Speakers paint hellish portrait of atomic warfare
August 6, 1945: a day that will live in infamy. This was the day the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima at the end of World War II.
On Monday evening, CU’s Center for Asian Studies had Susumu Yoneda and Yukio Yoshioka, two survivors from the bombing, speak to a captive audience on living through an atomic blast. The audience was silent as the two spoke about what they went through that day.
“The tragedy of Hiroshima should never be repeated,” Yoneda said.
Both speakers used their personal accounts to show the destruction that nuclear weapons can cause. Both speakers belong to groups of survivors dedicated to ending the use of nuclear weapons in war.
“For (survivors), the most important thing is to get rid of nuclear weapons before the whole world looks like Hiroshima,” Yoshioka said. “Let’s end the use of these devil weapons.”
Despite some initial technical difficulties and the need to speak through a translator, the speeches from those who witnessed the attack were powerful and provocative.
“No statistics, textbooks, or military reports can illustrate these struggles,” said Russell Hedman, a senior political science major who works with the Center for Asian Studies. “What’s important is not that a bomb was dropped. These people survived, they’ve become strong people.”
The horror of what happened was not lost on the audience. The speakers’ terrifying accounts of what happened seemed as real as if it had just happened.
“It’s good to get their explanation and their perception of what happened,” said Jeff Guerra, a non-degree student in Japanese night classes. “First person is always best.”
Jeff Bland, a non-degree Japanese student, believes that this sort of presentation is the only format that can effectively communicate what the Japanese went through.
“It was really amazing how intense (the presentation) was,” Bland said. “It’s much stronger if you hear it from them.”
Both Yoneda and Yoshioka’s stories featured powerful images that visibly moved the audience. They both described the aftermath of the bombing in great detail.
“There was a sea of fire all around us,” Yoneda said. “The pain was so hellish I’ll never forget it.”
Contact Campus Press Reporter Rob Ryan at rryan@colorado.edu.
