The Horrors and Heroes of Hiroshima
Further Reading
In the immediate decades after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, other texts were published to give readers a view into what people had suffered, to follow-up on victims, to prepare people for nuclear war, and to debate on what should be done about nuclear weapons. Here is a listing of resources available to get an idea of what a fraught time it was politically, personally, morally, and medically.
![A book cover featuring an orange-red on the left two-thirds of the cover with a prototypical 1950s image of a white American nuclear family. The adult man is wearing a suit, the adult woman a dress. They stand behind a pair of children. The older girl child is wearing a dress with an A-line skirt and a collar. She holds hands with the younger boy child wearing slacks and a shirt. All of them are looking toward the same distant object. The text above them reads, "Complete easy-to-read guide for every home, office, and factory." The text at the top right of the cover is on top of thin orange-red stripes and reads in black, "If there's atomic warfare this book may save your life!" The title, "How to Survive an Atomic Bomb" is in italicized, large font. A grey stripe runs horizontally beneath that with the author's name, Richard Gerstell, Consultant, Civil Defense Office.](https://exhibits.library.duke.edu/files/fullsize/7a224d8a813cbe4f4482fad7e3728649.jpg "A book cover featuring an orange-red on the left two-thirds of the cover with a prototypical 1950s image of a white American nuclear family. The adult man is wearing a suit, the adult woman a dress. They stand behind a pair of children. The older girl child is wearing a dress with an A-line skirt and a collar. She holds hands with the younger boy child wearing slacks and a shirt. All of them are looking toward the same distant object. The text above them reads, "Complete easy-to-read guide for every home, office, and factory." The text at the top right of the cover is on top of thin orange-red stripes and reads in black, "If there's atomic warfare this book may save your life!" The title, "How to Survive an Atomic Bomb" is in italicized, large font. A grey stripe runs horizontally beneath that with the author's name, Richard Gerstell, Consultant, Civil Defense Office.")
![This book cover features at the bottom two people running. They are in tones of gray and white with what looks to be tree branches around them. The person in front is either putting their arm in front of their face to motion to the second person "this way!", or to cover their face from the fire, smoke, or light. They are looking behind them and up. The second person is looking to where they are running, and because of their leaning forward, with an upraised foot in mid-run, they appear more panicked. Most of the book cover is yellow, with white and orange mixed in, above the image of the running people and still trees. The colors are angled, and look like thick brush strokes. On top of the colors is text in black with the book title and author.](https://exhibits.library.duke.edu/files/fullsize/b819c2f8807719d831331173863b7de4.jpg "This book cover features at the bottom two people running. They are in tones of gray and white with what looks to be tree branches around them. The person in front is either putting their arm in front of their face to motion to the second person "this way!", or to cover their face from the fire, smoke, or light. They are looking behind them and up. The second person is looking to where they are running, and because of their leaning forward, with an upraised foot in mid-run, they appear more panicked. Most of the book cover is yellow, with white and orange mixed in, above the image of the running people and still trees. The colors are angled, and look like thick brush strokes. On top of the colors is text in black with the book title and author.")
![This book cover has a white background. There are some signs of wear at the edges where it looks more brown or gray. Large red text in all capital letters reads the title Nuclear Disaster. In gray capital letters is the author byline, By Tom Stonier. Beneath that in smaller gray text it reads Foreword by Gerard Piel. In black text beneath that is the book description which reads, "What exactly would happen if a twenty-megaton hydrogen bomb were dropped on New York City--or on Chicago, San Francisco, or any other city? This book gives, for the first time, the objective and sobering answer to this terrifying question, an answer free of political obscurity or popular myth. Nuclear Disaster is the work of a scientist, and is strictly dependent on scientific evidence. Dr. Stonier writes for the lay reader, telling us all what we..." In red is the italicized text that reads, "Continued on back cover" with a red arrow pointing to the right.](https://exhibits.library.duke.edu/files/fullsize/438e2ebadc0593a21c990503f368dc61.jpg "This book cover has a white background. There are some signs of wear at the edges where it looks more brown or gray. Large red text in all capital letters reads the title Nuclear Disaster. In gray capital letters is the author byline, By Tom Stonier. Beneath that in smaller gray text it reads Foreword by Gerard Piel. In black text beneath that is the book description which reads, "What exactly would happen if a twenty-megaton hydrogen bomb were dropped on New York City--or on Chicago, San Francisco, or any other city? This book gives, for the first time, the objective and sobering answer to this terrifying question, an answer free of political obscurity or popular myth. Nuclear Disaster is the work of a scientist, and is strictly dependent on scientific evidence. Dr. Stonier writes for the lay reader, telling us all what we..." In red is the italicized text that reads, "Continued on back cover" with a red arrow pointing to the right.")
