The Story of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Hiroshima
and Nagasaki are not just two big cities in Japan. They represent a history
that constantly reminds us of peace. It’s now seventy years since the United
States bombed both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although the incident brought the Second
World War to an end, the aftermaths were devastating. Before the atomic bombs
were dropped, the two cities had thriving streets and buildings. Astonishingly,
the bombs flattened everything and killed over 200,000 people. Hiroshima and Nagasaki can be described from
many angles, but the bombings in 1945 dominate their debates.
Several events preceded the dropping of the
atomic bombs. “The Potsdam Declaration, an ultimatum issued by President Harry
Truman, warned that Japan would face prompt and utter destruction if it did not
surrender.” The US was prompted to act
when Japan ignored this call. The first bomb targeted Hiroshima since it had a
big number of Japanese troops and a high concentration of military facilities. Langley reaffirmed that the second atomic
bomb targeted Nagasaki because it housed Mitsubishi, a company that produced
torpedoes used by the Japanese troops in the Pearl Harbor attack. These bombings may seem to have gone against
God and man, but were crucial in subduing Japan’s resistance.
The two bombs ascertained to the world that
nuclear weapons have unrivaled destructive power. According to Smith, the
atomic bomb deployed over the city of Hiroshima, on August 6, 945, killed
70,000 people in a single day and another 70,000 died due to exposure to severe
radiations later. Three days after the
devastating event in Hiroshima, 80,000 people died in Nagasaki after an
American plane dropped another atomic bomb.
Seventy years after the blast, survivors are still suffering from health
complications related to delayed effects of the bombings. They report cases of
leukemia, cancers, heart diseases and other ailments.
Although the people of Japan have since
rebuilt the two cities, there are reminders of the ordeal. The initial victims of the nightmare have
narrated it to the world over the years. However, the world never seems to
learn. By 2006, the world’s nine nuclear-weapon states had an estimated 27,000
nuclear warheads. Although these
countries signed the UN's Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1996, this
number is believed to be higher today.
No one knows the actual numbers of nuclear warheads since some countries
are producing them secretly. The world
is sitting on a ticking time bomb.
The world shouldn’t let the aging survivors
of the atomic bombs in Japan die with the information about what took place in
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There must be ways through which the next generation
can learn about this horror show. Additionally, children and young people should
be taught how to connect with these events as a way of fostering future peace.
Instead of engaging in nuclear competition or other ways of showcasing might,
countries should spend more time on the negotiating table. This is the only way
the world can avoid self-destruction.
Comments