Rare Photo of A-Bomb Found in HIroshima

Greetings, ATS!

From Discovery News.

A long lost image from the Hiroshima atomic bombing has been discovered at a Japanese elementary school. The black-and-white photograph shows the mushroom cloud over Hiroshima split into two distinctly separated parts, one on top of the other.

The rare image was found at the Honkawa Elementary School in Hiroshima city, in a collection of about 1,000 articles on the WWII atomic bombing. The material was donated by a late survivor, Yosaburo Yamasaki, in or after 1953.

According to the Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun, a memo on the back of the photo says it was shot near the town of Kaitaichi, some six miles east of ground zero, two minutes after the bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945.

I found this online and thought I'd share with my friends at ATS. A rare piece of photographic history, this. In my opinion, it documents one of the worst days in human history.

I would say enjoy, but perhaps it would be better to say.....remember.

Peaceful Friday to you all,

smylee

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reply to post by smyleegrl


Explanation: S&F!

N/A

Personal Disclosure: Bumped!

If only those in power actually looked at pictures like that....really looked and imagined the people seeing their loved ones die as they themselves died, seeing families, communities, schools, hospitals...innocents die.

And they could think to themselves...we did that.

As opposed to seeing a strategic victory or another war won.

I'm not just talking about Hiroshima, in general people are a commodity of war and power.

I don't know, we allow these things to happen in our name.

Maybe we should say...we did that.

reply to post by Jykan


Yes I agree.

I talk to my (older) students about WWII....and the terrible bombs we dropped. I explain both sides of the argument, about the deterrent factor and ending the war. Then we read Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. (a book about a young girl born after the bomb, who died of leukemia...true story. I highly recommend it if you want a human touch to this tragedy).

I want my students to know there are two sides to the story.

reply to post by Jykan

If only those in power actually looked at pictures like that

A picture of a mushroom cloud would give most of them an erection. Even the images of the school children with half of their skin blasted off won't do it. Images aren't enough.

The people in power should have to walk those grounds, smell the putrid stench of death, witness the horror in person for themselves. In fact, I suggest they be forced to do it without radiation suits or iodide.

reply to post by smyleegrl

I want my students to know there are two sides to the story.

I applaud you for that, it's much easier to only tell the American side of the story.

Given the situation at hand at the time, America felt the need to prove they'd actually use these weapons, not just develop them as a deterrent. Maybe it was true. Maybe without the US dropping those bombs, Russia would have been a little braver during the cold war.

But the fact remains, the bombs did little to end the war, the war with Japan was just about done at that point anyways, personally, I feel they were looking ahead towards the cold war already with Russia.

But let us never forget these were cities. People worked and lived in them, just like we do.

The cloud looks like most of it's activity/violence has passed.

If you look closely it's split into two and I'm assuming the bottom part of the cloud is starting to fall back in on itself, ultimately landing on the poor survivors as fall out dust. I'd guess the photograph may have been taken anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour after the explosion, not the two minutes as the quote suggests. I might well be incorrect, it's difficult to determine from a still.

An historically significant photograph nevertheless. Thanks OP.

reply to post by NorthernThird


Yes, historically this is a gem. My first thought was about the photographer, who had the presence of mind to grab a camera and record the event instead of standing around in shock looking at it or talking to neighbors about what to do. It doesn't seem like the wind is moving the photographers way, so hopefully safety wasn't a concern. I've seen family photos of the aftermath (a relative was assigned to the city after the war), and should try to find those in his estate archives to add them to the historical record. Thanks for giving me that incentive.

And OP and others, if you haven't seen Oliver Stone's new series "The Untold History of the United States" it has data on the bombing and the end of the second WWII I didn't realize and other data from that time that I never fully comprehended. A must see, imnho.

reply to post by smyleegrl


Bumpity, because I hope more people see this photo. It truly is amazing.

Originally posted by smyleegrl

I would say enjoy, but perhaps it would be better to say.....remember.

For this perspective alone, I would marry you.

Well stated, interesting image. Thanks for sharing.

reply to post by smyleegrl


Wow!! Awesome!! Not the event, god no, the picture!!

S&F for the find.......