Aaron Levenstein, The Atomic Age: Suicide, Slavery or Social Planning? (New York: League for Industrial Democracy, Inc., ca. 1946).
This pamplet asks what we should do with the knowledge and power of the splitting atom. The author argues that the United States should use this time—where it has the knowledge and power and others do not—to form a world government. The atom can also eliminate the causes of conflict by figuring out how to use atomic energy, and instead of having a private minority control it, Congress should set up a government body to stimulate research and assure the atom’s use is in the best interests of all people. The pamphlet closes with telling people not to be afraid of Socialism, and to support the Celler Bill.
Averill A. Liebow, Encounter with Disaster: A Medical Diary of Hiroshima, 1945 (New York: Norton, 1985), Hiroshima Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Warner Wells.
Liebow was a doctor connected with the Atomic Bomb Commission. His diary starts on September 18, 1945, with the news that he will be going to Japan. He worked with Japanese physicians to collect data on patients, and within his diary, talks about his efforts to help victims and records his observations of post-war Japan. He shows the teamwork of American and Japanese doctors to help as many people as possible after the devastating effects of the atomic bombs. His diary was originally published in 1965 by The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine.
![Two pictures are seen in black and white. The top photo features what looks to be a two-story building behind a wall. The windows are empty of glass. There is a rooftop of a smaller building about in the middle of the larger building. The text below the picture reads, "The Communications Department Hospital seen from the rear (1,400 meters). The low building behind the central portion of the wall at the rear of the hospital was used as an autopsy room by Professor Tamagawa of Okayama University. The photo below that shows two people, both wearing white lab coats. One is seated, wearing glasses, and writing. They are mostly facing toward the camera, but slightly angled, and they are looking down at what they are writing. The other person is standing next to a table, we mostly see their side profile from head to toe. They are wearing dark pants and shoes, their sleeves are rolled up, a dark apron is tied over their white lab coat, and they also wear a white hat or scarf. This person is looking down at what looks to be an organ on their table, with one hand visibly hovering above it. The room they are standing in looks like it is made up of incomplete wooden slats for the walls and floor, with large spaces in between. There is a white jug on the table, a white tray or dish, and in the foreground are rows of glass bottles and jars of various sizes with cork tops. The text below the picture reads, "Professor Tamagawa in the autopsy room of the Communications Department Hospital at Hiroshima. (Bunka-Sha photograph)."](https://exhibits.library.duke.edu/files/fullsize/25f6d47330ef473377ce8ec1a54d8bdd.jpg "Two pictures are seen in black and white. The top photo features what looks to be a two-story building behind a wall. The windows are empty of glass. There is a rooftop of a smaller building about in the middle of the larger building. The text below the picture reads, "The Communications Department Hospital seen from the rear (1,400 meters). The low building behind the central portion of the wall at the rear of the hospital was used as an autopsy room by Professor Tamagawa of Okayama University. The photo below that shows two people, both wearing white lab coats. One is seated, wearing glasses, and writing. They are mostly facing toward the camera, but slightly angled, and they are looking down at what they are writing. The other person is standing next to a table, we mostly see their side profile from head to toe. They are wearing dark pants and shoes, their sleeves are rolled up, a dark apron is tied over their white lab coat, and they also wear a white hat or scarf. This person is looking down at what looks to be an organ on their table, with one hand visibly hovering above it. The room they are standing in looks like it is made up of incomplete wooden slats for the walls and floor, with large spaces in between. There is a white jug on the table, a white tray or dish, and in the foreground are rows of glass bottles and jars of various sizes with cork tops. The text below the picture reads, "Professor Tamagawa in the autopsy room of the Communications Department Hospital at Hiroshima. (Bunka-Sha photograph)."")
The text includes new images as well as images previously used in other source with additional information. This page from Liebow's Encounter with Disaster, another diary from a doctor, shows an image of the Communications Hospital from a new angle and also shows an image of the Communications Hospital's autopsy lab. This autopsy lab photo was also featured in a book entitled Atomic Bomb Injuries, but Atomic Bomb Injuries did not identify Dr. Tamagawa, Dr. Hachiya's friend and coworker, while Liebow's book does.
Bertrand Russell, Common Sense and Nuclear Warfare (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1959), Hiroshima Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Warner Wells.
Common Sense and Nuclear Warfare compares the creation and keeping of atomic weapons as playing a game of Chicken. The game can be played multiple times without resorting to nuclear weapons. But eventually, because of a lack of common sense and care for people, at least one side will not care about total annihilation—they will feel destroying their enemy is more important, that not losing face is more important, and it will lead to both sides destroying the world. Bertrand Russell favorably reviewed Hiroshima Diary.
