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Lessons From Hiroshima

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Lessons From Hiroshima.mp3

"I had never before witnessed the obvious military influence on the young until I watched this boy bring his dead brother to a cremation site. He stood at attention, only the biting of his lower lip betraying his emotions. I wanted to go to him to comfort him, but I was afraid that if I did, his strength would crumble."
fromJapan 1945, A U.S. Marine's Photographs from Ground Zero by Joe O'Donnell.

August 2005 marks the 60th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This one-hour (NPR compatible) radio documentary looks at the history of the A-bomb and its implications for today. It features contemporary interviews, archival tape and music.

Walter Cronkite hosts and shares his personal commentary about themes raised in the show.

This special is produced by Reese Erlich for PEACETALKS in association with KQED Public Radio, San Francisco, and distributed nationwide by PRI, Public Radio International. 

Lessons from Hiroshima presents a balanced and fair documentary with moving, personal stories. The documentary reflects a strong point of view about the past and present dangers of nuclear weapons.The dropping of the atomic bombs in 1945 remains controversial even today. The documentary begins with personal stories of a US veteran and a Japanese war vet. We hear from hibakusha (A-bomb survivors) in Hiroshima and Nagasaki who survived severe injuries and horrendous family losses, yet harbor remarkably little sense of anger or revenge. The documentary highlights different opinions about the bomb, including the Japanese war vet who supported dropping the bomb as the only way to stop the war. It also looks at how the US censored media coverage of the bomb and its aftermath, a precursor to later efforts to manage the news.

The documentary explores how the nuclear arms race defined the Cold War and the several instances in which countries went to the brink of nuclear war. We look at the dangers of nuclear proliferation among nations, efforts in the US to make tactical nuclear weapons acceptable, and the increasing use of depleted uranium.

The documentary concludes with a segment looking at how the hibakusha struggled with their own sense of shame and psychological problems to emerge as advocates of Peace.