Hiroshima, Japan - A-Bomb Dome Peace Memorial in winter - art postcard c.1980s

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  A-Bomb Dome in Winter  [Peace Memorial]
• Publisher:  Hiroshima Peace Picture Postcard
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Hiroshima Peace Memorial (???????, Hiroshima heiwa kinenhi^?), commonly called the Atomic Bomb Dome or Genbaku Domu (?????^?, A-Bomb Dome), in Hiroshima, Japan, is part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The ruin serves as a memorial to the people who were killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Over 70,000 people were killed instantly, and another 70,000 suffered fatal injuries from the radiation.^[1]

The building was designed by the Czech architect Jan Letzel. It was completed in April 1915 and was named the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition (HMI).^[1] It was opened formally to the public in August that year. In 1921 the name was changed to the Hiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall, and again in 1933, to the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. The building was located in the largest business district next to the Aioi Bridge and was primarily used for arts and educational exhibitions.^[2]

The building now known as the Genbaku (A-Bomb) Dome was the only structure left standing near the bomb’s hypocentre.^[3] The dome was initially scheduled to be demolished with the rest of the ruins, but the majority of the building was intact, delaying the demolition plans. The dome became a subject of controversy — some locals wanted it torn down, while others wanted to preserve it as a memorial of the bombing and a symbol of peace.^[4] Ultimately, when the reconstruction of Hiroshima began, the skeletal remains of the building were preserved.^[3]

From 1950 through 1964, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park was established. Following its completion, the Hiroshima City Council adopted a resolution in 1966 on the permanent preservation of the Atomic Bomb Dome (see Preservation). Thus, the dome continues to be the park’s primary landmark.^[3]

At 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, Little Boy — the first atomic bomb to be used in war — was dropped by the United States Air Force from the Enola Gay, a B-29 bomber. The force of the atomic bomb effectively obliterated the city of Hiroshima, Japan.^[6]

On July 25, 1945, commander of the United States Strategic Air Forces, General Carl Spaatz received orders to deliver a ""special bomb"" attack on selected cities in Japan.^[7] The first target city chosen was Hiroshima, which had an important port on southern Honshu and was headquarters of the Japanese Second Army.^[7] The bomb was assembled in secrecy and loaded on the Enola Gay. It consisted of a uranium isotope 235 core shielded by hundreds of pounds of lead. Little Boy possessed a force equivalent to 12,500 tons of TNT. The plane dropped the bomb over the city at 8:15:17 a.m. local time on August 6, 1945. Within 43 seconds from being dropped, the bomb detonated over the city and missed its target by 800 feet. Intended for the Aioi Bridge, the bomb instead exploded directly over the Shima Clinic, which was very near to the Genbaku Dome. Because the atomic bomb exploded almost directly overhead, the building was able to retain its shape.^[8] 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 centre 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. The Dome was 160 meters from the hypocenter of the atomic blast.^[8] Everyone inside the building was killed instantly.^[9][10]

Weathering and deterioration of the Genbaku Dome continued in the post-War period. The Hiroshima City Council declared in 1966 that it intended to indefinitely preserve the structure, now termed ""A-Bomb Dome"". The first popularly elected mayor of Hiroshima, Shinzo Hamai (1905 – 1968) sought funds for the preservation effort domestically and internationally. During one trip to Tokyo, Hamai resorted to collecting funds directly on the streets of the capital. Preservation work on the A-Bomb Dome was completed in 1967.^[1][11] The A-Bomb Dome has undergone two minor preservation projects to stabilize the ruin, notably between October 1989 and March 1990.^[1]

The Genbaku Dome stands exactly as it did after the bombing on August 6, 1945. Changes to the ruins, meant to ensure the stability of the structure, have been minimal.^[3]

type=printed postcards

theme=topographical: rest of the world

sub-theme=asia

county/ country=japan

number of items=single

period=1945 - present

postage condition=unposted