Join me in Crossout for FREE on PC, PS®4 and Xbox One: xo.link/xogeographics Follow my link to get the game as well as an exclusive bonus. See you in game!
You are glorifying the Japanese in WWII .. when the Japanese perpetrated indescribable crimes against humanity.. you fail to mention this & I think it's extremely important to understand why those bombs were dropped.. I only wish that it was an air raid of 10+ atomic bombs.. & the radiation they suffered afterwards I don't think it would compare to the 10s of thousands of women who were gang raped repeatedly by Japanese soldiers
What really saved Hiroshima was that typhoon that hit in September 1945. Reason: the rains from that typhoon washed away a lot of the radioactive topsoil from the the city, and that made it a lot easier to attempt rebuilding in the years afterwards
And all the typhoons that can after September 1945 washed away even more radioactive soils from both cities, it’s no wonder why Japan was able to rebuild both of them as quickly as they could
My mother was an early exchange student to Japan in 1967. The country was so eager to put their best foot forward that she was hosted by one of the wealthiest families, and that gave her the opportunity to see a lot of Japan as her host family easily could afford the travel and accommodations. One of the places they took her was the memorial at Hiroshima. AS she was standing, sobered and close to tears in front of the wall that still bore the shadows of the slain, an older man came up and started yelling at her. Her Japanese was still shaky so she didn't understand much beyond his rage, but her host father said some very sharp words to the man and he stopped yelling, glared at her one last time and left. Mom asked her host father what the man had said, and he said "There are some people who can't let go of the past." Then she asked what her host father had said, and he replied, "I told him you hadn't even been born yet."
That old man was just an old entrenched fool. The nuclear bombardment was bad, but it was nowhere even close to atrocities committed by the Japanese imperial army. We can be all sorry for the victims, but Japanese have no moral ground to accuse anybody of brutality, because their nation as a whole largely got away with their. It's in their best interests to let it all go and thank the universe that no part of their country was occupied by China.
When we visited New Orleans 1-2 years after Katrina the local cab drivers & workers didn’t want to talk about it at all….they wished people would get back to normal activities instead of wanting to visit levees and the lower 9th ward….
@@robinkrieger8003 yes, I’m from New Orleans. I always found it a bit insensitive how people would ask about it. It was a very traumatic experience - akin to asking someone from Manhattan if they were affected by 9/11 as soon as you meet them.
Simon, no one else can deliver such a “documentary” with the respect, honor of the dead and honesty as you do. As trivial as this event has been in the history books, you’ve brought in such a way that showed hope and a future for Hiroshima if one didn’t know what happened there. Always enjoy all of your channels.
@@xyz7572 I think they are saying that it isn’t discussed with any detail. American textbooks tend to talk about it more in the American context of it being the end of the war and the work/logistics to create the bomb rather than getting into the details of what actually happened to entire cities of people. School curriculum is always a political issue here so we tend to avoid teaching anything that doesn’t make us look good or at least justified in doing something bad lol
@@xyz7572 trivial depending who you ask. Ask an American serviceman, and his reply would’ve been “it was absolutely necessary.” Ask a Japanese civilian on the ground, I’m sure he wouldn’t agree. Did it stop the war? Yes. Would countless US military soldiers have died had we not done it? Most certainly. However, it’s been the aftermath, the cancers, leukemia, birth defects that have really trivialized the decision to use it.
My father was stationed in japan in 1954 and had to occasionally go to Hiroshima. When he passed ground zero, he noted that the young families would take their kids to the park that had already been built, but the older Japanese would only pass the site on the opposite side of the street.
@@ignacio9399 Not just in Japan. Some dwell in the past. Some ignore the past. Some rewrite the past. None of those help in the end as they are symptoms of deeper problems.
2:30 - Chapter 1 - Before the bomb 6:45 - Chapter 2 - Apocalypse ville 10:45 - Chapter 3 - From the ashes 14:40 - Chapter 4 - Cherished memories 17:35 - Chapter 5 - A memorial for the future
I went to Hiroshima in 2015 and the experience of visiting this city, and seeing its scars and the peace park & museum, was very harrowing and thought provoking.... What hit me the most, were the tales of the children who survived and returned to what remained of their homes and the charred corpes of their parents, siblings and other family members.... And this video couldn't come at a better time. Back in 2015, I hoped that no other cities would join Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And now, I am hoping again that current events in Europe won't lead to any further cities being devastated and lives horrifically ended in a nuclear attack...
I went in 2018, to that same museum. The city it's self is amazing but to build on something that took so much devastation was humbling. One of my favorite spots in Japan
@@alanbrown3172 This stale rhetoric and mindset is the very reason why there is still so much hatred and violence in this world..... What happened at Pearl Harbor was a horrific and inexcusable action that shouldn't be forgotten. However, likewise. The horrific suffering of innocent women and children, who played no part in Peal Harbor, should be remembered. The Peace Park & Museum is a place to reflect on the violence and cost of war and how we, as a civilised world, should never repeat the horrific acts that plague the history of mankind.
@@KariHaruka I'm a black man, my people have already been though enough in this country lol. Please don't try and tell me how I should feel about something
I visited Hiroshima a few years ago. We visited the peace museum, but it took us a little while to find the actual point over the city where the bomb was dropped. It was marked with a little plaque in some alleyway near a book shop, very out of the way. Probably the most vivid memory of my trip really.
I went there as well. The street with the hypocenter plaque looks so ordinary, you wouldn't know a major historic event happened there if it weren't for the plaque.
As someone who’s been to Nagasaki but not Hiroshima, that seems so strange to me. The hypocenter is part of the park around the Atomic Bomb museum there (not to be confused with the peace park) and there’s a black obelisk where the hypocenter is.
@@The-Spanish-Inquisition490 no disrespect to american vets but no it did not "effect them just as hard" how can you even compare being a victim or a survivor of a nuclear bomb to americans who simply witness the aftermath.
@@bullshnaganims4326 I agree. The residents suffered from health issues from the bombing and they needed to rebuild their hometown. No one suffered as much as them. Visiting Hiroshima back in 2018 was definitely an eye opener.
@@bullshnaganims4326 over 330,000 prisons of wars were murdered by the Japanese. And the veterans who survived were definitely affected by their captors/tormentors.
@@gaslight_gatekeep_girlboss3732 yes, people suffered more than the Japanese; recall the rape of Nanking. Research Unit 731. Reflect that the Japanese military murdered 13 million unarmed civilians, men women and children. The Asian women kidnapped by the Japanese military and forced to be prostitutes in military bravos suffered; a few survived to this day with the emotional scars inflicted on them.
I was able to visit Hiroshima a few days before the 69th anniversary, while the city was preparing for the memorial services. It's such a lovely city, and so many of the locals were friendly and welcoming. The museum is almost overwhelming, but has an excellent exhibit on the state of nuclear warfare today (with a globe that you can see where missile stocks were removed, to show continuing weapons dismantling) and there's one section that just has copies of every letter the mayor of the city has ever sent in protest to continuing atomic tests around the world. There are dozens, if not hundreds, and they cover the whole wall going all the way up. It's a sobering experience, but one of the most meaningful trips I ever took.
A good account of what happened is captured in the anime "Barefoot Gen". About a boy in Hiroshima who lived through the explosion and radiation poisoning. It's rather graphic but honestly it is a good watch. I would put it up there with Schindler's List.
There was one I read as a child. The main character was a little girl who survived and was a Hiroshima maiden, with the pattern of the dress she was wearing etched into her skin. Tear jerking.
As Stalin once said “One death is a tragedy, one million deaths is a Statistic” Too often the stories are forgotten by the shear weight of numbers. How can anyone fathom the death of millions of people. Millions of fathers, mothers, daughters, sons. It’s sad that we still live in a world where this is possible
If you ever have the opportunity, go to the memorial museum in Hiroshima. It is a relatively small exposition with not THAT much of interest, but everything in that museum is precision-crafted to hammer in the horror of the nuking (with a mallet) - a constant, low and tense music, lowered lights and quotes of peoples' suffering all make it into an experience, which WILL stay with you.
I went to Hiroshima in 2015 and I cannot put it to words. The current city centre is bustling with activity but the site itself was just quiet. Just quiet. Just the occasional shuffling of the feet and the birds. Other than that... Just silence... I clearly remember the museum... Everyone who went in went out sobbing. Oddly enough... I'm starting to tear up writing this comment while remembering the visit.
