– At that moment, I saw a white-blue flash in the window. Next thing I know, I feel like I'm floating in the air. The shock wave of the detonation threw us into the air – so a 93-year-old anti-atomic activist Setsuko Thurlow described a fewer years ago in a conversation with DW the detonation of the American atomic bomb "Little Boy" over Hiroshima. It was August 6, 1945, 8:15 p.m. Immediately or later, 90-136,000 people were killed as a consequence of severe injuries.
Setsuko Thurlow was 13 at the time and was a student. She talked many times about the horror that day, which changed everything. "I noticed characters gradually. They were people. But at all, how people didn't look. Their hair got on their heads. They were covered in blood. The skin and body were hanging from the bone. They were missing full body parts. individual ran, holding their own eyes in their hands" – so the nipponese female remembered the first moments after the explosion. Her parents survived, but her sister and niece died a fewer days after the explosion.
Setsuko Thurlow dedicated her life to fighting atomic weapons and became a leading figure of the global run for the Elimination of atomic Weapons (ICAN). In 2017, this initiative received the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. Thurlow then gave a speech.
Since the nipponese government did not unconditionally surrender after the attack on Hiroshima, the White home decided to drop a second bomb of another type. Initially, the mark was to be the port town of Kokura. Due to bad weather, the American bomber turned around and dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki on 9 August. Tens of thousands of people died instantly. Shortly thereafter, planet War II besides ended in Asia. Hundreds of thousands of survivors from both atomic attacks suffered from their long-term effects, specified as burns, cancers and radiation-induced deformations. The full number of deaths and injuries to this day is disputed.
Since 1947, the Bell of Peace has always sounded at 8:15 in Hiroshima. There is besides a ceremony to commemorate the victims of the attack. The acting mayor calls for the abolition of atomic weapons and calls for the promotion of planet peace. This ritual reminds me of the tragedy of the city all year. In its constitution – adopted by Parliament in 1946 – Japan undertook never to wage war again. Furthermore, in 1967, it adopted 3 non-atomic rules, according to which it rejects possession and import of atomic weapons.
Two atomic disasters in Japan
In a conversation with DW military historian and Japan expert Dr. Takuma Melber of the University of Heidelberg calls commemoration of bombings a central event of the nipponese memory culture: – In Japan this message of peace, this commemoration of atomic bombings, is inactive being sustained. It's a message: no more war! No more atomic weapons! And Japan as a country active in planet peace.
In this pacific communicative of the country there is besides another message: – Japan as a nation affected by atomic disasters. atomic bombings are set here alongside the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Japan is so a victim of military and civilian atomic technology applications," he says.
After the war, erstwhile opponents, Japan and the United States, came closer to each other. However, the American side never apologized for the atomic bombing. Japan is not a associate of a multilateral military alliance like NATO, but is simply a close partner. The United States is, in turn, a protective power, including atomic power, for Japan, which does not have its own atomic weapons. There are presently about 54,000 American soldiers stationed in Japan. They're expected to support the defence and warrant its safety.
Armoured Boom Worldwide
Last year, more money was spent on arms than in any another period since the end of the Cold War, reported the Stockholm global Institute for Peace investigation (SIPRI). Analysts estimation that in 2024 there was an increase of 9.4 percent compared to the erstwhile year.
Leading atomic powers – the United States, Russia and China – invest primarily in modernising their atomic arsenals. And more and more countries are considering developing or deploying atomic weapons, as noted late in a conversation with DW manager SIPRI Dan Smith. "The most worrying thing about atomic arsenals is that after a long period of simplification we begin to see signs of reversal of the trend. Long-term atomic disarmament is almost over.
According to SIPRI data, Russia has the largest atomic arsenal – 5459 warheads. president Vladimir Putin repeatedly threatened him with countries supporting Ukraine in defence of Russian aggression. The United States is the second largest atomic power with 5177 warheads. They are followed by China, France, Britain, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea.
With respect to atomic weapons, there are many historical similarities between Japan and Germany. safety expert Nico Lange explains: "The common feature of both countries is that we are powerfully against it and that we are against it. The question, however, is whether we truly have something to say erstwhile we are not a atomic power ourselves.
In the event of the possible usage of atomic weapons by Japan or Germany, both countries would not be free to act. The final word belongs to the United States. In Germany, the key slogan in this issue is atomic sharing, thanks to which a non-nuclear state can share United States atomic weapons. Experts believe that there are 20 American atomic bombs in Büchel, Rhineland-Palatinate. The decisions on this weapon belong to the president of the United States. However, if necessary, these weapons would be supplied to the mark by German aircraft.
