Atom Strikes (1945)

[Music] [Applause] [Music] July 16th 1945 this is the darkness of a desert morning and here in New Mexico a group of men wait tensely expectantly behind them three unbroken years of work work done in unprecedented [Music] secrecy [Music] three different cameras recorded from 6 miles away these views of the most concentrated release of explosive energy in the history of mankind [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] from the time of that first explosion until Hiroshima shuttered beneath the release of atomic energy work on the bomb went steadily forward in closely guarded plants in New Mexico Oakridge Tennessee and Hanford Washington for over a hundred years the city of Hiroshima had garrisoned some of the Japanese Empire's finest troops the city had never been subjected to actual bombing but had been warned repeatedly now its Army Headquarters Barracks ordinance and quartermaster depos factories Mills and shipyards were to feel the weight of the atom's destructive power 21 days after the New Mexico experiment a b29 was over Hiroshima carrying an atomic bomb at 8:15 in the morning of August 6th Japanese time the first atomic bomb struck an enemy Target this is zero point on Hiroshima the exact spot above the city at which the bomb burst over enemy territory at the junction of the mat USU and Oto Rivers the atomic bomb was intentionally exploded well above its Target in order to dissipate its radioactive material the devastation you see here was caused by the explosion of the bomb Above This zero point Only the strongest buildings are left standing and they are gutted looking North from zero point this is what was left looking East the camera records a scene of complete Devastation in the immediate area to the South these are the ruins looking West from 0o point the same complete leveling is evident the same inability of structures to withstand Atomic power just a tenth of a mile from zero point the effect of the Bomb Blast can be seen on these stripped and broken trees and on this Russian Japanese war memorial lines were literally blasted into the Stone of the memorial here looking west from the sanwa building the side of a concrete Smoke Stack nearest the Blast has been discolored the Hiroshima gas company building on the right in this picture has been almost completely demolished by the force of the explosion from above as though struck by a giant Sledgehammer the reinforced concrete sanwa Bank building was wrecked even more completely these Twisted steel beams once supported the roof the direction of the Bomb Blast can be seen clearly in these scenes of the concrete parapet wall extending above the bank building's roof 2/10 of a mile from zero point was a Shinto Shrine here too the blast stripped the trees and collapsed stone work originally the base of statue was polished Granite but now the stone is roughened by the force of the blast which completely removed the Polish the lighter surfaces which are being pointed out indicate the angle of the Bomb Blast as though painted on the surface the nearby lamp poost shows flash burs on the side facing the blast the commercial Museum was also within 2/10 of a mile of zero point and the garden wall facing the blast was bent inward by the push of the explosion the downward force of the blast caused the failure of the concrete beams which supported this roof and the roof itself has settled so much that it now acts as a reservoir looking East an area of complete devastation is all that can be seen the railing was blown off this bridge and the steel poles on the bridge show the effects of the Atomic Bomb Blast which hurled grit with such Force as to etch the steel the front of this school is a quarter of a mile from and faces zero point the SAG in the concrete reinforced floor can be seen here in the entrance the steel rods which are now hanging once supported a suspended ceiling this reinforced concrete building was knocked sidewise causing the lower story to collapse this Baron area 3/10 of a mile from zero point once contained the main Japanese military head quarters the barracks were utterly destroyed most of the military personnel of approximately 20,000 were wiped out the distorted steel framework is All That Remains of a building which stood 4/10 of a mile from zero point whereas this reinforced concrete building of the chogi electric company one half mile from zero point withstood the blast much better 6/10 of a mile out destruction was almost as complete as it was at zero point wooden structures were completely collapsed by the blast this was Hiroshima Castle its framework was demolished by the force of the blast but fires of secondary origin did not occur because it happened to be at a 45° angle to the direction of the blast the Hiroshima City Hall with its heavily reinforced Concrete Construction shows much less damage doors and windows were blown in by the force of the explosion Shadows of the posts on yooyo bridge indicate the direction of the explosion 6/10 of a mile from zero point the bridge floor is etched except where shielded by the railing outlined in the surface of the bridge is the shadow of a pedestrian which tells its own meaningful Story one mile from zero point the blast damage shows lessening Force but the results of fires of secondary origin are still severe on this side of a steel bridge over the otar river one mile away from and facing zero point the lead paint was almost completely removed by the sand blast effect resulting from the explosion of the atomic bomb the surface of the other side of the same Bridge however was not visibly affected also a mile away from zero point is a Red Cross Hospital which although damaged never ceased functioning this is the front of the building which faces Northeast on the northwest side of the building the steel windows and all floors were blown in this southwest side of the building again shows Windows blown in by the external air pressure caused by the explosion here however the windows in the southeast wall were blown out rather than in a look inside the hospital shows chairs in the same position as at the time of the blast the backs of the chairs which faced zero point were flash burned through the window the mohare upholstery fabric was singed down to the base of the nap the effect on this wall which