The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is located, naturally, in the city of Hiroshima, Japan. It was originally constructed in 1955 but was remodeled in 1991 and renovated in 1994 to include the Peace Memorial Hall.
On July 16, 1945, the Allied Manhattan Project successfully detonated an atomic bomb in the desert of New Mexico. With testing completed, the atomic bomb was loaded onboard a specialized version of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. With the consent of the United Kingdom as spelled out in the Quebec Agreement, President Harry S. Truman ordered the bombing of Hiroshima, and that bombing was carried out on August 6, 1945. The United States immediately called for the unconditional surrender of Japan, warning them to “expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth.” Three days later a plutonium implosion-type bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki.
Between 90,000-140,000 people were killed in Hiroshima and another 60,000-80,000 in Nagasaki. Nearly half of those deaths occurred the day the bombs were dropped.
Japan then officially surrendered.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum “collects and displays belongings left by the victims, photos, and other materials that convey the horror of that event…..having now recovered from the A-bomb calamity, Hiroshima’s deepest wish is the elimination of all nuclear weapons and the realization of a genuinely peaceful international community. The museum sees one million visitors each year and is the most popular of Hiroshima’s destination for school field trips and for international visitors.
The museum is divided into two sections, the East Wing and the West Wing. The East Wing explains the history of Hiroshima City before the bomb, the decisions leading to the dropping of the bomb, and the lives of citizens in Hiroshima before and after the bomb. The West Wing concentrates solely on the damage caused by the bomb. This includes artifacts remaining after the bomb and a section which explains the effects of radiation from a nuclear weapon.
Peace programs include an A-bomb survivor testimony, video showings, a peace volunteer guided tour and other photo posters and videos.
Each week Aces High brings you another famous war museum. It is our hope that you can one day visit one of these wonderfully educational museums during your travels.
We also invite you to try our free two-week download of Aces High, the leading World War 2 flight simulator, made by HiTech Creations.
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