The most important Japanese tour for my grandchildren in 2024 was Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial. My children and I heard my father’s WW2 history many times, but my grand children knew nothing from the family. So they read the following from Atomic Archive before they left Australia.
![]()
The Target Committee’s primary concern was showing off the bomb's power to the maximum effect, especially since Hiroshima was a major port and a military headquarters i.e a strategic target. Post-bomb photos could be taken and since Hiroshima had not been damaged by earlier bombing raids, these photographs would present a clear picture of Little Boy’s damage.
The Potsdam Declaration was issued by the U.S, Britain and China in late July 1945, calling for the unconditional surrender of Japan. When the Japanese military ignored their threat of prompt and utter destruction, U.S Major Gen Groves drafted orders to use the bomb and sent them to General Carl Spaatz, Commander of Air Forces in the Pacific. With approval by Army Chief Staff George Marshall, Secretary of War Stimson and Pres. Truman, the order to drop Little Boy on Hiroshima was given.
Note that some atomic bomb researchers at Met Lab in Chicago tried to stop its use. Ironically Dr Leo Szilard had led atomic bomb research in 1939 against Germany, but since the threat of a German bomb was over, he started a petition to Pres Truman so save Japan. With 88 signatures on the petition, Dr Szilard circulated copies in Chicago & Oak Ridge, only to have the petition quashed at Los Alamos by physicist Dr Oppenheimer.
Early on 6th Aug 1945 an American bomber, Enola Gay, left U.S administered Tinian Island south of Japan for Hiroshima. Piloted by Col Paul Tibbets, the 4-engine plane and 2 observation planes carrying cameras and scientific instruments, flew out. Enola Gay was the plane carrying a bomb, one that was expected to massacre everything within a 5 ks of the city centre. Measuring 3+ ms long and 75 cs across, it weighed c4.5 tonnes and had the explosive force of 18,000 tonnes of TNT. Col Tibbets told his crew that the plane was carrying the world's first atomic bomb!
By 7AM the Japanese radar-net detected the U.S aircraft, and the alert was broadcast throughout the Hiroshima area. Soon after, a weather plane circled over the city but there was no sign of bombers. The Japanese citizens began their daily work, thinking the danger had passed. Soon the Enola Gay was cruising over Hiroshima and by 8 AM, Japanese radar again detected B-29s heading toward the city. Radio stations broadcast another warning for people to take shelter! Enola Gay crew could see the city appear below and were messaged that the weather was perfect over Hiroshima. The Little Boy exploded, instantly killing up to 140,000 people and leaving up to 100,000 more to die slowly from radiation. Over two-thirds of Hiroshima's buildings were demolished. Hundreds of fires, ignited by the thermal pulse, combined to produce a firestorm that had incinerated everything within 10 ks of Ground Zero.
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Product Exhibition Hall and dome by Czech architect Jan Letzel built 1915
taken from Motoyasu Bridge in 1939
By late May 1945, the Manhattan Project Interim Committee selected the Japanese city/cities to bomb. While President Truman had hoped for a purely military target, some advisers believed that bombing an urban area might break the fighting will of the Japanese people. While plans for the invasion of Japan were going ahead, preparations were being made to use an atomic bomb. The Little Boy bombwas ready for delivery by July 31
The Target Committee’s primary concern was showing off the bomb's power to the maximum effect, especially since Hiroshima was a major port and a military headquarters i.e a strategic target. Post-bomb photos could be taken and since Hiroshima had not been damaged by earlier bombing raids, these photographs would present a clear picture of Little Boy’s damage.
The Potsdam Declaration was issued by the U.S, Britain and China in late July 1945, calling for the unconditional surrender of Japan. When the Japanese military ignored their threat of prompt and utter destruction, U.S Major Gen Groves drafted orders to use the bomb and sent them to General Carl Spaatz, Commander of Air Forces in the Pacific. With approval by Army Chief Staff George Marshall, Secretary of War Stimson and Pres. Truman, the order to drop Little Boy on Hiroshima was given.
Note that some atomic bomb researchers at Met Lab in Chicago tried to stop its use. Ironically Dr Leo Szilard had led atomic bomb research in 1939 against Germany, but since the threat of a German bomb was over, he started a petition to Pres Truman so save Japan. With 88 signatures on the petition, Dr Szilard circulated copies in Chicago & Oak Ridge, only to have the petition quashed at Los Alamos by physicist Dr Oppenheimer.
Early on 6th Aug 1945 an American bomber, Enola Gay, left U.S administered Tinian Island south of Japan for Hiroshima. Piloted by Col Paul Tibbets, the 4-engine plane and 2 observation planes carrying cameras and scientific instruments, flew out. Enola Gay was the plane carrying a bomb, one that was expected to massacre everything within a 5 ks of the city centre. Measuring 3+ ms long and 75 cs across, it weighed c4.5 tonnes and had the explosive force of 18,000 tonnes of TNT. Col Tibbets told his crew that the plane was carrying the world's first atomic bomb!
