peace and the ultimate elimination of all nuclear weapons. Two countries opposed this inscription: China and the US. The US stated its concerns as:

"The United States is dissociating itself from today's decision to inscribe the Genbaku Dome on the World Heritage List. The United States and Japan are close friends and allies. We cooperate on security, diplomatic, international and economic affairs around the world. Our two countries are tied by deep personal friendships between many Americans and Japanese. Even so, the United States cannot support its friend in this inscription."

Wikipedia :: Hiroshima

The tip of an iceberg of informationi related to the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia written and maintained by the web community.

After the nuclear attack, Hiroshima was rebuilt as a "peace memorial city." The city government continues to advocate for the abolition of nuclear weapons, and more broadly for world peace.

 

Hiroshima Calling

An information page for a picture book. Includes many photographs from the book, along with information on how to obtain it.

I spent just 24 hours in Hiroshima. The volume of relevant material posted to the Nomadic Spirit attests to the significance of that experience.

Pika-don

Excerpted text from the exhibits of Hiroshima's A-Bomb Museum.

A White Road

This poem hauntingly describes the short- and long-term effects of the Hiroshima bombing on one mother and child.

On a park bench beside the A-bomb Dome.

Imagining what it would have been like to be sitting on a park bench, beside the A-Bomb Dome, on the morning of August 6, 1945.

Other small references to Hiroshima in the Nomadic Spirit

What Tony Wheeler Thinks

Tony Wheeler is the mastermind behind the Lonely Planet series of travel guides. This quote, taken from the Japan Travel Survival Kit, appears at the bottom of the page.

Einstein

An email from a wise friend describing how the dropping of the A-Bombs on Japan affected the scientists who'd created them, particularly Albert Einstein.

RE: Pika-don

Another email, from another friend, pointing out the timeliness of my Hiroshima postings to the Nomadic Spirit: France had just announced the resumption of its nuclear testing program.

An Nomadic Spirit visit to the National A-Bomb Musem
Albaquerque, New Mexico

Catching up on some events.

Unsurprisingly, the American A-Bomb Museum presentation is intended to inspire awe, as opposed to the Hiroshima's horror inducing exhibits. This New Mexico exhbit is a chilling experience when taken in the context of Hiroshima.