Originally posted by smyleegrl
Greetings, ATS!

From Discovery News.

A long lost image from the Hiroshima atomic bombing has been discovered at a Japanese elementary school. The black-and-white photograph shows the mushroom cloud over Hiroshima split into two distinctly separated parts, one on top of the other.

The rare image was found at the Honkawa Elementary School in Hiroshima city, in a collection of about 1,000 articles on the WWII atomic bombing. The material was donated by a late survivor, Yosaburo Yamasaki, in or after 1953.

According to the Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun, a memo on the back of the photo says it was shot near the town of Kaitaichi, some six miles east of ground zero, two minutes after the bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945.

I found this online and thought I'd share with my friends at ATS. A rare piece of photographic history, this. In my opinion, it documents one of the worst days in human history.

I would say enjoy, but perhaps it would be better to say.....remember.

Peaceful Friday to you all,

smylee

Truly humbled I am.

My Granddad was a Japanese Prisoner of war, he saw this thing go of, from the shipyard he was imprisoned in, he had something called Berry Berry? which apparently attacks the nerveuse system, he was physicaly fine when I knew him and a my Hero

Would be nice if all could spare a thought, for all of those effected by this very sad page in Human history, lets hope it never, ever, ever, happens again, anywhere on our planet.

Great find Smylee S&F4U

Poignant picture, what a mysterious and frightening spectacle it must have been to the photographer.
It's easy to forget that thanks to history and photographic film documentation almost everyone on Earth would recognise a nuclear explosion if they saw one now.

Not so in 1945, I wonder would it have been less frightening or more so without the understanding of the destructive power clothed by a mushroom cloud that mankind has gained (painfully) since.

Thanks for posting!

I've always wondered why they didn't just drop the bomb a short distance out to sea...maybe a deserted island where all could see. Surely that would have given the Japanese reason to surrender?

A horrific event carried out by a terrorist organization.

reply to post by smyleegrl


I remember reading that book in either 5th or 6th grade. It's a pretty touching book. We also tried our hands at making paper cranes ourselves.

I wish HS and College were as much fun as gradeschool was

I still get that "Voyage of the Mimi" theme song stuck in my head to this day, 17 or so years later.

Originally posted by Aleister
reply to post by NorthernThird

 

Yes, historically this is a gem. My first thought was about the photographer, who had the presence of mind to grab a camera and record the event instead of standing around in shock looking at it or talking to neighbors about what to do. It doesn't seem like the wind is moving the photographers way, so hopefully safety wasn't a concern. I've seen family photos of the aftermath (a relative was assigned to the city after the war), and should try to find those in his estate archives to add them to the historical record. Thanks for giving me that incentive.

And OP and others, if you haven't seen Oliver Stone's new series "The Untold History of the United States" it has data on the bombing and the end of the second WWII I didn't realize and other data from that time that I never fully comprehended. A must see, imnho.

edit on 11-1-2013 by Aleister because: (no reason given)

I doubt most of the citizens even understood the fallout and radioactive dust was very dangerous.

Also, japan had it coming, never should of pulled pearl harbor..

reply to post by gangdumstyle


The americans knew about pearl harbor... yet they let it happen. They even had the japanese codes broken when pearl harbor happened. Well... but the u.s HAD to get into ww2 one way or another.

Or else how would "this side" force the U.S into war like Churchill NEEDED it and FDR wanted it? ... It would have been impossible at the time... unless...

Primo Find! S&F


Asides -

Voyage of the MiMi - Ben Affleck was the boy.

Another good book - Hiroshima by John Hershy

WWII & The A-Bomb - Japan hit us first. With a Low Blow. Reap as ye Sow.


IMO

Oliver Stone's doco on the bomb

is an epic doco. I didn't know that the Japanese were willing to surrender unconditionally before the bomb was dropped and that President Truman just wanted to test out his new toy. So the bomb wasn't to deter the Japanese but rather to make a show of strength against Russia. Such a sad story that so many had to die because one dude was evil. Even the generals told him not to do it. Later books and movies that are taught to our kids show Truman as a wise president who made a hard decision. He could have just not dropped the bomb and accepted peace. Evil.