The Atomic Bomb Dome: A Pilgrimage to Ground Zero #japan #travel #hiroshima #worldpeace
On August 6th, 1945, an atomic bomb instantly killed an estimated 80,000 people in Hiroshima. By the end of the year, the death toll had climbed to 140,000. This video shows the aftermath and features a translated voice over from a survivor accompanied by footage from the museum’s clips. As the clips unfold, Shinji Makamo’s voice lingers, quietly guiding us toward reflection. My name is Shinji Mikamo, a survivor of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Forgiveness, I believe, is part of my nature. I don’t hold on to grudges. I think that’s the true meaning of forgiveness. I know that in many situations, forgiving is incredibly difficult. But if we could all learn to do it, the world would have peace for everyone. I hold no grudge against the captain who dropped the atomic bomb. He risked his own life to execute an order given to him by his country. My father also never held a grudge or a Harvard hatred. He never said a single word against Americans or anything like they did it to us. He had an immense mental capacity and a broad perspective. Younger generations can hardly fathom what wars are like even if they wanted to and might think, “Wo, this actually happened.” I believe it would be very meaningful if they could learn from what happened while survivors are still alive. My father’s words truly pushed me to live into my 80s and I was only able to survive because of them. He taught me that if you receive kindness, you should pay it forward to others. If everyone did that, we could all truly live with joy and happiness. As I traveled through Japan, I often saw signs calling for world peace. It made me wonder if the horrors of war, especially the atomic bomb, have truly taught humanity a lasting lesson. Can we all live together cooperatively and peacefully? Or is that still just a dream? A history doomed to repeat itself.
As I traveled through Japan, I often saw signs calling for world peace. It made me wonder if the horrors of war, especially the atomic bomb, have truly taught humanity a lasting lesson. Can we all live together cooperatively and peacefully, or is that still just a dream—a history doomed to repeat itself?
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As we grieve these civilian deaths, let us balance it with the knowledge that the Japanese murdered 20 MILLION innocent civilians during the war. The Hiroshima deaths represent about 2 weeks of Japanese murdering during the war.
We must remember that there were literally millions of people starving in Asia and Japan in the summer of 1945, and that by ending the war, the atomic bombs saved literally millions of lives by shortening the war.