Hiroshima and Nagasaki: 7 Things You Should Know

Photo from ICAN.

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But while the mushroom clouds became iconic symbols of mass destruction, and the paper cranes a symbol of hope for a nuclear-free world, there are many things you may not know – or may have forgotten – that are really important if we’re going to make sure this never happens again.

#1 More than 210,000 people were killed

By the end of 1945, the bombing had killed an estimated 140,000 people in Hiroshima, and a further 74,000 in Nagasaki. In the years that followed, many of the survivors would face leukemia, cancer, or other terrible side effects from the radiation.

“Each person had a name. Each person was loved by someone. Let us ensure that their deaths were not in vain.”

– Setsuko Thurlow, survivor of the August 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima
Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, December 2017

#2 The bombs were detonated in the air

Bombs don’t have to hit the ground in order to detonate. For nuclear weapons, detonating them in the air causes the blast to have a larger geographical impact. Both “Little Boy” (the uranium bomb dropped on Hiroshima) and “Fat Man” (the plutonium bomb dropped on Nagasaki) were detonated in the air.

You can find out more about what impact a detonation on the air or on the ground would have on your city through the Outrider Foundation’s powerful (but terrifying) interactive tool:

Image from ICAN.

#3 First responders couldn’t help back then, and they wouldn’t be able to help now.

If a nuclear weapon were to be detonated over a city today, first responders – hospitals, firemen, aid organisations – would simply be unable to help. This powerful video by the Red Cross explains why:

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FICRC%2Fvideos%2F10155538730322263%2F&show_text=1&width=476

Video from ICAN.

Tthe reason we know this is that the extent of the damage in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 made it nearly impossible to provide aid. In Hiroshima, 70% of all buildings were razed and burned, 42 out of 45 hospitals were rendered non-functional and 90% of physicians and nurses in were killed or injured.

In Nagasaki, ground temperatures reached 4,000°C and radioactive rain poured down.

As a result, most victims died without any care to ease their suffering. Some of those who did enter the cities after the bombings to provide assistance later died from the radiation.

#4 The effects last to this day

Photo from ICAN.

It takes around 10 seconds for the fireball from a nuclear explosion to reach its maximum size, but the effects last for decades and span across generations. Five to six years after the bombings, incidence of leukaemia increased noticeably among survivors.

After about a decade, survivors began suffering from thyroid, breast, lung and other cancers at higher than normal rates.

Pregnant women exposed to the bombings experienced higher rates of miscarriage and deaths among their infants; their children were more likely to have intellectual disabilities, impaired growth and an increased risk of developing cancer.

And for all survivors, cancers related to radiation exposure still continues to increase throughout their lifespan, even to this day, seven decades later.

#5 The Paper Cranes are symbols of peace and action

Image from ICAN.

#7 Countries around the world: hear the calls of the Hibakusha, join the Nuclear Ban Treaty

After decades of campaigning for a world free of nuclear-weapons, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons holds great significance for the Hibakusha.

A recent survey among 6000 Hibakusha carried out by Kyodo News showed that a vast majority feel that Japan should join the U.N. treaty banning nuclear weapons, underscoring their discontent with the government’s opposition to the agreement.

Joining the treaty would represent a recognition by Japan of its affected citizens’ rights and suffering – continuing to oppose it on the other hand could be seen as a rejection of these.

The #nuclearban will enter into force when 50 countries sign and ratify the treaty. World leaders must heed the calls of Hibakusha, and of concerned citizens around the world, for a nuclear-weapon-free future.

Video from ICAN.

*SOURCE: ICAN – International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. Go to ORIGINAL. 

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) is a coalition of non-governmental organizations in one hundred countries promoting adherence to and implementation of the United Nations nuclear weapon ban treaty. This landmark global agreement was adopted in New York on 7 July 2017.

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2018 Human Wrongs Watch