A peaceful summer morning of August 6th, 1945 in the city of Hiroshima, Japan. People were going on with their daily routines and lives. At 8.15 AM, the people were jolted out of their work with a deafening blast that they didn't know had the power to change their lives forever.
When Albert Einstein presented his paper of the Special Theory of Relativity in 1905, he never even in his wild dreams dreamt of his theories being used to manufacture the deadliest weapon in the world, the Nuclear Bombs.
The core reason for the Second World War was the revenge of Germany against Britain and France for the Versailles humiliation after the First World War. Even though it was on the side of France and Britain in the first part, Japan later joined the opposite side when it felt cheated of its rights. In mid-1945, even though Germany surrendered, Japan refused to back off. It resulted in America bombing Japan on 6th August 1945, with an atomic bomb to end the war quickly. The atomic bomb, which resulted in the immediate death of approximately 70,000 people came to be known as “The Little Boy” because it was smaller when compared to the other in the series.
People were even shocked to understand what was happening. Setsuko Thurlow, a 13-year old student who later received the Nobel Peace Prize for anti-nuclear activism recollects the exact moment, “I remember a bluish-white flash. I was thrown into the air and buried under debris. I could hear my classmates crying, ‘Mother, help me.’ Only a few of us crawled out — the rest were silent.” The cultural city of Hiroshima was destroyed beyond repair. Every standing hospital was flooded with dead and half living bodies. People ran helter-skelter in search of their beloved ones.
Even after this disaster, the Japanese leaders refused to back off. The American Government once more exhibited its nuclear power through the most catastrophic bomb of the series, “The Fat Man” named precisely for its power to create tragedy in the country. Dropped on 9th August 1945 in the city of Nagasaki at 11.02 AM, just three days after the terrible shock of The Little Boy, this one resulted in the immediate death of about 40,000 people.
In 1939, Albert Einstein had written a letter to then American President, Franklin D Roosevelt, warning him that Germany may be developing a nuclear power, leading to the launching of The Manhattan Project which created the two nuclear bombs which ended with tragic results. After the Hiroshima and Nagasaki incidents, when Einstein came to know about the devastation it caused, he deeply regretted that the letters he sent became the main cause of the launch of the project which created the bombs. He later became a strong advocate for world peace and worked with scientists to warn against further use of nuclear weapons.
The radiation from these two disastrous events has caused health problems that persist even in current generations. Decades later, the radioactive scars of Hiroshima and Nagasaki still echo through the bloodlines of survivors, leaving illnesses and genetic damage that refuse to fade.
Sadako Sasaki, a 2-year old girl, who survived the initial bombing, developed leukemia from the radiation exposure. During her time in hospital, she began folding papers and started making 1000 origami cranes believing that her wish would be granted according to a Japanese legend. She wished for the recovery of world peace. But before she could finish these 1000 cranes, she passed away at the age of 12 years. The rest of the cranes were finished by her friends, which later became the international symbol of peace and anti-nuclear hope.
The hibakusha - survivors of these nuclear bombs still plead that the nuclear power never be used again. They want their suffering to be the last of its kind.
We observe 6th August and 9th August as Hiroshima and Nagasaki days respectively, in order to commemorate, remember and honour the victims and to send the message of peace worldwide. The Flame of Peace in Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park is a constant reminder for nuclear disarmament. This ever-burning spark, which was lit in 1964, will keep burning till the last nuclear weapon on earth is destroyed.
Anavadya Pramod
IX C
.jpeg)
.png)
