A change of heart... in Hiroshima, Japan

We all know that life can change in a matter of seconds. Even if you believe, as I do, that everything is just a consequence of an earlier event, and that change is actually a result of much more than a ‘matter of seconds’, you have probably experienced that one defining moment that doesn’t blend into the background with the others, but stands out like an upturned joker in a deck of playing cards. A point in your life when you just knew, on some level, that everything that had happened before could never resemble, in any way, anything that would happen after… After the neon noise of Tokyo, the elegantly tiled pavements of Hiroshima felt strangely discreet. The trams quietly streamed down the main roads, like paper trimmers gliding along sheets of dark paper, while we wandered through the city, meeting every corner with the sense of expectation that comes with the first time in a new place - unintentional, but definitely there - the hope to be surprised at each turn. It wasn't until we had left the Peace Museum, eager to discuss with each other the shocking piece of history we had learnt, that we saw the most important landmark in the city stopping us dead in our tracks. The structure that reminds the world how Hiroshima was completely destroyed as a result of political hatred 69 years ago: the Atomic Bomb Dome.

On August 6th, 1945 at 8:15am, the United States dropped an atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima. The explosion killed 70,000 people, causing at least another 70,000 to die of radiation within the next five years. A disturbing chain of events had led to this event, resulting in the terrifying seconds that would change the lives of countless people forever.

Maybe if Hitler hadn’t created Nazi Germany, and Japan hadn’t successfully attacked Pearl Harbour, and Albert Einstein hadn’t convinced President Roosevelt to approve the making of an atomic bomb for his fear of Germany doing the same, and Roosevelt hadn’t died at a crucial point, giving way to President Truman who wanted the bomb to be “internationally recognised”… if all these things and a thousand others hadn’t happened, then perhaps that chilling moment that changed the world just 45 seconds after the atomic bomb was released from the B29 plane, wiping out a third of Hiroshima’s population - may never have occurred.

The A-Dome, known in Japanese as the Genbaku Domu, was a building originally used for arts and educational exhibitions. Miraculously it was the only building that didn’t completely collapse in an explosion that destroyed everyone and everything within a 3km radius. The ruin is seen today as a symbol of peace, but I think it would be difficult to miss the painful irony between the structure and the citizens of Hiroshima: torn apart but, despite the irreversible damage, still standing.

Guess what I found out in Hiroshima? 1. Upon realising that Germany hadn’t constructed an atomic bomb, Albert Einstein wrote to Roosevelt strongly warning him against using the atomic bomb. The letter was still unopened on Roosevelt's desk when he died.

2. The code name for the atomic bomb was “Little Boy”; it was dropped from the B29 plane named “Enola Gay” after the pilot’s mother. A second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki just three days after the first bomb was dropped in Hiroshima. The Japanese formally surrendered on August 14th, 1945.

3. Six months before his own death, Einstein stated that despite his justification, recommending the creation of atom bombs was “the one great mistake in his life”.