Essays on Hiroshima Bombing

Father John Siemes was a Jesuit priest who was living in the Novitiate of the Society of Jesus at Nagatsuka, Japan during the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1943. Amidst the destruction and confusion that the detonation caused the Hiroshima populace, the detonation did not greatly affect a community of Jesuit fathers in a nearby parish. Practically, all the present members in the community, among them Fr. John Siemes, were unscathed. The building that housed the community remained upright despite the fact that the shelling destroyed all the buildings within the vicinity of the city. Fr. Siemes who was aged ...

It is important to comprehend the reason why Hiroshima was a likely target. According to Hersey (107), “the ruined city had flourished and had been an inviting target mainly because it had been one of the most important military- command and communications centres in Japan, and would have become the Imperial headquarters had the islands been invaded and Tokyo been captured.” In other words, how had the dropping of the bomb changed the lives of the survivors? Was the decision by the United States government to hit Hiroshima with the atomic bomb necessary? Should the Japanese have been forewarned about ...

The Pacific War in History and Memory

Nuclear bombings The atomic bombings of 6th and 9th August 1945 at Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain among the most significant historical events of all time. The event is of special significance to Japan being the only nation that has ever experienced the effects of nuclear destruction in war. As stated by Dower, “The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are a symbol of the tragic absurdity that war can bring to a nation.” Although Hiroshima’s physical location is in Japan, its experience of the atomic bomb has been transformed into a transnational and international incident that is discussed by all nations. ...