I suggest that anyone interested in the aftermath, get hold of a book called Hiroshima Diary by Michihiko Hachiya. I read it the first time when I was about 12. The story is by a Doctor who survived and the next few weeks. This video added a lot to my understanding of how the people got back on their feet and built the city again. That isn't really covered in any of the books I've read.
I’ve read it; I definitely agree that _Hiroshima Diary_ is a must-read for people trying to understand the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima. …Scratch that, _everyone_ should read it.
The way you present your content is just out of this world ! Inspiring , emotional and informative! I’ve been a loyal subscriber for two years now and you always managed to deliver above and beyond my expectations! Thank you Simon ❤️
My grandad served in the Korean War. At some point he was in Japan and caught a train to Hiroshima. He stepped off the train, looked around, dropped to his knees and sobbed. Even years after the bomb hit, the damage was so obvious. Such a horrible situation. Man’s inhumanity to man.
I've heard this story so many times before BUT NEVER FELT the story till now. Only Simon could deliver such insight. I was in tears listening intensively to every word. Thank you for the enlightenment Simon.
As an American, the way we learn about the atomic bombs is complicated. A lot of students don't really learn how horrifying it was - I had a science teacher explain about the "shadows" and got in trouble for teaching "disturbing material not appropriate for children" - a tad ironic, I know. Even today, most Americans are conflicted about it, and don't know what happened there, not really. We certainly don't learn the stories of rebuilding, of the cultural strength of the Japanese people. Thanks for sharing this story.
Even as a child, I noticed how little we were actually taught about certain things, all for the sake of "emotional preservation" of us kids. Even as a child, I saw this as utter nonsense. I recently had to teach my nine year old nephew about why "9/11 Day" was so important, because his school never bothered to mention that day at all!! It was a day that I personally lived through. A day that I will never forget! That my nephew got willfully rendered ignorant about such an important day in American history is UNACCEPTABLE!! Stunting our children's education, for the sake "their feelings," is a terrible disservice we are doing unto them. It's high time our country started to attempt to remodel our education system, before the damage becomes irreparable.
I heard that a lot of times about the American education, also about the Gulf Wars. It seems to always highlight the good and how it was necessary and good was the US did. This is so dangerous. I am really happy that me as a German had a VERY reflective education about our history where no one was afraid to tell how it really was. I think this also helps to avoid repetition of such events.
@@sunnykaykay It's been a bit since I was in school but we didn't learn about the gulf wars. Our history kinda goes up to Vietnam and stops, unless you have a really good history teacher
I spent some time in Hiroshima as an exchange student from Australia. The peace memorial and museum was such a profound experience, but one thing I'll never forget is that there was a group of young primary school students visiting on a school excursion. Every one of the children approached my fellow travellers and me to sign their worksheets. I didn't really know why but we guessed that maybe part of their assignment was to get a westerner to sign their paper. It was a surreal experience seeing the photos and reading the stories about American forces being the enemy but then having these children asking us for our names on their papers.
I visited there in 2006 and same thing happened to me. Maybe 10 or so elementary school children appeared one after another to recite the few words of English they had to memorize. The worksheet asked some question. I remember writing a few sentence reply figuring they would find it interesting to see me write in-from their viewpoint-a strange foreign language. The whole experience made me realize what it felt like when after a tragedy people often comment how surreal it is. I’m glad I visited there but I don’t know if I’d want to go back there if I visit Japan again.
As an American, this video brought tears to my eyes. Everyone knows about the bombings, but so few know about the rebirth of this once, and now again beautiful city. Humans have many awful traits, but one of the better ones is definitely resilience. Thank you for making this video.
@@carastone3473You are wrong. The emperor wanted to end the war, not continue it.. it was the military generals and senior staff that wanted to keep fighting...
I met a women who was there when it happened and she told me that her father heard the sirens Her father knew that he couldn't ignore the warning. while she was outside of her home playing with her friend. He immediately went for her and the friend telling them that they had to go into their shelter now. So they did and she remembered that her sister was working at a elementary school, Her father went to look for her when the bombing on boat was over, Her sister was under the rebel and she was rescued but she only lived for a year in a hospital dying from radiation same with her mother if i remembered correctly. She remembered it so clearly and it made her get teary eyes. She was the last person alive in her family alive now. Her father and her were lucky and didn't get that radiation poison.
standing in the same spot where the thumbnail was taken, you are absolutely rendered speechless. it is such an eye opening experience visiting Hiroshima
One of my teachers survived this. She was forced to work in a RR station office. In a records room she was nearly crushed by racks of ledgers, that may have saved her life. She was a native of Oahu kibei.
A wonderful video! Hiroshima City is one of my favourite places on Earth, visited many times and still want to visit it again. May we all live in peace.
If anything like this happens again, there won't be many of us left to see the results. Modern nuclear warheads are hundreds if not thousands times more powerful than these bombs were, and if any of the current leaders decided to launch a nuclear attack, it would not be just one or two, but dozens if not hundreds of them flying to make sure the enemy is completely obliterated, but at the same time, the other side will be doing the same. There won't be much left of the world as we know it after that, and you don't want to be one of the few survivors. Really uplifting this, I know.
I went to Hiroshima a few years ago. I was only there for a few days, but it was still impactful. The whole time the weight of history was on the back of my mind. That is impossible to understand unless someone has been there, and even then they might not get it. I encountered a threesome of tourists across the river from the A-bomb Dome. They asked me to take their picture with the dome in the background, and then did the kind of cheesy, smiley pose you might do at Disneyland. I wanted to tell them to show a little more respect, but I also didn't want to be a prick.
In 1979, I wrote a research paper on the Bombing of Hiroshima for my 9th grade History class. I was 14 years old. I read the novel "Hiroshima" by John Hersey for the first time. (A book that everyone should read at least once in their lifetime). I would wake up in the middle of the night from terrible nightmares while working on that paper. I now know all the gory, horrific details about the effects of nuclear warfare. And I'm both amazed and bewildered that so many people seem to know so little about it...
The nukes actually prevented more lives from being taken than if we invaded conventionally, civilians and military would have been decimated alike rivaling even Stalingrad. The placement of the drop was wrong in every way, just an experiment to actually see the effect that it would have on a city, but overall it was the right choice
This is your guys’ magnum opus. I was brought to tears during the rebuilding process. The spirit of the Japanese is remarkable. Hopefully I’ll get to visit the city someday soon.
Simon, this is the most moving video you have done. I visited Hiroshima in 1978 while I was stationed in Japan while I was in the Navy. This one had my eyes tear up. 😢👍
i went when our son was a toddler, to visit his in-laws. amazing city hard to believe it was flattened. what people tend to forget is that the japanese face devastation on a regular basis, earthquakes, tsunamis, they just pick up a rake and go and clean up. my inlaws, although we found it hard to commuicate, don't seem to hold much resentment towards the americans, especially as fighter jets and blackhawks circle their house every day, from the air base down the road. amazing country and amazing people.
Without disrespecting the absolute horror that befell there...the story of people vaporizing leaving only a shadow is a complete mith. It originated in a person that died at the entrance of a bank, but the corpse was indeed there, being even mentioned in the testimony of other survivors. The body was later disposed of. Thinks about it: in a crematorium, you get easily 2000 degrees fahrenheit for several hours, and still there some bones remain and have to be grounded later.
"A force called Hope." A sentence that describes the world today, with the occurring conflict of Ukraine vs Russia. We are solemnly hope, that the world can be a better place for everyone, regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation.
While stationed at Iwakuni, 5 of us biked to Hiroshima to visit the site and the museum. While there we encountered an elementary school class of girls visiting at the same time. 5 taller Marines...the only American there. I couldn't help the feeling of guilt as people's eyes were on us.
I once went to Hiroshima back in the summer of 2004. It was part of a teen program with YMCA Seattle. Like Simon said. You wouldn't know it was once bombed out of existence! Telling ya. Walking around the memorial area and the A-Bomb dome. Being an American. I felt HORRIBLE. Especially knowing my home state helped make the bomb. I couldn't look anyone in the eye. I had my head down most of the time. I'm pretty sure I was in perpetual tears the whole time. It was a major wake up call for 16 year old me. I really want to go back some day now I'm older and wiser. If anyone has a chance to go Hiroshima while visiting Japan. I do highly recommend!
