Doomsday from the sky: The facts about Hiroshima

Kokcha News Agency – On August 6, 1945, the city of Hiroshima, Japan, experienced a catastrophic event that would forever change the course of history. The American B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped the “Little Boy” atomic bomb, the first nuclear weapon ever used against humanity. The bomb detonated approximately 600 meters above the ground, creating a fireball that engulfed the city in an instant.

The explosion generated temperatures of up to 7,000 degrees Celsius, instantly reducing much of Hiroshima to ashes. Within seconds, over 70,000 people were killed, with 60% of the victims dying from burns, 30% from debris, and 10% from radiation. The blast radius of 1.6 kilometers left no stone unturned, and more than 60,000 of the city’s 90,000 buildings were either completely destroyed or severely damaged.

The bomb, equivalent to 12,000 to 15,000 tons of TNT, caused destruction across a 13-square-kilometer area. Infrastructure such as telephone lines, telegraph systems, railways, and power plants were also heavily damaged. The death toll continued to rise in the weeks, months, and even years following the explosion due to radiation poisoning, surpassing 140,000 by the end of 1946.

Survivors and the Hibakusha:
Those who survived the atomic bomb were called Hibakusha. The Japanese government pledged to cover their medical expenses for life. In 2024, the Nihon Hidankyo organization, established in 1956 to represent the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The organization played a crucial role in creating the “international nuclear taboo” by sharing their tragic experiences and advocating for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

The Only Standing Structure:
Near the hypocenter of the explosion, the only structure that remained standing was the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, now preserved as part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The park is dedicated to the victims, with a memorial inscribed with the names of tens of thousands of victims and the words, “Rest in peace, for this tragedy shall never be repeated.”

Nagasaki: Three Days Later:
Three days after Hiroshima, on August 9, 1945, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb, “Fat Man,” on Nagasaki. The bomb, equivalent to 21,000 tons of TNT, destroyed 40% of the city, killing 40,000 people instantly. By the end of the year, the death toll had surpassed 70,000 due to radiation poisoning. This attack led to Japan’s unconditional surrender on August 14, effectively ending World War II.

The U.S. Justification:
While some historians argue otherwise, the U.S. maintains that it had no other choice but to use atomic bombs to force Japan’s surrender. President Harry Truman famously stated, “We spent $2 billion on the greatest scientific gamble in history—and we won.”

Japan’s Call for “Never Again”:
The moral and legal accountability for the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remains unresolved. Efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons have stalled, with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) warning of a new nuclear arms race. According to SIPRI, the U.S. and Russia, which possess 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons, have both modernized their arsenals and added new warheads. The U.S. currently has 5,177 nuclear warheads, while Russia has 5,459.