By 7AM the Japanese radar-net detected the U.S aircraft, and the alert was broadcast throughout the Hiroshima area. Soon after, a weather plane circled over the city but there was no sign of bombers. The Japanese citizens began their daily work, thinking the danger had passed. Soon the Enola Gay was cruising over Hiroshima and by 8 AM, Japanese radar again detected B-29s heading toward the city. Radio stations broadcast another warning for people to take shelter! Enola Gay crew could see the city appear below and were messaged that the weather was perfect over Hiroshima. The Little Boy exploded, instantly killing up to 140,000 people and leaving up to 100,000 more to die slowly from radiation. Over two-thirds of Hiroshima's buildings were demolished. Hundreds of fires, ignited by the thermal pulse, combined to produce a firestorm that had incinerated everything within 10 ks of Ground Zero.
The Genbaku Dome, now Hiroshima Peace Memorial,
was one of the few structures left (barely) standing.
Guardian
Smoke is still hanging and the charred bodies are scattered,
10th Aug 1945
In 1945 Hiroshima was the first city in the world to be hit by an atomic bomb. Endless lives were lost, and those who barely managed to survive suffered great mental and physical damage, dying from radiation sickness. Exactly 4 years after the bomb was dropped, it was decided that the destroyed area would not be redeveloped but instead devoted to peace memorials.
The Peace Memorial Museum opened in 1955 with the aim of conveying the tragedy caused by the atomic bomb to people all over the world, contributing to the abolition of nuclear weapons and lasting world peace. This Museum collects and exhibits the belongings of survivors, as well as photos and materials showing the devastation caused by the bomb, introducing the history of Hiroshima before and after the bombing, and the nuclear age world.
Thus today Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park is a prominent feature of the city, a large park of 120,000+ sq ms. Pre-bomb, Peace Park area was the political and commercial heart of the city; now its trees, lawns and paths starkly contrast with the surrounding central business district.
The park's main facility is the Peace Memorial Museum. The two buildings of the museum survey the history of Hiroshima and the advent of the nuclear bomb. Naturally the main focus is on the events of 6th Aug: dropping the bomb and its outcome in human suffering. The personal details displayed are very upsetting for most visitors.
The A-Bomb Dome/aka Hiroshima Peace Memorial, is what remains of the former Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, the building that promoted Hiroshima's industries. When the bomb exploded, it was one of the few buildings to remain standing, and remains so today. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the A-Bomb Dome is a clear link to Hiroshima's past.
Between the Museum and the A-Bomb Dome is the Cenotaph for the A-Bomb Victims. The Cenotaph is an arched tomb for those who died because of the bomb, either because of the initial blast or exposure to radiation. Below the arch is a stone chest holding a register of these names, of which there are 220,000+. Every year on the anniversary of the bomb, a ceremony is held at the park. Speeches are made, wreathes are laid at the Cenotaph and a moment of silence is observed at exactly 8:15 AM.
Many reviewers criticised the Peace Memorial Museum’s layout. But when the visitors enter the first part of the museum, it feels as if they are cut off from the outside world; walking through the exhibition not a leisurely stroll but a rugged test, fitting the disturbing exhibition and displays. And sometimes it is extremely crowded and hard to be able to read the displays. Nonetheless the museum is a must-see in Japan, a place that changes lives.
The Peace Memorial Museum opened in 1955 with the aim of conveying the tragedy caused by the atomic bomb to people all over the world, contributing to the abolition of nuclear weapons and lasting world peace. This Museum collects and exhibits the belongings of survivors, as well as photos and materials showing the devastation caused by the bomb, introducing the history of Hiroshima before and after the bombing, and the nuclear age world.
Thus today Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park is a prominent feature of the city, a large park of 120,000+ sq ms. Pre-bomb, Peace Park area was the political and commercial heart of the city; now its trees, lawns and paths starkly contrast with the surrounding central business district.
The park's main facility is the Peace Memorial Museum. The two buildings of the museum survey the history of Hiroshima and the advent of the nuclear bomb. Naturally the main focus is on the events of 6th Aug: dropping the bomb and its outcome in human suffering. The personal details displayed are very upsetting for most visitors.
The A-Bomb Dome/aka Hiroshima Peace Memorial, is what remains of the former Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, the building that promoted Hiroshima's industries. When the bomb exploded, it was one of the few buildings to remain standing, and remains so today. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the A-Bomb Dome is a clear link to Hiroshima's past.
Between the Museum and the A-Bomb Dome is the Cenotaph for the A-Bomb Victims. The Cenotaph is an arched tomb for those who died because of the bomb, either because of the initial blast or exposure to radiation. Below the arch is a stone chest holding a register of these names, of which there are 220,000+. Every year on the anniversary of the bomb, a ceremony is held at the park. Speeches are made, wreathes are laid at the Cenotaph and a moment of silence is observed at exactly 8:15 AM.
Many reviewers criticised the Peace Memorial Museum’s layout. But when the visitors enter the first part of the museum, it feels as if they are cut off from the outside world; walking through the exhibition not a leisurely stroll but a rugged test, fitting the disturbing exhibition and displays. And sometimes it is extremely crowded and hard to be able to read the displays. Nonetheless the museum is a must-see in Japan, a place that changes lives.
Children's peace memorial
Bombed areas filled with Memorial Park now
City centre in the background
The old Product Exhibition Hall is now
Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Museum