Hiroshima

Now this is a hard chapter to write. As a child growing up in the '70s and '80s, the Cold War and the nuclear threat were constantly there in the background of our lives. 6 August was a date we observed - I remember going to peace rallies sometimes and at school we all read "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes". In more recent times this seems to have been forgotten as we move on to other threats and concerns. Which is why I am very glad we made the trip to Hiroshima to remind ourselves of the unfathomable atrocity that resulted from the decision of the US Command to "test" their new bomb out on a suitable city - not too small, not too large.
A simulation in the museum shows the unsuspecting city of Hiroshima in the early morning of 6 August 1945, going about their business, then "Little Boy" descending. And the rest (as they say) is history. We all felt very emotional walking around the Peace Park and the museum. Some of the many, many affecting and moving images:
* The shell of the mostly destroyed Hall of Industry has been allowed to remain - a stark reminder against the rest of Hiroshima now built up with modern high rise flats and office blocks.
* The letter from the US Commander in Chief authorising the use of the bomb.
* A watch in the museum that was retrieved from the rubble - stopped at 8:15 am.
* The charred remains of a tricycle belonging to a three year old boy who perished when the bomb hit while he was riding outside his home. His distraught father - for want of anything else to do - buried the boy with his trike in their backyard. There they both lay for 40 years when the old man dug them up, gave the boy a proper funeral and donated the tricycle to the Museum.
* Tiny paper cranes actually made by Sadako in hospital, many made out of medicine wrappers and such like.Read more