Hiroshima
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| Comparative Aerial Imagery Hiroshima, Japan |
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Wide view |
Close-up view of the Castle |
Early Hiroshima, centered on the castle |
Hiroshima before the War |
A-Bomb Damage |
Peace Park, Hypocenter |
Formerly the Hiroshima Prefectural Building for the Promotion of Industry, the "Atomic Bomb Dome" can be seen from the ruins of the Shima Hospital at the hypocenter. |
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Hiroshima, 1945 Standish Backus #20 Watercolor, 1945 |
Still Life, Hiroshima Standish Backus #30 Watercolor, 1946 |
At the Red Cross Hospital, Hiroshima Standish Backus #33 Watercolor, 1946 The Japanese Director pointed out the various types of casualities, the fractures, the contusions, the loss of hair, the blood degeneration, the dysentery-like cases of radiation after-effects, and mostly the burns. Among the latter were the cases of girls wearing flowered prints who showed the pattern etched in burns on their bodies where the dark patches had been. |
Garden at Hiroshima, Autumn Standish Backus #23 Watercolor, 1946 |
Army troops deployed around Hiroshima Castle, which was the center of Hiroshima as a military city, were nearly annihilated. The castle was completely destroyed by the atomic bomb, but after the War, it was reconstructed and it now rises in the central city. |
Front side of OWI notice #2106, dubbed the "LeMay bombing leaflet," which was delivered to Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and 33 other Japanese cities on 1 August 1945. Office of War Information [OWI] presses were turning out leaflets that warned all these Japanese cities of impending destruction in the absence of immediate acceptance of the terms of the Potsdam agreement. But contrary to claims made by the US Government these leaflets did not reveal the special nature of Hiroshima's destruction, which came nearly a week after the leaflet campaign began. The Japanese text on the reverse side of the leaflet carried the following warning: "Read this carefully as it may save your life or the life of a relative or friend. In the next few days, some or all of the cities named on the reverse side will be destroyed by American bombs. These cities contain military installations and workshops or factories which produce military goods. We are determined to destroy all of the tools of the military clique which they are using to prolong this useless war. But, unfortunately, bombs have no eyes. So, in accordance with America's humanitarian policies, the American Air Force, which does not wish to injure innocent people, now gives you warning to evacuate the cities named and save your lives. America is not fighting the Japanese people but is fighting the military clique which has enslaved the Japanese people. The peace which America will bring will free the people from the oppression of the military clique and mean the emergence of a new and better Japan. You can restore peace by demanding new and good leaders who will end the war. We cannot promise that only these cities will be among those attacked but some or all of them will be, so heed this warning and evacuate these cities immediately." (See Richard S. R. Hubert, "The OWI Saipan Operation," Official Report to US Information Service, Washington, DC 1946.) By 9 August, more than 5 million leaflets about the atom bomb had been released over major Japanese cities. The OWI radio station beamed a similar message to Japan every 15 minutes. |
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