Hiroshima Bombing – Barefoot Gen
March 31, 2008
“Hiroshima and Nagasaki, surely among the most unspeakable crimes in history.” Noam Chomsky
The Hiroshima bombing came at a time when the Japanese were negotiating peace with the USA. The United States however wanted to test its new weapon: demonstrating its power to the world, especially to the Soviets. When Gore Vidal was asked if he thought the Atomic Bombing was the end of the Second World War or the beginning of the cold war, he chose the latter.
I visited Hiroshima in 2004 and entered the “peace park” museum without giving it much thought (put in quotes because I think the American post war Government had a propaganda campaign promoting “peace” in Japan – worried that people might want revenge). Perhaps I was a little ignorant because I was in for a gut wrenching, stomach churning experience.
One of the exhibits that I remember vividly was something quite odd. I was looking at it in its glass case and couldn’t quite focus on what it was. Rather unusual, so I looked at the little plaque beside it – which had a story. It said that there was a young girl – 8 years old I think – that had been caught in the bomb blast. Her first instinct was to run home even although she was covered in burns. When she made it to her mothers arms much of her skin had peeled off and there she died. I can’t imagine how the little girl or her mother felt, I can only guess. But to help convey the full horror to her partner – the woman collected the little girls fingers, that had melted off, to keep and show him when he returned. Reading the story I was quite moved. Hesitantly I looked back and could see that indeed they were fingers with recognisable nails – on top of everything else I’d seen I almost threw up. Leaving the museum also hit me hard, walking onto a busy street I realised it was people just like these that suffered so terribly.
The following film is based on the work of a manga artist in Japan, Keiji Nakazawa, a 6 year old survivor of the bombing. I think the film, made in the 80′s reflects the true horror of the atomic bombings and the true horror of war. All through a childs eyes and loosely based on Nakazawa’s own experiences. An interview with Keiji can be seen here (15 mins into the show).
If they showed you the truth – you wouldn’t allow anymore wars
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were terrible war crimes. Killing non-combatants is a war crime, and an even bigger war crime is that the United States knew BEFORE dropping the atomic bombs that Japan’s government wanted to surrender. The U.S. media is innacurate when it says that the atomic bombs ended the war. The U.S. dropped the atomic bombs for the following reasons: to show Russia how powerful the U.S. was; the U.S. wanted to experiment with atomic weapons; and there was strong racism in the U.S. against Asians, especially Japanese, during the 1940s. I am glad that Barefoot Gen is now a book and a video shown on the computer. People must be educated about how horrible atomic weapons are, and the suffering caused by war crimes committed by the United States must be revealed.
Lol. I want to start off my argument with the following statement. You are retarded. Now that that is over with…
I can see that you didn’t do your research on this topic. Let me state that the laws set at the Geneva Conventions have nothing to do with Hiroshima, because those laws only restrict declaring war. What we are looking at is the Hague Conventions. These are the laws that restrict what a country can do once in war. It does say that civilians are never permissible targets. This is because they haven’t given up any of their basic rights, unlike those who join the military. However, the laws also explain that civilian deaths are sometimes unavoidable. Deaths caused from the targeting of strategic enemy positions,or collateral damage, is one exception. I’m assuming that you have no idea what Hiroshima’s significance was so I’ll tell you. Within it’s city boundaries, Hiroshima contained the headquarters of both the Fifth Infantry Division, and Field Marshal Shunroku Hata’s 2nd General Army. These two headquarters controlled all the defenses in southern Japan, not to mention the numerous military camps positioned throughout the city. The bombing of these two cities was not a war crime. The United States targeted Hiroshima for a reason, and I can assure you that it wasn’t any for any of the reasons that you stated above.
Now, moving on to the U.S. knowing Japan wanted to surrender. The war ended with the Potsdam Conference, where the allies decided how to manage Germany after their defeat, while also implementing all the usual treaties and such in order to keep the peace. There was only one axis country that did not agree to unconditional surrender, and can you guess which it was? That’s right. It was Japan. We told them again, 11 days before the first bomb was dropped, threatening total destruction if they don’t surrender unconditionally. Still, nothing.
On August 1st, 1945, the U.S. dropped over one million notices over Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and 33 other Japanese cities. The notice stated, “Read this carefully as it may save your life or the life of a relative or friend. In the next few days, some or all of the cities named on the reverse side will be destroyed by American bombs. These cities contain military installations and workshops or facilities which produce military goods. We are determined to destroy all of the tools of the military clique(personnel)which they are using to prolong this useless war. But, unfortunately, bombs have no eyes. So, in accordance America’s humanitarian policies, the American Air Force, which does not wish to injure innocent people, now gives you warning to evacuate the cities named and save your lives. America is not fighting the Japanese people, but is fighting the military clique which has enslaved the Japanese people. The peace which America will bring will free the people from the oppression of the military clique and mean the emergence of a new and better Japan. You can restore peace by demanding new and good leaders who will end the war. We cannot promise that only these cities will be among those attacked but some or all of them will be, so heed these warnings and evacuate these cities immediately.”
Japan had been warned, they had been given multiple chances to surrender, and yet they still decided to try and slip one by the U.S.. By the way, don’t you think it sounds a little hypocritical to be calling the bombs dropped on Hiroshima a war crime, when Japan -without any warning I might add- just appeared at Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7th, 1941, killing 2,400 people, some of which were U.S. civilians, and injuring another 1,200?
I just thought that I would take some time to leave this bit of information, so that others who search this topic and find my post, won’t be misguided unlike a surprising number of Americans, who can’t even tell left from right.
Sorry about the misspelling at the end of the fist paragraph. It should be “for any”
I should have looked over this more thoroughly.
You know, I’m not gonna lie. It’s sad about the girl who was caught in the blast, but what’s even sadder is the fact that a 17-year-old knows more about history than you.
[...] Rain by HBO you can buy it here. I visited Hiroshima in 2004 and it was a very moving experience (see here for more and an excellent film). The following is by John Pilger where he explains that [...]
Hiroshima has been the first-rate city of the Chugoku Region for hundreds of years. After its depiction consequence the 16th century, Hiroshima Castle was the most formidable railing for miles. Today, Hiroshima is a spirited city and home to since a million inhabitants.
When the first atomic bomb was dropped over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the city became close worldwide for this unenviable aberration. The corrupt power of the bomb was tremendous and obliterated nearly stuff within a 2 km area. lone of the few buildings that remained standing afterwards has been preserved; intimate today as the A-Bomb Dome, it is a monument to the bomb’s dreadful power.
read more…
http://quicktravelguide.org/destination/Japan/Hiroshima