Modern Nuclear Arms Race: Lessons from Hiroshima Survivors

⏱️ 17 min read                

Imagine waking up to the blinding light of an atomic bomb, a moment that forever alters the course of history and leaves scars that time cannot heal. Survivors of Hiroshima—the last witnesses of nuclear devastation—are sounding the alarm once again. With a new nuclear arms race on the horizon, their message is clear: we are closer to the brink than ever before. 

Welcome to That's Life, I Swear.  This podcast is about life's happenings in this world that conjure up such words as intriguing, frightening, life-changing, inspiring, and more. I'm Rick Barron your host. 

That said, here's the rest of this story 

This story stems from an article I read in the New York Times. I’d like to give credit to the writers who pulled this story together: By Kathleen Kingsbury, W.J. Hennigan and Spencer Cohen

Warning: Some of the comments in this story are disturbing to hear

The fears of nuclear catastrophe that haunted the Cold War era have resurfaced. According to The Associated Press, in 2023 alone, the nine nuclear-armed countries, such as the United States, Russia, and China, collectively invested $91.4 billion in expanding and upgrading their arsenals. This renewed focus on nuclear armament has significantly heightened the risk of global conflicts spiraling into unimaginable devastation. "Nuclear weapons haven't been this central to international affairs since the Cold War," remarked Wilfred Wan of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Knowing this trend of nuclear build-up around the world makes one wonder what the Hiroshima survivors that are alive today. thought of the very first atomic blast that hit them on August 6, 1945. Today’s survivors of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima are now in their late 80’s to mid 90’s. What goes through their minds? What horrific terror did they experience then and even to this very day? 

What compelled me to share this story with you is to share the thoughts of some of those survivors. At the time of the blast some were 15, 4, and one was born eight months after the blast. Their simple comments should give us concern. 

Let me provide analogy of how the power of the atomic bomb has magnified since 1945.

Imagine the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 as a single matchstick being struck in a dark room. It created a terrifying burst of light and heat that obliterated everything in its immediate vicinity, leaving a scar on the world we still remember. Now, compare that to the power of a modern atomic bomb of today, which would be like setting off an entire forest fire in that same room. The scale of destruction, the intensity of heat, and the far-reaching consequences would be exponentially greater, engulfing everything in a much wider radius and leaving behind devastation on an almost unimaginable scale.

People in Hiroshima suffering from intensity of heat after atomic blast. Courtesy of WSJ

The dawn of the atomic age brought contrasting outcomes for two nations. While America celebrated a decisive military triumph, Japan was left dealing with unimaginable destruction. Nearly eight decades have passed since the morning of August 6, 1945, when the skies above Hiroshima were forever changed at 8:15 AM. The survivors of this cataclysmic event now face a haunting question: Has humanity gleaned wisdom from their suffering, or are global powers blindly stumbling towards a similar catastrophe? As the world reflects on this anniversary, the echoes of Hiroshima serve as both a warning and a plea for a more peaceful future.

In the center of Hiroshima, the Red Cross hospital's waiting area tells a silent story. Its seats are filled with elderly patients, their faces etched with a history few can comprehend. These aren't ordinary medical cases; they're the living testaments to a day that forever changed the course of human history.

August 6th may pass unnoticed for many Americans, but it's a date seared into the national consciousness in Japan. Even now, nearly eight decades later, this hospital tends to approximately 180 individuals every single day, known as hibakusha – Japanese for ‘survivors of the atomic blast’.

1945 saw two nations locked in a bitter struggle, united in pursuit of victory. When the skies over Hiroshima erupted with unimaginable force on that fateful August morning, it marked a turning point. For Americans, it announced the dawn of a new era - a demonstration of unprecedented technological might that would shape global politics for generations. 

But in the streets of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where a second bomb fell just 72 hours later, a different narrative echoes. Here, the focus is not on power gained, but humanity lost. The survivors and their descendants carry a solemn message: never again.

The toll was staggering. An estimated 200,000 lives were extinguished, and countless others forever altered. Hiroshima saw two-thirds of its buildings reduced to rubble. In Nagasaki, homes within a 1.5 miles radius simply ceased to exist. Hospitals, schools, and the very fabric of urban life were ripped into pieces in an instant.

