Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

This was the hardest part for me, no matter what your take on the war, what these people suffered is so sad to me and makes me very emotional. I still have not made it to the museum in Nagasaki. I was doing alright in the museum passing by things rather quickly, we came upon this exhibit where you can see a booming and well built city next you move onto the next exhibit and everything is completely gone Kayleigh looks up at me and says " Mommy what happened" how do you explain that to your 3 year old? Needless to say we hurriedly passed through the exhibits and out the door.

According to the introduction in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum's English guide: "The Peace Memorial Museum collects and displays belongings left by the victims, photos, and other materials that convey the horror of that event, supplemented by exhibits that describe Hiroshima before and after the bombings and others that present the current status of the nuclear age. Each of the items displayed embodies the grief, anger, or pain of real people. Having now recovered from the A-bomb calamity, Hiroshima's deepest wish is the elimination of all nuclear weapons and the realization of a genuinely peaceful international community."[1]

To facilitate education, the museum was renovated in 1994 and is now divided into two sections.

The East Wing — the newest addition — explains the history of Hiroshima City before the bomb, development and decision to drop the bomb, the lives of Hiroshima citizens during World War II and after the bombing, and ends with information about the nuclear age and efforts for international peace. Included in this section is a model showing the damage done to the city.

The West Wing, which was part of the old museum, concentrates on the damage of the bomb. Sections include Material Witness, which shows clothing, watches, hair, and other personal effects worn by victims of the bomb; Damage by the Heat Rays, a section that looks at what happened to wood, stone, metal, glass, and flesh from the heat; Damage by the Blast, focusing on the destruction caused by the after shocks of the blast, and Damage by the Radiation which goes into details about the health effects suffered by humans.

Kayleigh and Ben giving their offering.