That's an interesting testimony you have. I have never been to Hiroshima or Nagasaki but would like to visit them some day and pay my respect both to the victims and to the skills and determination of the people who rebuilt them. But while it changes nothing to the unimaginable destruction and horror felt by the population during the bombings, it's also important to put things in context. From today's point of view, there can be no doubt that using such a weapon of mass destruction against a civilian target would be considered a war crime, plain and simple. But back in 1945, it was a race of evil against evil. Imperial Japan had its own plan, namely to hit the US West coast with bioweapons. There are of course historians who argue that the bombings were totally unnecessary and that with the USSR joining the offensive, Japan had no choice but to surrender anyway. We will never know.
@@jacobzimmermann59 I know using the bombs saved thousands if not millions of lives. It still felt heavy. Hopefully you can visit one day. Because being there for real. Is different from watching a vid on RUclips.
@@randomhero88 Check out the "Trinity Site" at White Sands Missile Range. I was there on the 50th anniversary of the first atomic bomb detonation. This is where the begining of the end of the Paciffic War against the Japanese began. A true feeling of awe being there. It's only open twice a year to visitors. The first Saturday in April and the third Saturday October. Nothing but pride in our country. The war had to end and the Japanese only have themselves to blame for the two bombs that were dropped on their country, to end the cruel and inhuman war that they had started. No apologies.
These bombs enabled my existence. My father was an Australian POW in Mukden and after the first bomb the Japanese were forcing the prisoners, nearly all US airmen, to dig mass graves as they were planning to execute all the prisoners. After the second bomb all the Japanese disappeared and the camp was liberated. He told me stories of his time as a POW so I cannot condemn the use of the weapons but always remember that that was another generation of people.
Great video, Simon, Jen, Morris and everyone involved. I would love to see that dome memorial for myself one day. But, for now, I have images on the Internet.
Just watched this video. Modern Hiroshima is a fascinating city, but I do have a question. Have you ever thought about doing a feature on Nagasaki? It seems like everyone forgets about the OTHER city that got nuked in that war.
This is without doubt, one of the most heart wrenching uploads I have ever listened to. I’m English and all politics aside, I feel as if I should apologise to Japan from a human aspect.
Thank you for this. With all of the insanity going on in the Ukraine at the moment, and world leaders casually threatening to unleash Nuclear Weapons, it's very heart warming to see that even after being hit by a Nuke, life can be rebuilt with enough determination and effort.
Yes, unfortunately the bombs that fell in 1945 were like fireworks compared to the massive destruction one modern bomb could deliver today. A nuclear attack from any country would be the end of humanity. Bombed back to the Stone Age,as they say.
As a young Marine in Iwakuni, JA I was in Hiroshima many times in 1976 & 1977. In a matter of 48 hours in 1976 I was in the Peace museum on Sunday July 4th & in Pearl Harbor on Tuesday July 6th. I respect & admire the Japanese people but know this; during WWII & before they were a fanatical & viscious people. Not only did the bomb save many American lives by not having to attack the mainland but had the Japanese developed the bomb first they would have dropped it everywhere from China to the West Coast of the United States. I firmly believe this.
Interesting fact: The bombing of Hiroshima killed more people in 3 seconds than the Nazis killed in Buchenwald concentration camp in 8 years. The sheer scale of loss of life is mind-boggling.
Excellently covered and very interesting video. I learned about Hiroshima and Nagasaki in school, but not how they rebuilt. Well done Simon and team! Love all of your channels 😊❤
Have you covered Dresden? In college, my Modern West. class was...woefully short, on WWII content, one person mentioned Dresden and one other city, and the prof. just scoffed and moved on.
You have just run into one way of the dumbing down of Americans. They have been excluding allot of parts of history so we will not notice the replicating of mistakes. People won't notice the rise of the new Fascism.
@@patricialessard8651 I have no doubt about the dumbing down of the American populace through our education system. After all, I am a graduate of said system. I’ve mentioned before, that as a student, I was NEVER taught about the US Civil War; we covered the Revolution, some early 1800s, and then immediately skipped the 1850s (pre-CW)- to mid 1860s (war years), and then picked up during Reconstruction. Hell, I learned more about the CW from books, than I did in school. All I know about Dresden is that it was tantamount to, and in increasingly numerous cases: a major war crime. Hell, the bombing of Dresden, AND the bombing of have been considered war crimes based on the number of people killed relative to the size of the cities, and the amount of devastation incurred. It has been noted that Hamburg was likened to Nagasaki. This is what I have at least gleaned from a few books and documentaries, the titles of which I can’t recall. I do hope Simon covers AT LEAST the bombing of Dresden; and I hope he covers it with a sobering, introspective, and non-antagonistic way.
We did the Civil War sort of. We pretty much skipped WWI, brushed over the Great Depression and WWII, skipped Korea, skipped Vietnam, and everything that came after. We probably spent about as much time talking about hippies as the Cold War. Much of the Civil Rights Movement was in English class. Pretty much forget world history. Why would a school want to teach that.
@@user-dg9pu4pe9d I don’t even recall getting a WWI/WWII lesson, or at least any substantive lessons. The Depression was mentioned, but not really much about why it happened; there was indeed plenty of FDR ego stroking. Nothing about Truman and the the Nuclear Program until college. Hell, we were SUPPOSED to cover the Wars of Revolution in Europe, and even the early Middle East wars; but corona killed that. I’ve given up on the American educational system, if I do get the ability to go back and get my bachelor’s degree or further, I will certainly be seeking a university that will provide me with a FULL education; not a half-full one.
When I was in school, coverage of the Civil War was exhaustive, at least a month. The recurring problem I saw is that so much focus is given to the early years of the US that by the time the 1900s are reached they're covering a decade or more a week, and might not even make it past the 1950s due to the idealized schedule being slowed down by various factors.
I can't even imagine the sheer strength it would take to keep moving forward after something like this. Losing SO many people, neighbors, loved ones, coworkers, damn near an entire city.. and then getting up the next day to start making a plan to rebuild.
Why was the radiation not an issue? Was it due to the small size of the bomb, height of the explosion, absorption by the greenery? I am genuinely confused as to how the radiation turned out to not be so bad that the city had to be abandoned.
Because they detonated in the air, not on the ground -- and the damage would have been much worse had they detonated on the ground. But being high up allowed most of the radiation that would have lingered and caused contamination to be carried off by the winds.
Radiation was a problem, there were many cases of sickness derived specifically from radiation, as opposed to the purely physical and burn injuries we would expect. Being an airburst reduced the amount of fallout, but not the initial gamma-ray burst. A lot of what we often see regarding nuclear weapons, such as your idea of contamination and abandonment, is from popular media and culture which reflects deep-seated fear of such weapons. That fear is probably justified, even when it is often based on flawed knowledge.
@@MidnightArticuno the bomb is actually designed to detonate in air, as it creates more of a reverberation wave between the bomb and the earth, enabling energy from the blast to travel much further distances than if it detonated on the ground… At least that was the way it was explained to me, I’m no atomic physicist though.
I've always wondered how Hiroshima and Nagasaki weren't left uninhabitable by the nuclear blasts. The fact that rebuilding work began almost immediately is astounding and just shows what humanity can do if people pull together for a common cause, even in the shadow of its darkest days.
I was very fortunate to visit Hiroshima. We lived not to far away in Iwakuni. The city of Hiroshima is very lovely and seeing the skeleton of the building closest to ground zero is an experience I would never forget
As devastating as the two bombs were they undoubtedly saved lives. I’m talking about Americans, British and Japanese lives. The deadliest day of WW2 was the Tokyo fire bombing raid. 320 four engine bombers torched Tokyo with napalm. Curtis Lemay’s plan with the war over in Europe was to bring the 10,000 bombers sitting idle to okanawa and Iwo Jima and bomb Japan three times a day instead of three times a week. His only concern was if Dow chemical could supply enough napalm.
And made the lives of many from future generations possible. Some of the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of those who fought in WWII never exist if their descendants die in the invasion of Japan. Boomers, Gen Xers, millennials, and Gen Zers would be smaller in size.
Visited in Feb 2016. A very sombre but remarkable place. Especially the baker who was in a basement who was only survivor in the city and lived till 80.
Sad to hear what destruction wrought by the Atom Bomb and difficulties of rebuilding but at least Hiroshima & Nagasaki became a cautionary tale at the End of WW2. The idea of MacArthur using such a weapon during the Korean war would have been possibly apocalyptic .If possible do an "Into the Shadows" episode about growing Militarism & Nationalism of early 19th century Japan and the lead up to WW2 or a few.
"In the nuclear world. The true enemy is war itself. Fron the film Crimson Tide. I know it sounds awful. But when you factor in Operation Downfall. Dropping the bombs was the only option.
