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August 6, 1945

The Bombing of Hiroshima

And The Lost Enola Gay Exhibit of the Smithsonian 

By Keli Ganey

The failure to successfully create the Enola Gay Exhibit at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum was a loss to the field of public history. As a result, the American public isn't fully or truly educated about this event, and they deserve to know what was done to the people of Hiroshima in 1945. The exhibit failed to materialize largely due to racism and patriotism. Donors in charge of the initial exhibit felt it would be offensive to American veterans who had fought in WWII to have such an exhibit. The Americans in charge of the project didn't want to face reconciliation and admit to the hell they created. In order for growth to occur, reconciling with the past must come first.

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In actuality, by not having the museum exhibit, the hundreds of Japanese voices whose families and livelihoods were destroyed, have been silenced and ignored. The message that this decision sent was that the people of Hiroshima do not matter, and neither does their history. While the exhibit may put America in a bad light, telling the true story of the bombing of Hiroshima is more important than protecting American patriotism. America didn't do something great by bombing Hiroshima. America instead created a weapon of mass destruction, and the cost was human lives. The people of Hiroshima paid that price. This could have been avoided, but America decided to use the new technology to prove the magnitude of their arsenal, and consequently created hell on earth.

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I dedicate this website to all the voices of Hiroshima, lost in the name of patriotic violence. May their stories and families find rest and peace. 

Read more

BEFORE

How did the atomic bomb come to be?  Who created it?  What is it actually made out of?  All of these questions are answered in this exciting read.

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DURING

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be in the actual plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima? Follow along with this step-by-step report of what and when things happened to find out.

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AFTER

The smell of death and rotting decay was infused in the air.  The radiation melted people. Nuclear shadows had left remnants of people that had been there milliseconds before.  This is just a glimpse into the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima.

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