Atomic Bombing
At 8:15 on August 6, 1945, Little Boy — the first atomic bomb to be used in war — detonated almost directly above the dome. The building's vertical columns were able to resist the nearly vertical downward force of the blast, and parts of the concrete and brick outer walls remained intact. The center of the blast was displaced 490 feet (150 m) horizontally and 1,968 feet (600 m) vertically from the dome, having slightly missed the original target, the distinctive "T"-shaped Aioi Bridge.. Everyone inside the building was killed instantly.
The Genbaku Dome, originally close to Shima Surgical Clinic was initially scheduled to be demolished with the rest of the ruins, but the fact that it mostly was intact delayed these plans. As Hiroshima was rebuilt around the dome, it became a subject of controversy — some locals wanted it torn down, while others wanted to preserve it as a memorial of the bombing.
Read more about this topic: Hiroshima Peace Memorial
Famous quotes containing the words atomic and/or bombing:
“Take adultery or theft.
Merely sins.
It is evil who dines on the soul,
stretching out its long bone tongue.
It is evil who tweezers my heart,
picking out its atomic worms.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“The compulsion to do good is an innate American trait. Only North Americans seem to believe that they always should, may, and actually can choose somebody with whom to share their blessings. Ultimately this attitude leads to bombing people into the acceptance of gifts.”
—Ivan Illich (b. 1926)