![Double page spread. The book has aged so the pages have browned at the edges. The first page shows what the text says is the "Blast." There is a dark circle with white text in it that reads Ground Zero. A circle outside of that shows Very Great Damage within 1/2 mile. A circle beyond that shows where Serious Damage would be within 2 miles. The largest circle that takes up half or maybe two-thirds of the page and reads that there will be Light Damage (broken windows) within the 8 miles represented by that circle. The second page shows smaller circles. The one at the top is for Heat Flash. Ground Zero is again in a dark circle in the middle. A circle beyond that shows Great Damage within 1 mile; then Serious Damage at one-and-half miles, Some Damage (Slight Burns) at 2 miles, then Limit of Flash at the largest circle which is 5 miles beyond Ground Zero. The smallest circle is at the bottom of the page and represents damage of Prompt Rays. Ground Zero is again in the middle, with Very Serious at 1 mile, and Limit of Danger at one-and-a-half miles. Text between the circles reads, "These charts show you the range of each of the bomb's effects at the time of explosion. Ground zero is the point on the ground right under the bursting bomb.](https://exhibits.library.duke.edu/files/fullsize/dae8e9427e861a24c02a14180977298b.jpg "Double page spread. The book has aged so the pages have browned at the edges. The first page shows what the text says is the "Blast." There is a dark circle with white text in it that reads Ground Zero. A circle outside of that shows Very Great Damage within 1/2 mile. A circle beyond that shows where Serious Damage would be within 2 miles. The largest circle that takes up half or maybe two-thirds of the page and reads that there will be Light Damage (broken windows) within the 8 miles represented by that circle. The second page shows smaller circles. The one at the top is for Heat Flash. Ground Zero is again in a dark circle in the middle. A circle beyond that shows Great Damage within 1 mile; then Serious Damage at one-and-half miles, Some Damage (Slight Burns) at 2 miles, then Limit of Flash at the largest circle which is 5 miles beyond Ground Zero. The smallest circle is at the bottom of the page and represents damage of Prompt Rays. Ground Zero is again in the middle, with Very Serious at 1 mile, and Limit of Danger at one-and-a-half miles. Text between the circles reads, "These charts show you the range of each of the bomb's effects at the time of explosion. Ground zero is the point on the ground right under the bursting bomb.")
![The image is from a book and the page is browned with age. Text at the bottom reads, "Here are some of the civil defense jobs open to men and women." At the top it reads, "Civil Defense Groups" in capital letters, centered in front of a circle, which perhaps is meant to be the sun, as there are three clouds surrounding it. A serious-looking man with dark hair is on the left side of the page. The circle or sun has a line radiating out from it, ending with the word Men, and underneath is a chart. Men's civil defense jobs are Fire-Fighting (a fireman's helmet next to the text), Rescue Work (a shovel and pickaxe), Medical Teams (an American Red Cross symbol), Geiger Crew (a geiger counter machine), Street Clearing (wheelbarrow), Police Auxiliary (a badge with the letters P.D.), Air-Raid Warden (a helmet with a strap to go under one's chin), and Rebuilding (a hammer). On the right side top of the page is a somber-looking woman. A line from the sun or circle points to the chart titled Women. The chart reads that women's jobs are Medical Teams (with an American Red Cross symbol next to the words), Car-Driving (a car), Air-Raid Warden (helmet with chin strap), Geiger Crew (directly next to the same job listed on the Men's side, and also has an image of a Geiger counter machine), Child Care (a smiling baby face), Hospital Work (the Red Cross symbol again), Social Work (a doctor's bag), and Emergency Feeding (a large pot with steam billowing from it).](https://exhibits.library.duke.edu/files/fullsize/b445c4762ebf230d136074be4837ebfd.jpg "The image is from a book and the page is browned with age. Text at the bottom reads, "Here are some of the civil defense jobs open to men and women." At the top it reads, "Civil Defense Groups" in capital letters, centered in front of a circle, which perhaps is meant to be the sun, as there are three clouds surrounding it. A serious-looking man with dark hair is on the left side of the page. The circle or sun has a line radiating out from it, ending with the word Men, and underneath is a chart. Men's civil defense jobs are Fire-Fighting (a fireman's helmet next to the text), Rescue Work (a shovel and pickaxe), Medical Teams (an American Red Cross symbol), Geiger Crew (a geiger counter machine), Street Clearing (wheelbarrow), Police Auxiliary (a badge with the letters P.D.), Air-Raid Warden (a helmet with a strap to go under one's chin), and Rebuilding (a hammer). On the right side top of the page is a somber-looking woman. A line from the sun or circle points to the chart titled Women. The chart reads that women's jobs are Medical Teams (with an American Red Cross symbol next to the words), Car-Driving (a car), Air-Raid Warden (helmet with chin strap), Geiger Crew (directly next to the same job listed on the Men's side, and also has an image of a Geiger counter machine), Child Care (a smiling baby face), Hospital Work (the Red Cross symbol again), Social Work (a doctor's bag), and Emergency Feeding (a large pot with steam billowing from it).")