These cities, once vibrant communities, were transformed into stark reminders of warfare's ultimate cost. Today, they stand as living memorials, their scars a testament to resilience and a plea for peace.

In the aftermath of World War II, a stark contrast emerged in how the atomic bombings were perceived across the Pacific. There was national relief at the war's end and pride in technological supremacy, the United States of America now possessed. A Gallup poll conducted in the wake of the blasts revealed a staggering 85% of Americans supported the decision to unleash nuclear power on Japan.

This perspective, rooted in necessity and sacrifice, proved remarkably resilient. Even as decades passed and global attitudes shifted, many in the United States clung to a narrative prioritizing military achievement over human cost.

Widespread destruction in Hiroshima resulting the nuclear bomb dropped in August 1945. Courtesy of The United Nations

The tenacity of this viewpoint came into sharp focus as the 50th anniversary of the war's conclusion approached. The Smithsonian Institution, a beacon of American culture and history, was embroiled in controversy. Its planned exhibition, which aimed to present a more complex and nuanced portrayal of the conflict - including a critical examination of the atomic bombings - faced fierce opposition.

Pressure mounted from veterans' groups and their families, who saw any questioning of the bombings' morality as an insult to those who had fought and died. The debate reached the highest echelons of government, with the Senate passing a resolution that branded the proposed exhibition as "supportive and offensive." Lawmakers demanded that the Smithsonian avoid any portrayal that might "impugn the memory" of America's fallen heroes.

Ultimately, the museum capitulated, significantly scaling back its plans. This episode underscored a deeply entrenched reluctance in American society to reexamine long-held beliefs about the war's conclusion, despite evolving historical perspectives.

A different narrative unfolded in the Land of the Rising Sun. The survivors of the atomic blasts and their descendants have become the living custodians of a grim history. Their mission is not one of vengeance, but of prevention. These individuals carry a burden few can comprehend: the physical and psychological scars of nuclear devastation, coupled with the weight of survivor's guilt and societal stigma.

Their collective voice rises with increasing urgency as time moves on. With an average age of 85, these living witnesses to history are fading away at an alarming rate - hundreds each month are silenced forever. Yet, as their numbers dwindle, the world seems to be sleepwalking toward a chilling revival of nuclear proliferation.

Global superpowers - the United States, China, and Russia - are pouring astronomical sums into modernizing their nuclear arsenals. The delicate web of treaties and agreements that once kept the nuclear threat at bay is unraveling, strand by strand. Diplomatic efforts to mend these crucial safeguards appear stagnant.

We stand at a crossroads. The specter of nuclear conflict once thought consigned to history books, looms once more on the horizon. As another August 6th passes, marking yet another year since that fateful day in Hiroshima, a clarion call echoes across continents.

Now, more than ever, it is imperative for the world to lend its ear to these last remaining voices from ground zero. Their testimonies serve not just as historical accounts but as stark warnings of what may come if we fail to heed the lessons of the past.

Time is running out. Soon, there will be no one left who can speak firsthand of the horrors unleashed by nuclear weapons. It falls to us - Americans and global citizens alike - to ensure their stories are heard and deeply understood and acted upon. In their words lies perhaps our best hope of preventing history's darkest chapter from repeating itself.

Here are a few survivors who shared their thoughts of that terrible day.

Warning: What follows are comments that are disturbing to hear

The survivors 

1-Chieko Kiriake 

She was on a break from her job at a tobacco factory in Hiroshima. She was 15 years old.

Her words:Everything was burned. People were walking around with their clothes burned off, their hair scorched and standing on end. Their faces were so swollen that you couldn’t tell who was who. Their lips were swollen too, too swollen to speak. Their skin would fall off and hang off their hands at the fingernails, like an inside-out glove, all black from the mud and ash. It was almost like they had black seaweed hanging from their hands.

But I was thankful that some of my classmates were alive, that they were able to make their way back.

Swarms of flies came and laid eggs in the burns, which would hatch, and the larvae would start squirming inside the skin. They couldn’t stand the pain. They’d cry and plead, ‘Get these larvae out of my skin.’

The larvae would feast on the blood and pus and get plump and squirm. I didn’t dare use my bare hands, so I brought my chopsticks and picked them out individually. But they kept hatching inside the skin. I spent hours picking those larvae out of my classmates.”