I mean the US government had 500,000 Purple Hearts in anticipation for Operation Downfall. Any Purple Heart that’s been given to a soldier since the end of WWII has come from those 500,000 intended from Operation Downfall.
@@no0ns I’m not necessarily saying the decision to drop nuclear bombs was the right decision but based on the Japanese casualties from dropping the bomb versus the projected American casualties, I can understand why Truman made the decision he made.
“When the flash hit you, you could see the x-rays of your hands through your closed eyes,” he said. “Then the heat hit you, and that was as if someone my size had caught fire and walked through me. It was an experience that was unearthing. It was so strange. There were guys with bruises and broken legs. We couldn’t believe it. To say it was frightening is an understatement. I think it all shocked us into silence.” The stories these nuclear veterans told Motherboard were harrowing.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi was at Hiroshima when the first bomb dropped and then left and moved to Nagasaki 3 days later when the 2nd bomb exploded. He's the only person recognized to survive both bombs. There's another video about him and well worth watching.
I just wish to know if your sense of timing was just a happy accident, or was the PTSD panic fit I almost couldn't stop just collateral for a hot current stressor?
The title told you what the video was. You didn’t have to watch it. The threat of nuclear war is closer than it has been in decades. It’s important we’re reminded of its horrors.
@@SwiftestScout I was referring to the Russian soldiers shooting at any and everything, including another company of Russians, if not supervised 24/7. If you had to ever share a ops area with some, you would understand what it's like to recall coming across any place they recently had a op. It's the loss of faith in humanity and the complete lack of empathy by them, that is scary. The nukes will just make it more exciting when their political officer has to take a nap.
Guitar maestro Uli Jon Roth spent a great deal of time touring japan with the scorpions in the late 70's, when he left the band in 1978 he spent an extended period of time in hiroshima and was inspired to write a song called Hiroshima Today which appeared in his first solo release in 1979 is considered one of his first solo masterpieces.
Thankyou. I once thought that I knew quite a lot about the things that have happened in this world. Now I know that I knew very little. You are teaching me with every video you present. 🙃
Ted Fujita studied the blast damage at Hiroshima...especially the way the trees were splayed out. It was the beginning of the Fujita Scale used to classify tornado strength. Some of his students got sick from radioactive poisoning.
My wife and I visited Hiroshima this past October and it's a beautiful modern city nowadays. Of course, we also took the time to visit the A-Bomb Memorial Dome and the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Museum, both of which were very somber experiences. My wife is of the opinion that the atomic weapons being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were unjustified, while I'm of the opposite opinion. Although I do agree that they both were horrific losses of human life, I'm absolutely certain that they ultimately saved more lives than they destroyed. Had Operation Downfall ever taken place, the destruction and loss of life would've been many more times terrible and costly for both sides fighting the war.
Hiroshima is a beautiful place. I was there over Golden Week last year. The roses were blooming. I have this picture of the A-Bomb Dome hovering above these roses with children playing in the background. The city is now this magnificent symbol of resilience in the face of horror, and its people are the most kind and welcoming I've met in Japan. One imagines that having such a visceral reminder of destruction in your midst every day must have an impact on your outlook on life. One thing Simon misses is the reason why Hiroshima was more thoroughly destroyed than Nagasaki. Nagasaki is on hills and mountains; Hiroshima is built on a river delta. It's flat. The impact of the bomb was able to spread over the whole area. Miles and miles...
While I'm still for the bomb being dropped, it still moves me with the way you presented it. And also awesome how it was rebuilt. Very inspirational, and glad it happened.
Yeah, but they could have dropped it where civilian casualties wouldn't have been as high. Show Japan your might without killing innocents. A warning shot on a military target could have been just as effective.
I visited Hiroshima when I was a child living there. Even as a child the place and experience humbled and shocked me whole. It’s something I will always remember and will always hold peace in my heart.
This was so well written and presented, focusing on the human aspect of the story instead of the military or technology. Being that I am American, I can't help but feel embarrassment, shame, and sadness watching it, though. It's a poignant message that everyone needs to hear and remember, especially now with the tragedy of Ukraine playing out.
What the US did wasn’t shameful or embarrassing. It was necessary, it was war. The Japanese regime was just as evil as Hitler. The Japanese people did not deserve to die, they were just regular people. Their own Emperor killed them though. They refused surrender because of “honor” or whatever bullshit idea the Japanese were obsessed with at the time. War is never good. But the Japanese have far more to be ashamed about than the US during WW2.
As an American I have studied facets of the Japanese culture, back to the time of the Shogan, the Meiji Restoration and to the present time. There is a lot I admire about Japanese culture and much did I find dismaying. To focus on the two atomic mom‘s drop is to ignore the 67 Japanese cities destroyed by fire bombing. War is Hell and this is a Hell the Japan government brought on its people.
What I find just as sad was the long term effects. Survivors of that day ended up with cancer from being exposed to the radiation. Sadako Sasaki was one of those cases. It took 10 years for her cancer to develop
Yes, though consider the resources spent on each raid. This does require one to ignore the cost of the Manhattan Project and developing the B-29 (higher than the Manhatten Project), but the relative efficiency of nuclear weapons, at least in terms of delivery, was unfortunately quite clear.
I have no other word than fascination. Awe and disbelief. The story of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the worlds first and only use of atomic weapons in anger will always be a unparalleled part of human history.
![[#2024MAMA] G-DRAGON - 무제(Untitled, 2014)+POWER+HOME SWEET HOME+뱅뱅뱅+FANTASTIC BABY | Mnet 241123 방송](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ox29z5Nf1Uk/mqdefault.jpg)
![Stromae, Pomme - “Ma Meilleure Ennemie” (from Arcane Season 2) [Official Visualizer]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1F3OGIFnW1k/mqdefault.jpg)
Join me in Crossout for FREE on PC, PS®4 and Xbox One: xo.link/xogeographics Follow my link to get the game as well as an exclusive bonus. See you in game!
I love Crossout!
Nah, bruh. I'm good.
Video begins at 1:15
Seems like an ironic sponsor for this video.
You are glorifying the Japanese in WWII .. when the Japanese perpetrated indescribable crimes against humanity.. you fail to mention this & I think it's extremely important to understand why those bombs were dropped.. I only wish that it was an air raid of 10+ atomic bombs.. & the radiation they suffered afterwards I don't think it would compare to the 10s of thousands of women who were gang raped repeatedly by Japanese soldiers
What really saved Hiroshima was that typhoon that hit in September 1945. Reason: the rains from that typhoon washed away a lot of the radioactive topsoil from the the city, and that made it a lot easier to attempt rebuilding in the years afterwards
very interesting. I suppose that could do it.
Kamikaze.
And all the typhoons that can after September 1945 washed away even more radioactive soils from both cities, it’s no wonder why Japan was able to rebuild both of them as quickly as they could
No.
Did countries know that the US had atomic bombs before Hiroshima?
My mother was an early exchange student to Japan in 1967. The country was so eager to put their best foot forward that she was hosted by one of the wealthiest families, and that gave her the opportunity to see a lot of Japan as her host family easily could afford the travel and accommodations. One of the places they took her was the memorial at Hiroshima. AS she was standing, sobered and close to tears in front of the wall that still bore the shadows of the slain, an older man came up and started yelling at her. Her Japanese was still shaky so she didn't understand much beyond his rage, but her host father said some very sharp words to the man and he stopped yelling, glared at her one last time and left. Mom asked her host father what the man had said, and he said "There are some people who can't let go of the past." Then she asked what her host father had said, and he replied, "I told him you hadn't even been born yet."
God damn.
That old man was just an old entrenched fool. The nuclear bombardment was bad, but it was nowhere even close to atrocities committed by the Japanese imperial army. We can be all sorry for the victims, but Japanese have no moral ground to accuse anybody of brutality, because their nation as a whole largely got away with their. It's in their best interests to let it all go and thank the universe that no part of their country was occupied by China.
Oh geez. He had a lot of nerve - the Japanese did a lot worse to a lot more people.
When we visited New Orleans 1-2 years after Katrina the local cab drivers & workers didn’t want to talk about it at all….they wished people would get back to normal activities instead of wanting to visit levees and the lower 9th ward….
@@robinkrieger8003 yes, I’m from New Orleans. I always found it a bit insensitive how people would ask about it. It was a very traumatic experience - akin to asking someone from Manhattan if they were affected by 9/11 as soon as you meet them.
