RadioWhoWhatWhy: 70 Years Later, Survivors of Atomic Bombings Recall Horror
The Real Stakes of Nuclear Negotiations with Iran
Charles Pellegrino opens a you-are-there time capsule on the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, which was followed three days later by the bombing of Nagasaki. With WhoWhatWhy’s Jeff Schechtman, Pellegrino shares the heart-searing testimony of survivors —who show what’s really at stake in the nuclear negotiations with Iran.
Several days ago WhoWhatWhy wrote about the proposed nuclear deal with Iran and the potential for cheating in such arms agreements (which the US and other nuclear powers have repeatedly been guilty of).
As we debate the ins and out of nuclear non-proliferation today, it’s important to look back to the dawn of the nuclear era, to fully understand the horrific reality of nuclear war.
“Tsutomu Yamaguchi is the only [dual survivor of the atomic bombings]. He left Hiroshima for Nagasaki. During second bombing he was in an office trying to describe Hiroshima to his bosses. Most of the building actually disappeared around him [along with] the people who were in the office with him.” —Charles Pellegrino on RadioWhoWhatWhy
Drawing on a time capsule of voices of atomic bomb survivors, Charles Pellegrino describes the events and the aftermath of three days in August 1945, when two nuclear devices detonated over Japan and ushered in the Age of Nuclear Anxiety.
Pellegrino talks to the survivors — some of whom survived the devastation of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki — whose personal stories should be at the heart of any nuclear conversation. The survivors’ goal today is simply to insure that Nagasaki remains the last atomic-bombed city in history.
Related front page panorama photo credit: Hiroshima aftermath (U.S. Navy Public Affairs), Art on display at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (Ryan Poplin / Flickr). Atomic bombing of Japan (Nagasakibomb / Wikimedia)