faced zero point was almost identical with the Damage Done by the explosion ion to the opposite wall in addition interior partitions were knocked down looking toward zero point from the roof of the Red Cross Hospital a mile away the tremendous destruction created by the first atomic bomb can be seen army vehicles of our occupying forces are moving through the city streets here looking in the opposite direction toward the South away from zero point only a few masonry Foundation walls remain and what is left of one reinforced concrete building looking West still a mile from zero point the only sign of a small industrial plant is a lone concrete Smoke Stack temporary housing facilities built with scrap material have been thrown up in the area no matter what kind of construction the Japanese used whether it consisted of wooden frame and mud plaster walls as here or wooden lav and plaster veneer construction they made no attempt to Zone their various types of buildings Barracks homes industrial centers of Steel and reinforced concrete Factory buildings of brick construction all were crowded together with no apparent regard for the safety of the civilian population within an area of a mile to a mile and a half there was almost complete destruction except for some reinforce concrete buildings from 1 and a half to 2 miles there was severe damage by fire and moderate damage by Blast from 2 to six miles there was minor damage by blast and fire varying from damaged roofs to broken windows these wooden buildings a mile and a half from the center of the blast were all subject to fires of secondary origin the higos railroad station in East Hiroshima 1 and a half mil from zero point although still in use was extensively damaged the Marquee crumbled from the force of the blast and has been removed when the Marquee fell it pulled the brick veneer off part of the building inside of the station steel beams supporting the roof were Twisted out of shape and the concrete walls though still standing show the effects of the tremendous concussion this High School building the same distance from zero point as the railroad station had its north wall smashed in by the blast the second story of the north wall was especially badly damaged looking through a bombed out section of the wall to0 Point noticed that not all the buildings in this area were as severely damaged as the schoolhouse a portion of the wall of the school was blown in across the desks and petitions were shifted the high school wall farthest from the zero point now bulges in the direction of the blast and All Glass was blown out of the window frame between zero point and the main building of the noviciate of Jesuits four miles away was a hill which served to lessen the intensity of the blast yet despite this protection all the windows were shattered and part of the wall blown in the chapel which is the left wing of the building is built of Timber with plaster walls the glass and the doors of the main entrance foyer were shattered and the panel ceiling was blown Loose by the force of the explosion occurring for 4 miles away a group of Jesuits who were teaching in Hiroshima witnessed and survived the explosion one of them has provided an eyewitness account father would you introduce yourself please I am Father John zus professor of philosophy at the Catholic University of Tokyo it is on the management of the desert father uh what were you doing hirosima at the time of the explosion well my philosophical class was evacuated from Tokyo hoshima about five months ago and I was staying with my class uh at a house of studies at the outskirts of the city of rashima uh could you describe exactly what happened in the morning of August the 6th I was in my room which faces the Val and suddenly I saw a light like magnesium light Flesh Light which which uh filled the whole valet and looking out of my window to find out the reason for this peculiar phenomena I saw nothing besides this light and turning uh from the window to the door of my room I heard a crash it may be may have been 10 seconds uh after seeing the light the flashlight and immediately I was covered with splin of the window frames and glass sticking uh into the walls and actually in my flesh itself uh I tried to get out of my room but found that our house had been severely damaged uh by the blast of this uh explosion I had the impression at that time that the bomb had immediately crashed on a house those uh severe so strong was the effect of the of the the percussion but uh looking outside the house I saw no trace of the bomb itself but about uh a kilometer away from the houses I saw several pent houses which uh were on fire uh after a while we saw a possession of people coming from the outskirts of City up the valy uh many of them most of them were wounded uh especially the part of the body which were not covered by clothes like hands feet uh back uh they came up to a house and we did what we could but uh there were no possibility to give much of eight uh as a matter of fact we used all our grease we had at that war time in the house and it was exhausted in the moment how many people do you think were killed all of us who Liv uh to this exper experience at the spot estimate the numbers of death at least as 100,000 uh this estimate is not based on official figures but just on a knowledge of special groups in under the population was there anybody to take charge of the city after the disas there was nobody to take charge after the disaster because all important people were practically killed the major the commander of the city many higher ranking officers a Korean Prince uh which was stationed at the time inoshima uh and also uh the regiments of the uh city were wiped out uh what is your opinion as to the story that the ruins of the city Amit a deadly rid well I think that is just a rumor because I myself and uh uh others of us have worked in the city itself immediately after the explosion for several LS and we felt no ill e at all tell me a little about the uh Japanese reaction towards the Americans towards the isamic bar neither myself nor anybody of our of our fathers ER heard a single Outburst of hate against the Americans in those terrible days the uh not and during the whole War we didn't experience uh uh much about uh hatred against the Alli as a matter of fact at