Richard Gerstell, How to Survive an Atomic Bomb (New York: Bantam Books, 1950).
This book breaks down the things people can do to prepare for an atomic bomb. The chapters are helpfully broken down into what all people must know, what people in cities versus rural areas should do, and what people in houses versus apartments should do. It encourages everybody to be aware of the civil defense all can participate in and ensures that the bomb is not as terrible as people believe. It tells people if they know the facts and keep calm, they can save their life.
How to Survive an Atomic Bomb included images of how to cover one's self in the event of an atomic bomb, a bomb shelter, and also this image, which shows the range of each of the bomb's effects. It also included a chart of civil defense jobs for men and women.
Robert Trumbull, Nine Who Survived Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Personal Experiences of Nine Men Who Lived Through Both Atomic Bombings (New York: Dutton, 1969), Hiroshima Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Warner Wells.
It is estimated that fewer than 200 people experienced both atomic bombings, and nine of those people’s experiences were collected here. Most of these nine accidentally or deliberately took cover during the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and in the three days between bombings, made their way to Nagasaki. They were the first survivors of Hiroshima that people from Nagasaki were able to see and talk with, and as they shared their experiences, the atomic bombing of Nagasaki happened. This book was first published in 1957.
Sydnor H. Walker, ed., The First One Hundred Days of the Atomic Age: August 6-November 15, 1945 (New York: The Woodrow Wilson Foundation, ca. 1946).
This pamplet looks at the political and international ramifications of the atomic bomb. It touches on the morality of dropping the bomb in some of the quotes collected across the nation from media and thought leaders. Its main focus, though, is on what the United States should now do—do they withhold the secrets of the atomic bomb from all others? Should it belong with the United Nations Organization? Should a world government be formed? This text gives a quick view on the varying thoughts from letters, editorials, official statements, and speeches from the first one hundred days of the atomic age.
Tom Stonier, Nuclear Disaster (Cleveland: The World Publishing Company, 1964), Hiroshima Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Warner Wells.
Though this work focuses on a thermonuclear attack with a surface explosion, as opposed to the atomic bomb setting off as an air burst, it pulls many examples and specific text from Hiroshima Diary to explain the destruction and aftermath a large United States city would endure if faced with a nuclear disaster.
Nuclear Disaster considered best survival and civil defense actions. These things were thought about locally, as well. Digital Durham has available a map made in 1948, which was used two years later to illustrate the zones of damage an atomic bomb would bring to Durham if Five Points were Ground Zero.
Warner Wells, “Dr. Kaoru Shima—His Recollections of Hiroshima After the A-Bomb,” The American Surgeon 24, no. 9 (September 1958): 668-678, Hiroshima Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Warner Wells.
Warner Wells wrote this account of another doctor who lived and worked in Hiroshima, Dr. Kaoru Shima. Dr. Shima was not in Hiroshima at the time of the atomic bomb dropping. He had recently gone out of town to help a fellow doctor friend with the surgeries they were performing. His hospital was directly beneath the hypocenter. He rushed back to Hiroshima and immediately began to treat victims, though his own hospital was destroyed. Though his account is much shorter than Dr. Hachiya’s Hiroshima Diary, it is still packed with information from the first few days after the bombing, and includes information about how radiation illness affected patients a couple of weeks to years after.
Warner Wells and Neal Tsukifuji, “Scars Remaining in Atom Bomb Survivors: A Four Year Follow-up Study,” Surgery, Gynecology, and Obstetrics 95, (August 1952): 129-141, Hiroshima Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Warner Wells.
Dr. Wells and Dr. Tsukifuji collaborated not only on translating Hiroshima Diary, but also on this article. Over 60 patients were examined then reexamined four years later, focusing on the keloid scarring and its healing. They found that there was no difference in the clinical course of burns and other injuries between the patients who were exposed and suffered from radiation illness and those exposed but without radiation illness. Though scars remained, scars described as excessive had disappeared or decreased in size, except in cases of infection, abnormal skin tension, foreign bodies, or contractures.
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