The Horrors and Heroes of Hiroshima
Hiroshima Under Bomb Attack
![Two page spread with three pictures in black and white. The picture on the viewer's left shows the hypocenter at Shima Hospital, Saiku-machi, in ruins. There is a road that is clear and on either side is rubble. The picture below and to the right of that is "Looking toward the hypocenter as fires develop all over the city. Photograph by G. Kimura." There are buildings, mainly their rooflines, at the bottom of the photo, and it is difficult to see any fire because of the photo being in black and white. Mostly one sees the tremendous amount of dark gray smoke filling up the sky. The biggest picture takes up the second, right page. The text says "View of eastern sector from city center." and it shows a tall building in the center, seven stories at least, with a four story smaller structure on top. Its windows are blown out but otherwise looks mostly intact. Around and behind the building, though, is almost completely rubble. There are clear and empty lines where roads are, and within those squares of roads is just gray rubble of destruction. There are no pits in the ground, but flat ground instead. To the left and beyond is another building that looks to be about four stories tall. Both the buildings that still stand look as if they were made of concrete. To the right and beyond looks like a smudge of trees.](https://exhibits.library.duke.edu/files/fullsize/3932e2541f6fd12fef9b951c3388a152.jpg "Two page spread with three pictures in black and white. The picture on the viewer's left shows the hypocenter at Shima Hospital, Saiku-machi, in ruins. There is a road that is clear and on either side is rubble. The picture below and to the right of that is "Looking toward the hypocenter as fires develop all over the city. Photograph by G. Kimura." There are buildings, mainly their rooflines, at the bottom of the photo, and it is difficult to see any fire because of the photo being in black and white. Mostly one sees the tremendous amount of dark gray smoke filling up the sky. The biggest picture takes up the second, right page. The text says "View of eastern sector from city center." and it shows a tall building in the center, seven stories at least, with a four story smaller structure on top. Its windows are blown out but otherwise looks mostly intact. Around and behind the building, though, is almost completely rubble. There are clear and empty lines where roads are, and within those squares of roads is just gray rubble of destruction. There are no pits in the ground, but flat ground instead. To the left and beyond is another building that looks to be about four stories tall. Both the buildings that still stand look as if they were made of concrete. To the right and beyond looks like a smudge of trees.")
Please note: This exhibit includes graphic images and descriptions of the effects of the atomic bomb.
This book, a gift to Dr. Wells from Dr. Hachiya, includes information about the destruction of Hiroshima and includes pictures. On these pages there is a picture of the site where Shima Hospital stood. Dr. Hachiya in Hiroshima Diary speculates on the hypocenter of the bomb and Dr. Wells added notes within the text to say he used Shima Hospital as the approximate hypocenter due to the concrete columns that flanked the hospital’s entrance being driven straight into the ground, instead of toppling.
Another picture shows the smoke from the fires that were a result of the bombing. The beginning of the Diary talks about the threat of fire as it consumes the Communications Bureau, where Dr. Hachiya first seeks shelter, and its hospital.
The picture opposite shows more of the city’s destruction. In Dr. Hachiya’s words, “Hiroshima was no longer a city, but a burnt-over prairie. To the east and to the west everything was flattened.” Other sources make mention of the fact that the ground was not pitted from multiple and smaller bombs dropping, which was the more typical and expected sight to see.
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