![]() The City of Hiroshima is committed to preserving the Atomic Bomb Dome in its current condition and style without adding any roofing to protect the building. And in addition to the work carried out to date to prevent the dome from further deterioration as a result of the elements, the city has been pursuing reinforcement work that can enable the Atomic Bomb Dome to withstand a major earthquake. Now, however, the City of Hiroshima is facing the very difficult challenge of continuing to preserve the fragile structure. She wrote in his diary: “Only the tragic Industrial Promotion Hall will forever continue to tell future generations of the catastrophic atomic bombing.” Students inspired by her words then launched a signature drive to preserve the building, and the Hiroshima City Council eventually passed a resolution requiring that the dome be preserved. Why, then, has the Atomic Bomb Dome survived? One factor that led to its preservation was the existence of a diary kept by Hiroko Kajiyama, a high school student who died of A-bomb-induced leukemia 15 years after the bombing. The Atomic Bomb Dome was registered as a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site in 1996 under the name “Hiroshima Peace Memorial,” which led to this structure becoming a monument through which people could widely express the wish for world peace, rather than merely being emblematic of the damage caused by the bomb.Īfter the war, many of the buildings that were destroyed by the atomic bomb were demolished during the reconstruction of the city. After the war ended, the citizens of Hiroshima saw the building’s remaining iron framework and walls still standing amid the devastated city and, from that point on, it was called the Atomic Bomb Dome.įortified with structural steel inside the Dome The dome itself, however, miraculously survived the tremendous blast that roared down from above the building. Because it stood just 160 meters from the bomb’s hypocenter, all those inside the building at the moment the bomb exploded perished instantly. The three story, Western-style brick building was designed by Czech architect Jan Letzel and had an oval-shaped dome.īy the time of the atomic bombing, on August 6, 1945, the building had come to be called the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. The Hiroshima Commercial Exhibition Hall, as it was originally named, opened in 1915. ![]() I can’t help but imagine what it was like back then and shudder to the idea of just going about your daily business and not knowing that it will be your last day on Earth.The Atomic Bomb Dome is the most visible symbol of the “negative legacy” of the 20th century, known as the nuclear age. ![]() My visit to the dome was on a beautiful, sunny morning, maybe almost the same weather condition 66 years ago. Countries like China and USA voted against the proposition of having the A-bomb dome as the heritage site mainly favoring the same reasoning as the local people who wanted to have the building destroyed. For some, it was nothing but a bad reminder of the Japanese participation on World War II that triggers the series of events while others favored on keeping it so it may serve as a constant reminder on why the world should never face another war or atomic war to be specific.Įven its designation as UNESCO World Heritage site has faced some controversy. Though the original target of the bomb was the bridge besides the dome, the center of the blast hit the building vertically downward, somehow making some of its parts intact but unfortunately killed everyone inside immediately.ĭuring the re-building of the city, there has been a debate among locals as to whether keep or destroy the A-bomb dome. Named as Hiroshima Peace Memorial or most commonly called as Atomic Bomb Dome/A-bomb Dome was actually the city’s former Prefectural Industrial Exhibition Hall. Located inside on what is now known as Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is the remains of the only surviving infrastructure of atomic bomb catastrophe of 1945. These three forms of energy instantly destroyed the entire city, indiscriminately taking many precious lives”. Discover the A-bomb Domes poignant history as the centerpiece of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, commemorating the tragic atomic bombing and its enduring. Simultaneously, an enormous amount of radiation was emitted. ![]() Celsius and generated a blast that blew 440 meters per second (about 984 miles per hour). In the vicinity of the hypocenter, heat from the bomb raised surface temperatures to 3,000 to 4,000 deg. Because it stood just 160 meters from the bombs hypocenter, all those inside the building at the moment the bomb exploded perished instantly. It emitted heat rays, blast, and radiation. “ The atomic bomb dropped at 8:15 a.m, August 6, 1945, exploded at an altitude of approximately 600 meters over the city of Hiroshima.
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