Hiroshima Day 2020: Check History, Important Date of Hiroshima Day, Facts & Quotes

When is Hiroshima Day 2020? On 6 August 2020, Hiroshima Day is observed to mark the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan by the US.Lat us look upon the  Hiroshima Day 2020 and some unknown information on History Of Hiroshima Day. Read all about the Hiroshima Day 2020 History, Attack on Hiroshima, Reason for the attack & Quotes in this article.

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Hiroshima Day 2020

Hiroshima Day is observed annually on 6 August. Hiroshima Day 2020 marks the 75th year of walking the path of the atomic bomb. Hiroshima Day commemorates the remembrance of the bombing attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States during World War II in 1945. The bombings ended the Second World War. The day aims to promote peace politics against the war. Hiroshima day aims to raise awareness about the threat of nuclear weapons and the dangers of nuclear energy.

What is the History of Hiroshima Day?

On 6th August 1945, the more than 9,000-pound uranium-235 bomb was loaded aboard a modified B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. This happened during World War II, that is, 1939-45. The explosion which was caused due to the bombing wiped out 90% of the city. It immediately killed 70,000 people and tens of thousands later died due to radiation exposure. 

After 3-days, on 9 August 2020, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki. The second bombing killed an estimated 40,000 people. Then the Japan's Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s unconditional surrender in World War II on 15th August citing the devastating power of a new and most cruel bomb.

Why did the US attack Hiroshima?

During the Second World War Japan was against the United States America and its allies including Britain and the Soviet Union. The allies were winning the war and Japan was pushed back from several locations. During the fighting, several soldiers died every day and Japan had been at war for so many years. Later, Japan and China teamed up and had attacked America. Japanese troops treated very badly by Japanese soldiers. 

The then President of the US Harry S Truman wanted to surrender Japanese soldiers as quickly as possible and save lives. He permitted the nuclear bombing with a view that the Japanese will surrender after the destruction. The United States wanted to avoid the invasion of Japan through the land. Also, some historians stated that the US also wanted to avoid Japan being occupied by the Soviet Union. So, America dropped a nuclear bomb in Hiroshima, Japan.

Here is the Timeline of the Hiroshima Bomb attack!

What are the side effects of the Hiroshima Bombing?

A few years after the bombing, there occurred a spike in the incidence of leukaemia amongst the survivors. After a decade, thyroid cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, and other forms of cancer were also observed at higher than normal rates. The other effects include:

  • Pregnant women subjected to the bombing experienced higher rates of miscarriages and infant deaths. 

  • The children who were exposed to the radiation whilst in their mothers’ wombs were born with intellectual disabilities, impaired growth, and an increased predisposition towards developing cancer.

  • The detonation of the plutonium bomb led to radioactive dust particles falling out of the sky around the site of the explosion. 

  • Water and wind currents carried the dust across a much larger radius, effectively contaminating the ground, water supply, and the food chain. 

  • The contamination spread amongst agricultural plants, aquatic creatures, and terrestrial animals.

  • Scientists also expected the effects of radioactive contamination to remain in the environment and the atmosphere up to an extent for decades.

How is Hiroshima Day observed?

On Hiroshima Day, the city of Hiroshima holds the Peace Memorial Ceremony to console the victims of the atomic bombs. On this day, people pray for the realization of lasting world peace. A ceremony is held in front of the Memorial Cenotaph in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The families of the deceased and other participants from all over the world participate on the event. The first such ceremony was held in the year 1947 by the then Hiroshima Mayor Shinzo Hamai.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony is held each year on 6 August every year since 1947. The ceremony also features special speeches with entreaties for peace from the Prime Minister of Japan. At 8:15 am on the morning of 6th August every year, people mark the exact moment when the atomic bomb was dropped. At that moment, bells ring out at temples, sirens wail throughout the city and the citizens of Hiroshima observe a solemn moment of silence in remembrance.

"Peace Message Lantern Floating Ceremony" is held on the evening of the day. People write messages of peace on the lanterns. It will be set afloat down the Motoyasu River, where they will pass directly in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome. Each bear wishes for peace, as the 10,000 lanterns afloat, from the gathered attendees. The participants in the event Hiroshima local and many visitors who come from far and wide.

Hiroshima Day - Quotes

“So, let us be alert--alert in a twofold sense. Since Auschwitz, we know what man is capable of. And since Hiroshima, we know what is at stake.” ― Victor E Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

“What the diary does not reveal, for it stops too soon, is the appalling fact that from late 1945 until 1952 Japanese medical researchers were prohibited by U.S. occupation authorities from publishing scientific articles on the effects of the atomic bombs.” ― John W. Dower

“Japan knows the horror of war and has suffered as no other nation under the cloud of nuclear disaster. Certainly, Japan can stand strong for a world of peace.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project

“A woman who was a schoolgirl at Hiroshima asked, “Those scientists who invented the atomic bomb, what did they think would happen if they dropped it?” ― Jonathan Glover, Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century

“Hiroshima and Nagasaki were atomized at a time when the Japanese were suing desperately for peace.” ― David Dellinger, Revolutionary Nonviolence: Essays

“I shall write peace upon your wings, and you shall fly around the world so that children will no longer have to die this way.” ― Teshima Yusuke

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Hiroshima Day 2020 - FAQ's

1. When was Hiroshima attacked?

The US B-29 bomber aircraft, the Enola Gay, dropped the nuclear bomb, codenamed "Little Boy," on August 6, 1945. The attack on Hiroshima was authorized by Truman.

2. Who attacked Hiroshima Nagasaki?

The US detonated two nuclear weapons over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively.

3. Did the US warn Japan about the atomic bomb?

It is said that the atomic bomb warning leaflets were dropped on Japanese cities, but only after Hiroshima and Nagasaki had been destroyed. The hard truth is that the atomic bombings were unnecessary.

4. Did the US plan to bomb Tokyo?

The US discussed attacking Emperor Hirohito's palace. But the US concluded that Japanese reaction to the death of a man considered in Japan a living deity was unpredictable and it was not recommended. Tokyo had already been virtually destroyed by firebombing in March, so it was considered to be of little strategic value.