Hiroshima Peace Memorial

Hiroshima Peace Memorial, also called the Atomic Bomb Dome or A-Bomb Dome (原爆ドームcode: ja is deprecated , Genbaku Dōmu), is in central Hiroshima, Japan. It is part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. UNESCO named the dome a World Heritage Site in 1996. The dome is the ruined Hiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall. It was kept as a memorial to the people who were killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The bombing killed 70,000 people instantly, and another 70,000 died later from the radiation.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial
(Genbaku Dome)

UNESCO World Heritage Site
File:Genbaku Dome04-r.JPG Ruin of Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall
Location	Hiroshima, Japan
Criteria	Cultural: vi
Reference	775
Inscription	1996 (20th Session)
Coordinates	34°23′44″N 132°27′13″E

History

Czech architect Jan Letzel designed the building. It was completed in April 1915 and was named the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition. It was opened to the public in August that year. In 1921 the name was changed to the Hiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall. Finally in 1933, the name changed to the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall.

Atomic bombing

File:Hiroshima Dome 1945.gif

The Genbaku Dome in October 1945. Photograph by Shigeo Hayashi.

At 8:15 on August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb to be used in war exploded almost directly above the dome. Everyone inside the building was killed instantly,but the building was not totally destroyed. There was more downward force on the building, but less side-to-side force right under the center of the explosion.

After the war

At first, the city planned to tear down the building, but did not because it was not as badly damaged. Some people wanted to remove the building, but others wanted to keep it. The city of Hiroshima was rebuilt around the ruined dome. In 1966 the city said that it planned to keep the building. As of July 2011, two construction projects kept the Dome from falling.

In December 1996, UNESCO added the A-Bomb Dome to the World Heritage List. Not everyone supported this decision. The United States did not join the decision. China said that the monument could take attention away from the countries that were victims of Japan during the war. Many more people died because of Japanese attacks in those countries. The United States said that having a memorial to a war site would not tell the whole history of the bombing.

Gallery

• Hiromuseum.jpg

  Products Exhibition Hall in its original condition (ca. 1921–1933)

• Genbaku Dome 2.jpg

  Hall, taken from Motoyasu Bridge (ca. 1921–1933)

• Gambaku Dome of Hiroshima.jpg

  The dome, photo taken from the southwest side

• Ganbaku Dome of Hiroshima from distance.jpg

  View of the dome taken from the Aioi bridge

• A-bomb dome closeup.jpg

  Close up of the dome

• HiroshimaGembakuDome6747.jpg

  Dome with commemorative plaque

• Hiroshima Peace Memorial before and after bombing.jpg

  Peace Dome, then and now

• Paper cranes.jpg

  Origami cranes

180° view of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The Genbaku Dome is in the center left of the image. The planned target for the bomb was the "T"-shaped Aioi Bridge on the left side.

Enlarge

180° view of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The Genbaku Dome is in the center left of the image. The planned target for the bomb was the "T"-shaped Aioi Bridge on the left side.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Media

• Emperor Showa visit to Hiroshima in 1947.JPG

  Emperor Hirohito visiting Hiroshima in 1947. The memorial can be seen in the background.

• 27hiroshima01 1.jpg

  Barack Obama and Shinzo Abe in front of the memorial, 2016.

• Genbaku Dome 2.jpg

  Hall, taken from Motoyasu Bridge (c. 1921–1933)

• HiroshimaAtomicBombDome1921.jpg

  Nighttime photograph, 1921

• Hiroshima Peace Memorial 1929.jpg

  The Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall taken in March 1929, 16 years before the atomic bomb.

• A-Bomb Dome close-up.jpg

  Citizens of the city pass by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial on their way to a memorial ceremony on 6 August 2004

Related pages

• List of World Heritage Sites in Japan

Other websites

• Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome
• Entry on UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) website
• Official page
• Trade Promotion Hall

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