Exhibit at AU

Hiroshima-Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Exhibition

George in front of the museum


Christine in front of AU's Museum

George and I went to an exhibit at American University that was very painful to view. It was the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Exhibition in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the attacks.

The exhibit included 20 artifacts collected from the debris of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and also six large folding screens that showed scenes of the event.

There was also a wonderful exhibit of children's drawings. All Souls Church Unitarian in DC had sent drawing supplies to a school in Hiroshima shortly after the bombings.The children drew pictures that were then sent to the church where they have been on display ever since.

"These drawings present a story of hope and reconciliation."

They were very colorful and upbeat drawings and showed happy children and adults.

These drawings were very different from the ones I saw when I visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in 1991. The pictures I saw were drawn shortly after the attacks and were scenes of the terror and destruction. They were horrifying pictures. My visit to this memorial was very painful, particularly because I went with my two dear Japanese friends, Yoko and Yukiko. I felt uneasy because I was American. What had my government done?

George and I found the drawings at the AU exhibit very beautiful but we had trouble looking at the artifacts and the graphic black and white photos of the destruction. In fact, at a certain point we both felt rather queasy and opted to leave to go out into the sunshine. This is not an exhibit that we plan to visit again. We did not regret going, however. It was informative and thought provoking. It was an appropriate way to commemorate this awful anniversary.