the beginning of the war after the big Japanese victories the Japanese were inclined to look down on the enemy but then after the uh offensive V off according to Skittle they began to admire the the uh skill of the of the uh Americans a and especially since the Majestic b29 appeared over Tokyo uh practically every Japanese admired the technical skill of the Americans uh father what is you and your colleague's opinion uh as to the use of the atomic bomb we have discussed among ourselves thees of the use of the bomb some consider it in the same category as poison gas and were against its use on on a civilian population others were of the view that in Total War as carried on in Japan there was no difference between civilians and soldiers and that the bomb itself was an effective Force tending to end the Bloodshed warning Japan to surrender and T to avoid total Destruction it seems Lo logical to me that he who supports Total War in principle cannot complain of a war against civilian the groups of the Met is whether Total War in its present form is justifiable even when it serves a just a just purpose does it not have material and spiritual evil as its consequences which far exceed whatever the good that might result when will our modist give us a clear answer to this question the business of living goes on in the devastated areas of Hiroshima in the the northeastern section of the city temporary homes are constructed of whatever materials can be salvaged from the ruins near the higashi railroad station in eastern Hiroshima scrap Lumber tin and roof tile are all used in an attempt to build a new in no matter how flimsy a fashion immediately following the bombing of Hiroshima the president of the United States delivered an ultimatum to the Japanese government surrender or face complete destruction the ultimatum was ignored at 10:58 the morning of August 9th Japanese time the second atomic bomb was exploded over the industrial Seaport city of Nagasaki almost the entire population of 230,000 people was engaged in the manufacturer of arms Munitions and other War products [Music] two great Mitsubishi factories were located in the Heart of the City to the north one of the world's largest torpedo plants and further south the huge steel and arms works the bomb which was dropped on Nagasaki was aimed at a point midway between the two plants in order to cause the greatest possible industrial damage unlike Hiroshima the force of the explosion at Nagasaki was largely confined to the industrial Valley which was surrounded by a series of Hills that shielded many other areas of the city a great towering mushroom effect could be seen going higher and higher and reaching into the stratosphere because the bomb was exploded high above the ground the greatest part of its harmful radioactive material was dissipated in the stratosphere as a result the area under the explosion was relatively free from radioactivity persons entering Nagasaki shortly after the explosion to do rescue work sustained no ill effect or [Music] injury [Music] in an area of a little more than 3 square miles there was very severe damage by blast and fire most buildings were reduced to Rubble still recognizable from the air are the skeleton remainders of the Mitsubishi plants the large steel and arms works and the ordinance Factory devoted to the manufacturer of torpedoes the Mitsubishi steel and arms Works extended almost a mile in length its buildings were modern and typical of American industrial construction having steel frame siding of corrugated metal or asbestos buildings of reinforced concrete still stand amid the wreckage of Steel frames some smoke stacks survived they offered comparatively Little Resistance to the blast but as in Hiroshima the directional Force bent steel and stripped corrugated metal from the framework of the building where corrugated metal remained it was pushed in like tissue paper these buildings show a varying degree of Destruction depending upon proximity to zero point and building strength this Foundry 3/10 of a mile away from 0 point shows considerable damage in spite of Fairly good Construction other buildings were stronger some being constructed to support heavy overhead cranes damage to equipment inside was nevertheless serious this Machinery had been used in the manufacture of Naval rifles anti-aircraft guns and heavy artillery in the Valley homes were scattered through Factory areas on machinery and many of these homes peacework was carried on to help the Japanese war effort blast and secondary fire destroyed the lightly constructed buildings in many cases leaving damaged equipment photographed from zero point this area of 3 and the 10 square m shows almost utter Devastation by blast and fire note how Hills in the South interrupted the blast in the second area of 5 and a half square miles there was moderate damage from blast and severe damage from fires the total area of damage covered almost 422 square miles ranging from complete destruction to damage roofs and broken windows the greatest distance at which damage was measured was 12 miles where through a peculiar focusing of concussion workers Barracks were knocked down 1 half mile from 0 point a cracked Smoke Stack a prison of concrete and masonry 2/10 of a mile from Z point was almost totally destroyed the walls left standing were parallel to the direction of the blast this area was completely wiped out from zero point up to the church at the foot of the hills about a mile away in the bed of the creek rests the dome which was blown from its place at the top of the church the Gas Works was blown into a mass of Twisted Steel Two concrete walls the remains of two Factory buildings Bridges showed greater destruction in Nagasaki than in Hiroshima but even close to zero point the downward force of the BL to damage roads and railroads due to the height at which the bomb was detonated the main North South Street of Nagasaki was in use shortly after the disaster occurred a typical residence on the outskirts of Nagasaki a mile and a half from zero point 6 weeks after the explosion of the atomic bomb over Nagasaki the survivors are busy working at the restoration of their homes this is the record endless manh hours of work 2 b29 two atomic bombs 3 days apart two cities the tabulation of that record speaks for [Music] itself