Simon, no one else can deliver such a “documentary” with the respect, honor of the dead and honesty as you do. As trivial as this event has been in the history books, you’ve brought in such a way that showed hope and a future for Hiroshima if one didn’t know what happened there.
Always enjoy all of your channels.
The Biographics on the Challenger crew is another great example.
Can you expand on what you mean by “trivial”?
@@xyz7572 I think they are saying that it isn’t discussed with any detail. American textbooks tend to talk about it more in the American context of it being the end of the war and the work/logistics to create the bomb rather than getting into the details of what actually happened to entire cities of people. School curriculum is always a political issue here so we tend to avoid teaching anything that doesn’t make us look good or at least justified in doing something bad lol
@@xyz7572 trivial depending who you ask. Ask an American serviceman, and his reply would’ve been “it was absolutely necessary.” Ask a Japanese civilian on the ground, I’m sure he wouldn’t agree. Did it stop the war? Yes. Would countless US military soldiers have died had we not done it? Most certainly.
However, it’s been the aftermath, the cancers, leukemia, birth defects that have really trivialized the decision to use it.
@@rixxroxxk1620 eloquently said.
My father was stationed in japan in 1954 and had to occasionally go to Hiroshima. When he passed ground zero, he noted that the young families would take their kids to the park that had already been built, but the older Japanese would only pass the site on the opposite side of the street.
that's sad
It's because the older Japanese are ashamed of the atrocities that their country committed.
@@timmyy420 Well, that's certainly a hot take.
@@griffinmckenzie7203 it’s true. Revisionist history in Japan is a huge problem to this day.
@@ignacio9399 Not just in Japan. Some dwell in the past. Some ignore the past. Some rewrite the past. None of those help in the end as they are symptoms of deeper problems.
2:30 - Chapter 1 - Before the bomb
6:45 - Chapter 2 - Apocalypse ville
10:45 - Chapter 3 - From the ashes
14:40 - Chapter 4 - Cherished memories
17:35 - Chapter 5 - A memorial for the future
💜
You forgot chapter 0, the ad break
@@johnbarker2650 the most important one
I went to Hiroshima in 2015 and the experience of visiting this city, and seeing its scars and the peace park & museum, was very harrowing and thought provoking.... What hit me the most, were the tales of the children who survived and returned to what remained of their homes and the charred corpes of their parents, siblings and other family members....
And this video couldn't come at a better time. Back in 2015, I hoped that no other cities would join Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And now, I am hoping again that current events in Europe won't lead to any further cities being devastated and lives horrifically ended in a nuclear attack...
I went in 2018, to that same museum. The city it's self is amazing but to build on something that took so much devastation was humbling. One of my favorite spots in Japan
What about pearl harbor though? What did those soldiers do to deserve the demise they met that fateful morning ?
@@alanbrown3172 This stale rhetoric and mindset is the very reason why there is still so much hatred and violence in this world.....
What happened at Pearl Harbor was a horrific and inexcusable action that shouldn't be forgotten. However, likewise. The horrific suffering of innocent women and children, who played no part in Peal Harbor, should be remembered.
The Peace Park & Museum is a place to reflect on the violence and cost of war and how we, as a civilised world, should never repeat the horrific acts that plague the history of mankind.
@@KariHaruka so are you American or not ?
@@KariHaruka I'm a black man, my people have already been though enough in this country lol. Please don't try and tell me how I should feel about something
I visited Hiroshima a few years ago. We visited the peace museum, but it took us a little while to find the actual point over the city where the bomb was dropped. It was marked with a little plaque in some alleyway near a book shop, very out of the way. Probably the most vivid memory of my trip really.
I went there as well. The street with the hypocenter plaque looks so ordinary, you wouldn't know a major historic event happened there if it weren't for the plaque.
As someone who’s been to Nagasaki but not Hiroshima, that seems so strange to me. The hypocenter is part of the park around the Atomic Bomb museum there (not to be confused with the peace park) and there’s a black obelisk where the hypocenter is.
Thank you for this video. Everyone knows about the nuclear explosions but not much about the people/area affected and how they were affected
It efected the American veterans just as hard, I left a quote in the comments.
@@The-Spanish-Inquisition490 no disrespect to american vets but no it did not "effect them just as hard" how can you even compare being a victim or a survivor of a nuclear bomb to americans who simply witness the aftermath.
@@bullshnaganims4326 I agree. The residents suffered from health issues from the bombing and they needed to rebuild their hometown. No one suffered as much as them. Visiting Hiroshima back in 2018 was definitely an eye opener.
@@bullshnaganims4326 over 330,000 prisons of wars were murdered by the Japanese. And the veterans who survived were definitely affected by their captors/tormentors.
@@gaslight_gatekeep_girlboss3732 yes, people suffered more than the Japanese; recall the rape of Nanking. Research Unit 731. Reflect that the Japanese military murdered 13 million unarmed civilians, men women and children. The Asian women kidnapped by the Japanese military and forced to be prostitutes in military bravos suffered; a few survived to this day with the emotional scars inflicted on them.
I was able to visit Hiroshima a few days before the 69th anniversary, while the city was preparing for the memorial services. It's such a lovely city, and so many of the locals were friendly and welcoming. The museum is almost overwhelming, but has an excellent exhibit on the state of nuclear warfare today (with a globe that you can see where missile stocks were removed, to show continuing weapons dismantling) and there's one section that just has copies of every letter the mayor of the city has ever sent in protest to continuing atomic tests around the world. There are dozens, if not hundreds, and they cover the whole wall going all the way up. It's a sobering experience, but one of the most meaningful trips I ever took.
Did they include my letter that said, "Don't start wars."
Nice
A good account of what happened is captured in the anime "Barefoot Gen". About a boy in Hiroshima who lived through the explosion and radiation poisoning. It's rather graphic but honestly it is a good watch. I would put it up there with Schindler's List.
And Grave of the Fireflies. That one was heartbreaking.
@@rebeccapekarske5788 "In This Corner of the World" aswell
And grave of the fireflies. I wept.
There was one I read as a child. The main character was a little girl who survived and was a Hiroshima maiden, with the pattern of the dress she was wearing etched into her skin. Tear jerking.
The creator of the original manga was himself a Hiroshima survivor, if I remember correctly.
As Stalin once said “One death is a tragedy, one million deaths is a Statistic”
Too often the stories are forgotten by the shear weight of numbers. How can anyone fathom the death of millions of people. Millions of fathers, mothers, daughters, sons.
It’s sad that we still live in a world where this is possible
If you ever have the opportunity, go to the memorial museum in Hiroshima. It is a relatively small exposition with not THAT much of interest, but everything in that museum is precision-crafted to hammer in the horror of the nuking (with a mallet) - a constant, low and tense music, lowered lights and quotes of peoples' suffering all make it into an experience, which WILL stay with you.
I went to Hiroshima in 2015 and I cannot put it to words. The current city centre is bustling with activity but the site itself was just quiet. Just quiet.
Just the occasional shuffling of the feet and the birds. Other than that... Just silence...
I clearly remember the museum... Everyone who went in went out sobbing.
Oddly enough... I'm starting to tear up writing this comment while remembering the visit.
That doesn't seem odd to me at all. Your experience sounds deeply moving, and I'm sure this took you right back. Thank you for sharing your story.
Sounds like a very moving experience. I hope to go to both Hiroshima and Nagasaki one day to pay my respects to the victims of the attacks.
Well written. Well delivered. Well scored. Your team is the best. Salute.
I suggest that anyone interested in the aftermath, get hold of a book called Hiroshima Diary by Michihiko Hachiya. I read it the first time when I was about 12. The story is by a Doctor who survived and the next few weeks. This video added a lot to my understanding of how the people got back on their feet and built the city again. That isn't really covered in any of the books I've read.
I’ve read it; I definitely agree that _Hiroshima Diary_ is a must-read for people trying to understand the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima.
…Scratch that, _everyone_ should read it.
The way you present your content is just out of this world ! Inspiring , emotional and informative! I’ve been a loyal subscriber for two years now and you always managed to deliver above and beyond my expectations! Thank you Simon ❤️
Lol on which one of his channels? I swear he has to have at least 10 channels total now.
My grandad served in the Korean War. At some point he was in Japan and caught a train to Hiroshima. He stepped off the train, looked around, dropped to his knees and sobbed. Even years after the bomb hit, the damage was so obvious. Such a horrible situation. Man’s inhumanity to man.