2-Hiroe Kawashimo

Her mother was at home in Hiroshima. Hiroe was born eight months later.

On Aug. 6, 1945, I wasn’t yet born. I was in her mother’s womb. My mother was around half a mile from ground zero when she was exposed to the bomb’s radiation in Hiroshima. According to her mother, Ms. Kawashimo was born several months later, weighing 500 grams — apparently so small, she could fit in a rice bowl. I was one of numerous children exposed to the bomb while in the womb and diagnosed with microcephaly, a smaller head.

3-Seiji Takato 

At home with his mother in Hiroshima, he was just 4 years old.

His words: “I remember the burnt smell. I was 4 years old. And I don’t really remember the immediate symptoms. But some years later, I had boils on my legs, and they didn’t heal for a long time. That made me really hate going to school. Later the lymph nodes in my armpits and legs swelled up, and I had to have them cut open three times.”

4-Kunihiko Sakuma 

Kunihiko was at home with his mother in Hiroshima, and was 9 months old

His words: There are people today who still find it difficult to talk about what they experienced. It could be their advanced age, or they don’t feel up to it physically. Often, they just don’t feel well, even though they don’t know why.

So, I’d ask them, ‘By the way, where were you during the bombing?’ People died or got sick not just right after the bombing. The reality is, their symptoms are emerging even today, 79 years later.

I thought all this was in the past. But as I started talking to survivors, I realized their suffering was still ongoing.

The atomic bomb is such an inhumane weapon, and the effects of radiation stay with survivors for a very long time. That’s why they need our continued support.”

5-Minoru Hataguchi 

Minoru mother was at home. His father was at work next to the Hiroshima Station and never came home. He was born seven months later.

His words: For the first time, at 21, I was officially recognized as an atomic bomb survivor.

But I hated that. Why should I be labeled a survivor, when I was born after the bomb, 12 miles away from the epicenter?

I hated even looking at the Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Health Handbook, and I quickly put it away in my desk drawer. I didn’t want the discrimination, and I didn’t want the pity. Until I was in my 50s, I didn’t tell anyone that I was a survivor.”

6-Shigeaki Mori 

Shigeaki was crossing the bridge on his way to school in Hiroshima. His wife, Kayoko, is also a survivor. He was 8 and she was 3. 

His words: People still don’t get it. The atomic bomb isn’t a simple weapon. I speak as someone who suffers until this day: The world needs to stop nuclear war from ever happening again. But when I turn on the news, I see politicians talk about deploying more weapons, more tanks. How could they? I wish for the day they stop that.”

In 2016, history was made as Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. President to set foot in Hiroshima. This visit starkly contrasted the frequent trips American leaders made to European battlefields. 

While many in Japan had hoped for an official apology, Obama's visit offered something different - recognition. Standing amidst the rebuilt city, he invited the world to confront the horror of that August morning. Obama said and I quote: "We force ourselves to feel the dread of children confused by what they see. We listen to a silent cry." End quote. He was acknowledging that words alone cannot summarize such profound suffering.

Survivors walking amongst the ruins in Hiroshima. Courtesy of Britannica

Obama's speech also carried a sense of urgency. He recognized that the voices of survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are fading, their firsthand accounts slipping away with each passing year. Yet he emphasized that the memory of August 6, 1945, must endure, serving as a wall against complacency and a catalyst for change.

The Smithsonian once again prepares to curate a World War II exhibition focusing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  The torch is being passed and it falls to a new generation to bear witness, to listen to the stories of the survivors while they still can, and to channel that understanding into a commitment to a world free from nuclear threats.

The calls to action challenge us to confront history's darkest chapters and forge a path towards a more peaceful future. As the survivors’ voices gradually fade, we must ensure their message resonates louder than ever.

What can we learn from this story? What's the takeaway?
 
The threat of a nuclear arms race is building. What would it feel like to live through a nuclear attack today? One thing is for sure, the living will envy the dead.

Well, there you go, my friends; that's life, I swear

For further information regarding the material covered in this episode, I invite you to visit my website, which you can find on Apple Podcasts/iTunes, for show notes and the episode transcript.

As always, I thank you for the privilege of you listening and your interest. 

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