I've heard this story so many times before BUT NEVER FELT the story till now. Only Simon could deliver such insight. I was in tears listening intensively to every word. Thank you for the enlightenment Simon.
As an American, the way we learn about the atomic bombs is complicated. A lot of students don't really learn how horrifying it was - I had a science teacher explain about the "shadows" and got in trouble for teaching "disturbing material not appropriate for children" - a tad ironic, I know. Even today, most Americans are conflicted about it, and don't know what happened there, not really. We certainly don't learn the stories of rebuilding, of the cultural strength of the Japanese people. Thanks for sharing this story.
Even as a child, I noticed how little we were actually taught about certain things, all for the sake of "emotional preservation" of us kids. Even as a child, I saw this as utter nonsense. I recently had to teach my nine year old nephew about why "9/11 Day" was so important, because his school never bothered to mention that day at all!! It was a day that I personally lived through. A day that I will never forget! That my nephew got willfully rendered ignorant about such an important day in American history is UNACCEPTABLE!!
Stunting our children's education, for the sake "their feelings," is a terrible disservice we are doing unto them. It's high time our country started to attempt to remodel our education system, before the damage becomes irreparable.
Being vaporised is in appropriate for a child. Sadly not to the Americans.
I heard that a lot of times about the American education, also about the Gulf Wars. It seems to always highlight the good and how it was necessary and good was the US did. This is so dangerous. I am really happy that me as a German had a VERY reflective education about our history where no one was afraid to tell how it really was. I think this also helps to avoid repetition of such events.
@@sunnykaykay It's been a bit since I was in school but we didn't learn about the gulf wars. Our history kinda goes up to Vietnam and stops, unless you have a really good history teacher
@@kibble24 That sounds awful but actually explains a lot...
I spent some time in Hiroshima as an exchange student from Australia. The peace memorial and museum was such a profound experience, but one thing I'll never forget is that there was a group of young primary school students visiting on a school excursion. Every one of the children approached my fellow travellers and me to sign their worksheets. I didn't really know why but we guessed that maybe part of their assignment was to get a westerner to sign their paper. It was a surreal experience seeing the photos and reading the stories about American forces being the enemy but then having these children asking us for our names on their papers.
Turns out they just thought y'all were famous
I visited there in 2006 and same thing happened to me. Maybe 10 or so elementary school children appeared one after another to recite the few words of English they had to memorize. The worksheet asked some question. I remember writing a few sentence reply figuring they would find it interesting to see me write in-from their viewpoint-a strange foreign language. The whole experience made me realize what it felt like when after a tragedy people often comment how surreal it is. I’m glad I visited there but I don’t know if I’d want to go back there if I visit Japan again.
As an American, this video brought tears to my eyes. Everyone knows about the bombings, but so few know about the rebirth of this once, and now again beautiful city. Humans have many awful traits, but one of the better ones is definitely resilience.
Thank you for making this video.
they called our bluff, it wasnt a bluff
@@WeeWooBus - the Japanese emperor did that, not the Japanese people.
@@carastone3473You are wrong. The emperor wanted to end the war, not continue it.. it was the military generals and senior staff that wanted to keep fighting...
@@carastone3473 after pearl harbor they awoken a sleeping giant .... America
I have no tears for Hiroshima. They attacked us first. Cry for the sailors entombed in Pearl Harbor.
I was flipping through my photos from my trip to Hiroshima in 2019 while watching your video.... Memories I will never forget.
I met a women who was there when it happened and she told me that her father heard the sirens Her father knew that he couldn't ignore the warning. while she was outside of her home playing with her friend. He immediately went for her and the friend telling them that they had to go into their shelter now. So they did and she remembered that her sister was working at a elementary school, Her father went to look for her when the bombing on boat was over, Her sister was under the rebel and she was rescued but she only lived for a year in a hospital dying from radiation same with her mother if i remembered correctly. She remembered it so clearly and it made her get teary eyes. She was the last person alive in her family alive now. Her father and her were lucky and didn't get that radiation poison.
standing in the same spot where the thumbnail was taken, you are absolutely rendered speechless. it is such an eye opening experience visiting Hiroshima
One of my teachers survived this. She was forced to work in a RR station office. In a records room she was nearly crushed by racks of ledgers, that may have saved her life. She was a native of Oahu kibei.
A wonderful video! Hiroshima City is one of my favourite places on Earth, visited many times and still want to visit it again. May we all live in peace.
Its worrying how appropriate this video is in the current political climate
It could not be more appropriate.
one of my friends was born and raised in hiroshima, and it was always interesting hearing her thoughts on the war and seeing the city as it now
A brilliant video Nomis 👍
Hoping not to see this replicated anytime soon.
If anything like this happens again, there won't be many of us left to see the results. Modern nuclear warheads are hundreds if not thousands times more powerful than these bombs were, and if any of the current leaders decided to launch a nuclear attack, it would not be just one or two, but dozens if not hundreds of them flying to make sure the enemy is completely obliterated, but at the same time, the other side will be doing the same. There won't be much left of the world as we know it after that, and you don't want to be one of the few survivors. Really uplifting this, I know.
@@lexugax sadly some world leaders think its really funny to threaten the people sanctioning them with the end of the world.
I went to Hiroshima a few years ago. I was only there for a few days, but it was still impactful. The whole time the weight of history was on the back of my mind. That is impossible to understand unless someone has been there, and even then they might not get it. I encountered a threesome of tourists across the river from the A-bomb Dome. They asked me to take their picture with the dome in the background, and then did the kind of cheesy, smiley pose you might do at Disneyland. I wanted to tell them to show a little more respect, but I also didn't want to be a prick.
There are times when being a bit prick-y is justified...
@@andersjjensen this guys story ain’t one of em lol let people live how they come
@@andersjjensen i would m finger the dome for what japanese soldiers did to my country during the war
You have more restraint than me my friend, I’d be a prick right away.
In 1979, I wrote a research paper on the Bombing of Hiroshima for my 9th grade History class. I was 14 years old. I read the novel "Hiroshima" by John Hersey for the first time. (A book that everyone should read at least once in their lifetime). I would wake up in the middle of the night from terrible nightmares while working on that paper. I now know all the gory, horrific details about the effects of nuclear warfare. And I'm both amazed and bewildered that so many people seem to know so little about it...
Thank you for this I was stationed in Japan in middle 80’s and went to the city to think about all that had happened it’s influence is still with me.
The nukes actually prevented more lives from being taken than if we invaded conventionally, civilians and military would have been decimated alike rivaling even Stalingrad. The placement of the drop was wrong in every way, just an experiment to actually see the effect that it would have on a city, but overall it was the right choice
This was moving and inspirational. Thank you for hosting.
Catching up on Simon's older videos is proving to be quite the challenge.
Yeah, it's a good thing he only has 13 channels
Powerful and a great video. A story with a beginning we all knoe so well, but a background and future we've never glimpsed
Those bombs saved many more lives than they had taken.
Without them there is a good chance my family would never exist.
I celebrate Aug 6th and 9th.
This is your guys’ magnum opus. I was brought to tears during the rebuilding process. The spirit of the Japanese is remarkable. Hopefully I’ll get to visit the city someday soon.
Beautifully presented. Thank you to the entire team
Simon, this is the most moving video you have done. I visited Hiroshima in 1978 while I was stationed in Japan while I was in the Navy. This one had my eyes tear up. 😢👍
i went when our son was a toddler, to visit his in-laws. amazing city hard to believe it was flattened. what people tend to forget is that the japanese face devastation on a regular basis, earthquakes, tsunamis, they just pick up a rake and go and clean up.
my inlaws, although we found it hard to commuicate, don't seem to hold much resentment towards the americans, especially as fighter jets and blackhawks circle their house every day, from the air base down the road. amazing country and amazing people.
Without disrespecting the absolute horror that befell there...the story of people vaporizing leaving only a shadow is a complete mith. It originated in a person that died at the entrance of a bank, but the corpse was indeed there, being even mentioned in the testimony of other survivors. The body was later disposed of.
Thinks about it: in a crematorium, you get easily 2000 degrees fahrenheit for several hours, and still there some bones remain and have to be grounded later.
Well presented thoughtful video Simon, one of your best.
Simon got me in tears with this .Amazing video man
"A force called Hope." A sentence that describes the world today, with the occurring conflict of Ukraine vs Russia. We are solemnly hope, that the world can be a better place for everyone, regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation.
Simon, you never cease to amaze. I'm truly glad I watched this. Well done!
While stationed at Iwakuni, 5 of us biked to Hiroshima to visit the site and the museum. While there we encountered an elementary school class of girls visiting at the same time. 5 taller Marines...the only American there. I couldn't help the feeling of guilt as people's eyes were on us.
The writing and narration in this video is brilliant.
I once went to Hiroshima back in the summer of 2004. It was part of a teen program with YMCA Seattle. Like Simon said. You wouldn't know it was once bombed out of existence! Telling ya. Walking around the memorial area and the A-Bomb dome. Being an American. I felt HORRIBLE. Especially knowing my home state helped make the bomb. I couldn't look anyone in the eye. I had my head down most of the time. I'm pretty sure I was in perpetual tears the whole time. It was a major wake up call for 16 year old me. I really want to go back some day now I'm older and wiser. If anyone has a chance to go Hiroshima while visiting Japan. I do highly recommend!
That's an interesting testimony you have. I have never been to Hiroshima or Nagasaki but would like to visit them some day and pay my respect both to the victims and to the skills and determination of the people who rebuilt them. But while it changes nothing to the unimaginable destruction and horror felt by the population during the bombings, it's also important to put things in context. From today's point of view, there can be no doubt that using such a weapon of mass destruction against a civilian target would be considered a war crime, plain and simple. But back in 1945, it was a race of evil against evil. Imperial Japan had its own plan, namely to hit the US West coast with bioweapons. There are of course historians who argue that the bombings were totally unnecessary and that with the USSR joining the offensive, Japan had no choice but to surrender anyway. We will never know.
@@jacobzimmermann59
I know using the bombs saved thousands if not millions of lives. It still felt heavy. Hopefully you can visit one day. Because being there for real. Is different from watching a vid on RUclips.
@@randomhero88 Check out the "Trinity Site" at White Sands Missile Range. I was there on the 50th anniversary of the first atomic bomb detonation. This is where the begining of the end of the Paciffic War against the Japanese began. A true feeling of awe being there. It's only open twice a year to visitors. The first Saturday in April and the third Saturday October. Nothing but pride in our country. The war had to end and the Japanese only have themselves to blame for the two bombs that were dropped on their country, to end the cruel and inhuman war that they had started. No apologies.
This is one of the best "documentaries" I've seen about Hiroshima I've seen in a long while, thanks.
These bombs enabled my existence. My father was an Australian POW in Mukden and after the first bomb the Japanese were forcing the prisoners, nearly all US airmen, to dig mass graves as they were planning to execute all the prisoners. After the second bomb all the Japanese disappeared and the camp was liberated. He told me stories of his time as a POW so I cannot condemn the use of the weapons but always remember that that was another generation of people.
Great video, Simon, Jen, Morris and everyone involved. I would love to see that dome memorial for myself one day. But, for now, I have images on the Internet.
Just watched this video. Modern Hiroshima is a fascinating city, but I do have a question.
Have you ever thought about doing a feature on Nagasaki?
It seems like everyone forgets about the OTHER city that got nuked in that war.
Thank you, Simon and team. This was remarkably well done.
Could you talk about the hibakusha (particularly the double survivors) maybe on biographics
This is without doubt, one of the most heart wrenching uploads I have ever listened to. I’m English and all politics aside, I feel as if I should apologise to Japan from a human aspect.
Thank you for this. With all of the insanity going on in the Ukraine at the moment, and world leaders casually threatening to unleash Nuclear Weapons, it's very heart warming to see that even after being hit by a Nuke, life can be rebuilt with enough determination and effort.
Yes, unfortunately the bombs that fell in 1945 were like fireworks compared to the massive destruction one modern bomb could deliver today. A nuclear attack from any country would be the end of humanity. Bombed back to the Stone Age,as they say.
Threatening to use them is all they will ever do. If it didn’t happen between 1960 and 1990 it isn’t going to happen now.
Might be the best video you've ever done
People going to work the day after to start rebuilding just brings tears to my eyes. What strength... Please never again.
That's the human soul completely naked: "This is as bad as it can possibly get. But since I'm still standing I might as well just get to it."
As a young Marine in Iwakuni, JA I was in Hiroshima many times in 1976 & 1977. In a matter of 48 hours in 1976 I was in the Peace museum on Sunday July 4th & in Pearl Harbor on Tuesday July 6th. I respect & admire the Japanese people but know this; during WWII & before they were a fanatical & viscious people. Not only did the bomb save many American lives by not having to attack the mainland but had the Japanese developed the bomb first they would have dropped it everywhere from China to the West Coast of the United States. I firmly believe this.
Interesting fact:
The bombing of Hiroshima killed more people in 3 seconds than the Nazis killed in Buchenwald concentration camp in 8 years.
The sheer scale of loss of life is mind-boggling.
Excellently covered and very interesting video. I learned about Hiroshima and Nagasaki in school, but not how they rebuilt. Well done Simon and team! Love all of your channels 😊❤
Have you covered Dresden? In college, my Modern West. class was...woefully short, on WWII content, one person mentioned Dresden and one other city, and the prof. just scoffed and moved on.
You have just run into one way of the dumbing down of Americans.
They have been excluding allot of parts of history so we will not notice the replicating of mistakes. People won't notice the rise of the new Fascism.
@@patricialessard8651 I have no doubt about the dumbing down of the American populace through our education system. After all, I am a graduate of said system. I’ve mentioned before, that as a student, I was NEVER taught about the US Civil War; we covered the Revolution, some early 1800s, and then immediately skipped the 1850s (pre-CW)- to mid 1860s (war years), and then picked up during Reconstruction.
Hell, I learned more about the CW from books, than I did in school. All I know about Dresden is that it was tantamount to, and in increasingly numerous cases: a major war crime. Hell, the bombing of Dresden, AND the bombing of have been considered war crimes based on the number of people killed relative to the size of the cities, and the amount of devastation incurred. It has been noted that Hamburg was likened to Nagasaki.
This is what I have at least gleaned from a few books and documentaries, the titles of which I can’t recall. I do hope Simon covers AT LEAST the bombing of Dresden; and I hope he covers it with a sobering, introspective, and non-antagonistic way.
We did the Civil War sort of. We pretty much skipped WWI, brushed over the Great Depression and WWII, skipped Korea, skipped Vietnam, and everything that came after. We probably spent about as much time talking about hippies as the Cold War. Much of the Civil Rights Movement was in English class.
Pretty much forget world history. Why would a school want to teach that.
@@user-dg9pu4pe9d I don’t even recall getting a WWI/WWII lesson, or at least any substantive lessons. The Depression was mentioned, but not really much about why it happened; there was indeed plenty of FDR ego stroking. Nothing about Truman and the the Nuclear Program until college. Hell, we were SUPPOSED to cover the Wars of Revolution in Europe, and even the early Middle East wars; but corona killed that.
I’ve given up on the American educational system, if I do get the ability to go back and get my bachelor’s degree or further, I will certainly be seeking a university that will provide me with a FULL education; not a half-full one.
When I was in school, coverage of the Civil War was exhaustive, at least a month. The recurring problem I saw is that so much focus is given to the early years of the US that by the time the 1900s are reached they're covering a decade or more a week, and might not even make it past the 1950s due to the idealized schedule being slowed down by various factors.
And this concludes our lesson on don't fuck with America.
I went to Hiroshima back in 2011 and visited the Peace Park during a school trip. Such a haunting experience, and one I'll hopefully never forget.
Perfect timing for a video about nuclear weapons used in actual warfare.
I see what you did there, Simon!!!
We need to remember history, so as to not repeat it...
@@prime77089 Well looks like were gonna repeat it. Hopefully we learn this time, if the human race survives of course.
I can't even imagine the sheer strength it would take to keep moving forward after something like this. Losing SO many people, neighbors, loved ones, coworkers, damn near an entire city.. and then getting up the next day to start making a plan to rebuild.
Why was the radiation not an issue? Was it due to the small size of the bomb, height of the explosion, absorption by the greenery? I am genuinely confused as to how the radiation turned out to not be so bad that the city had to be abandoned.
Because they detonated in the air, not on the ground -- and the damage would have been much worse had they detonated on the ground. But being high up allowed most of the radiation that would have lingered and caused contamination to be carried off by the winds.
Radiation was a problem, there were many cases of sickness derived specifically from radiation, as opposed to the purely physical and burn injuries we would expect. Being an airburst reduced the amount of fallout, but not the initial gamma-ray burst. A lot of what we often see regarding nuclear weapons, such as your idea of contamination and abandonment, is from popular media and culture which reflects deep-seated fear of such weapons. That fear is probably justified, even when it is often based on flawed knowledge.
@@MidnightArticuno the bomb is actually designed to detonate in air, as it creates more of a reverberation wave between the bomb and the earth, enabling energy from the blast to travel much further distances than if it detonated on the ground… At least that was the way it was explained to me, I’m no atomic physicist though.
Another commenter suggests that the typhoon washed a lot of the top soil away and the radiation with it.
I love watching your videos! So informative, yet relaxing in a way. Thanks factboy!
I've always wondered how Hiroshima and Nagasaki weren't left uninhabitable by the nuclear blasts. The fact that rebuilding work began almost immediately is astounding and just shows what humanity can do if people pull together for a common cause, even in the shadow of its darkest days.
I was very fortunate to visit Hiroshima. We lived not to far away in Iwakuni. The city of Hiroshima is very lovely and seeing the skeleton of the building closest to ground zero is an experience I would never forget
Don't like your city getting blown up? Don't start wars...
Nothing but the best… thanks
As devastating as the two bombs were they undoubtedly saved lives. I’m talking about Americans, British and Japanese lives.
The deadliest day of WW2 was the Tokyo fire bombing raid. 320 four engine bombers torched Tokyo with napalm. Curtis Lemay’s plan with the war over in Europe was to bring the 10,000 bombers sitting idle to okanawa and Iwo Jima and bomb Japan three times a day instead of three times a week. His only concern was if Dow chemical could supply enough napalm.
And made the lives of many from future generations possible. Some of the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of those who fought in WWII never exist if their descendants die in the invasion of Japan.
Boomers, Gen Xers, millennials, and Gen Zers would be smaller in size.
Very well presented. Thank you for this video.
As an American, I’m happy they have recovered.
Yes, because we're all human beings 💕
Visited in Feb 2016. A very sombre but remarkable place. Especially the baker who was in a basement who was only survivor in the city and lived till 80.
Sad to hear what destruction wrought by the Atom Bomb and difficulties of rebuilding but at least Hiroshima & Nagasaki became a cautionary tale at the End of WW2. The idea of MacArthur using such a weapon during the Korean war would have been possibly apocalyptic .If possible do an "Into the Shadows" episode about growing Militarism & Nationalism of early 19th century Japan and the lead up to WW2 or a few.
Nationalism isn't an inherently bad thing but types such as ethno nationalism we can all agree can lead to some horrific things.
I think this is the first geographics video that had me in actual tears.
"In the nuclear world. The true enemy is war itself. Fron the film Crimson Tide. I know it sounds awful. But when you factor in Operation Downfall. Dropping the bombs was the only option.
I mean the US government had 500,000 Purple Hearts in anticipation for Operation Downfall. Any Purple Heart that’s been given to a soldier since the end of WWII has come from those 500,000 intended from Operation Downfall.
@@verb3614 Hey, if it lets you sleep at night..
@@no0ns I’m not necessarily saying the decision to drop nuclear bombs was the right decision but based on the Japanese casualties from dropping the bomb versus the projected American casualties, I can understand why Truman made the decision he made.
The ultimate "fuck around and find out"
the timing on this one.
Fantastic video Simon and team! Great Research very interesting.
“When the flash hit you, you could see the x-rays of your hands through your closed eyes,” he said. “Then the heat hit you, and that was as if someone my size had caught fire and walked through me. It was an experience that was unearthing. It was so strange. There were guys with bruises and broken legs. We couldn’t believe it. To say it was frightening is an understatement. I think it all shocked us into silence.”
The stories these nuclear veterans told Motherboard were harrowing.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi was at Hiroshima when the first bomb dropped and then left and moved to Nagasaki 3 days later when the 2nd bomb exploded. He's the only person recognized to survive both bombs. There's another video about him and well worth watching.
I just wish to know if your sense of timing was just a happy accident, or was the PTSD panic fit I almost couldn't stop just collateral for a hot current stressor?
Seeing a country threaten nukes isnt "PTSD" get over yourself
The title told you what the video was. You didn’t have to watch it. The threat of nuclear war is closer than it has been in decades. It’s important we’re reminded of its horrors.
@@SwiftestScout I was referring to the Russian soldiers shooting at any and everything, including another company of Russians, if not supervised 24/7. If you had to ever share a ops area with some, you would understand what it's like to recall coming across any place they recently had a op. It's the loss of faith in humanity and the complete lack of empathy by them, that is scary. The nukes will just make it more exciting when their political officer has to take a nap.
Guitar maestro Uli Jon Roth spent a great deal of time touring japan with the scorpions in the late 70's, when he left the band in 1978 he spent an extended period of time in hiroshima and was inspired to write a song called Hiroshima Today which appeared in his first solo release in 1979 is considered one of his first solo masterpieces.
Please do a geographic video on unit 731. The horrors committed by the japanese were swept under the rug
Or the rape of Nanking.
So does American
Thankyou. I once thought that I knew quite a lot about the things that have happened in this world. Now I know that I knew very little. You are teaching me with every video you present. 🙃
Welp, when you poke the bear
Ted Fujita studied the blast damage at Hiroshima...especially the way the trees were splayed out. It was the beginning of the Fujita Scale used to classify tornado strength. Some of his students got sick from radioactive poisoning.
My wife and I visited Hiroshima this past October and it's a beautiful modern city nowadays. Of course, we also took the time to visit the A-Bomb Memorial Dome and the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Museum, both of which were very somber experiences.
My wife is of the opinion that the atomic weapons being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were unjustified, while I'm of the opposite opinion. Although I do agree that they both were horrific losses of human life, I'm absolutely certain that they ultimately saved more lives than they destroyed.
Had Operation Downfall ever taken place, the destruction and loss of life would've been many more times terrible and costly for both sides fighting the war.
Hiroshima is a beautiful place. I was there over Golden Week last year. The roses were blooming. I have this picture of the A-Bomb Dome hovering above these roses with children playing in the background. The city is now this magnificent symbol of resilience in the face of horror, and its people are the most kind and welcoming I've met in Japan. One imagines that having such a visceral reminder of destruction in your midst every day must have an impact on your outlook on life.
One thing Simon misses is the reason why Hiroshima was more thoroughly destroyed than Nagasaki. Nagasaki is on hills and mountains; Hiroshima is built on a river delta. It's flat. The impact of the bomb was able to spread over the whole area. Miles and miles...
While I'm still for the bomb being dropped, it still moves me with the way you presented it. And also awesome how it was rebuilt. Very inspirational, and glad it happened.
Yeah, but they could have dropped it where civilian casualties wouldn't have been as high. Show Japan your might without killing innocents. A warning shot on a military target could have been just as effective.
I visited Hiroshima when I was a child living there. Even as a child the place and experience humbled and shocked me whole. It’s something I will always remember and will always hold peace in my heart.
This was so well written and presented, focusing on the human aspect of the story instead of the military or technology. Being that I am American, I can't help but feel embarrassment, shame, and sadness watching it, though. It's a poignant message that everyone needs to hear and remember, especially now with the tragedy of Ukraine playing out.
What the US did wasn’t shameful or embarrassing. It was necessary, it was war. The Japanese regime was just as evil as Hitler.
The Japanese people did not deserve to die, they were just regular people. Their own Emperor killed them though. They refused surrender because of “honor” or whatever bullshit idea the Japanese were obsessed with at the time. War is never good. But the Japanese have far more to be ashamed about than the US during WW2.
As an American I have studied facets of the Japanese culture, back to the time of the Shogan, the Meiji Restoration and to the present time. There is a lot I admire about Japanese culture and much did I find dismaying. To focus on the two atomic mom‘s drop is to ignore the 67 Japanese cities destroyed by fire bombing. War is Hell and this is a Hell the Japan government brought on its people.
What I find just as sad was the long term effects. Survivors of that day ended up with cancer from being exposed to the radiation. Sadako Sasaki was one of those cases. It took 10 years for her cancer to develop
When you think about the two atomic bombings as far as casualties in many ways the fire bombings were much worse.
Yes, though consider the resources spent on each raid. This does require one to ignore the cost of the Manhattan Project and developing the B-29 (higher than the Manhatten Project), but the relative efficiency of nuclear weapons, at least in terms of delivery, was unfortunately quite clear.
I have no other word than fascination. Awe and disbelief. The story of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the worlds first and only use of atomic weapons in anger will always be a unparalleled part of human history.