1 00:00:10,100 --> 00:00:15,500 This is the story of the first ever use of a weapon of mass destruction. 2 00:00:15,500 --> 00:00:19,600 The weapon we are about to deliver was successfully tested in the States. 3 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:22,500 We've received orders to drop it on the enemy. 4 00:00:22,500 --> 00:00:26,700 It is the most destructive weapon ever produced. 5 00:00:26,700 --> 00:00:30,800 The target was an empire with its own secret weapon - 6 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:33,000 the suicide bomber. 7 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:40,880 TRANSLATION FROM JAPANESE: I trained myself that I could die at any time. 8 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:44,000 On the 6th August 1945, 9 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:49,000 a bomb unlike any other fell from the skies above Hiroshima. 10 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:58,300 The bomb was designed by some of the world's finest scientists. 11 00:00:58,300 --> 00:01:03,000 Using it was one of the most momentous political decisions ever made. 12 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:07,600 Soldiers and sailors are the target, not women and children. 13 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:18,320 This is the story of the aircrew who flew the mission, and dropped the bomb. 14 00:01:18,320 --> 00:01:23,680 I'm not thinking about the people who got killed or hurt, but of those that did not get killed or hurt. 15 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:27,600 And it's the story of the people of Hiroshima 16 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:31,920 who were the first ever victims of a nuclear attack. 17 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:36,000 TRANSLATION: When something as devastating as a nuclear weapon is used, 18 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,800 people are powerless, just like ants, or insects. 19 00:01:42,320 --> 00:01:47,680 The entire city of Hiroshima was annihilated in just a few seconds. 20 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:51,160 The bomb helped bring the Second World War to an end, 21 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:55,800 and it marked the beginning of a new chapter in human history. 22 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:17,680 July 14th 1945. 23 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:21,840 At the top-secret research facility in Los Alamos, New Mexico, 24 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:26,000 a heavily armed convoy was loaded with parts for a new kind of bomb. 25 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:32,200 This was the start of a journey that would end in Hiroshima. 26 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:43,520 This bomb was the product of three years' research, and had cost $2bn to develop. 27 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:52,640 But at this stage, the technology was still completely untested. 28 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:11,400 Two days later, there was a chance to find out. 29 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:17,200 In the desert of New Mexico, the scientists and soldiers 30 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:22,560 of the Manhattan Project gathered for the first ever test explosion of an atomic bomb. 31 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:30,920 A hundred to one, we crack the Earth's crust, and destroy the whole world. 32 00:03:30,920 --> 00:03:35,200 Fifty to one we ignite the atmosphere, and only destroy New Mexico. 33 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:37,800 Someone shut Thirmy up, he's frightening the MPs. 34 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:40,080 Ten to one it fizzles out. 35 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:44,520 If that weapon fizzles out, each of you can look forward to a lifetime 36 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:48,520 testifying in front of Congressional Investigation Committees! 37 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:53,160 OVER RADIO: 'Six, five, four, three, 38 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:55,880 'two, one, zero.' 39 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:17,000 The explosion vaporised the stainless steel tower holding the bomb. 40 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:22,040 The intense heat melted the desert sand, leaving an area of glass. 41 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:40,600 The force of the explosion was estimated to be the equivalent 42 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:43,640 of 67 million sticks of dynamite. 43 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:55,320 THEY APPLAUD AND CHEER 44 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:03,160 The bomb had originally been intended for use against Nazi Germany, 45 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:07,160 but its backers now had another target in mind. 46 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:10,480 I'm very proud of you! Thank you. 47 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:12,840 Well, done. The war's over, General. 48 00:05:12,840 --> 00:05:15,160 Yep! As soon as we've dropped a few of these things on Japan! 49 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:20,160 Good work. 50 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:25,840 For Scientific Director Robert Oppenheimer it was a moment of terrible truth. 51 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:31,080 'Now I am become Death, 52 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:33,120 'the destroyer of worlds.' 53 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:49,280 By July 1945, the war in Europe was over. 54 00:05:49,280 --> 00:05:51,720 Nazi Germany was defeated. 55 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:57,520 But in the Pacific, the war against Japan was raging on. 56 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:06,280 After the surprise attack on Pearl Harbour, American forces had fought their way back across the Pacific, 57 00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:10,320 island by island, with savage hand to hand fighting. 58 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:22,600 But Japan's main armies were still intact, and undefeated. 59 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:28,880 The Americans had tried firebombing the Japanese into submission. 60 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:35,520 City after city was reduced to rubble, but still the Japanese refused to surrender. 61 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:43,520 So the Allies now faced the prospect of a full-scale invasion, 62 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:50,680 with some estimates putting their losses as high as a million casualties, and many more Japanese. 63 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:14,480 In Japan, at the time, the Emperor was Head of State, and also a living god, 64 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:18,600 but day-to-day power rested with the Special War Direction Council. 65 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:26,760 Prime Minister Suzuki and Foreign Minister Togo were considering a negotiated settlement. 66 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:33,840 But Army Minister General Koretchika Anami was determined to fight on. 67 00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:00,840 Anami's plan was for an all-out, final battle. 68 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:42,200 In Hiroshima, as in the rest of Japan, 69 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:48,760 soldiers and civilians were being prepared for the coming invasion. 70 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:52,680 The Japanese military were relying on a powerful weapon - 71 00:08:52,680 --> 00:08:55,640 people's willingness to die for the Emperor. 72 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:08,240 Ordinary soldiers learned how to strap bombs to their bodies and throw themselves under tanks. 73 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:19,440 Dr Shintaro Hida was working at the Army Hospital in Hiroshima. 74 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:24,120 One of his duties was to train medical orderlies as suicide bombers. 75 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:31,320 TRANSLATION: The soldiers were trained to strap bombs to their bodies, 76 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:38,160 and throw themselves against the tanks. At the military hospital we had to teach this. 77 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:52,000 The officers, in particular, were resigned to the fact 78 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:56,840 that once we had gone to the Front, we would not return - we would die. 79 00:09:59,960 --> 00:10:03,640 I trained myself that I could die, at any time. 80 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:15,560 The whole population was to be part of the battle against the invaders. 81 00:10:15,560 --> 00:10:21,360 Even schoolgirls were trained to attack American soldiers with sharpened bamboo spears. 82 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:25,600 A bloodbath seemed inevitable. 83 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:45,200 The man who would have to authorise the invasion was American President Harry Truman. 84 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:53,240 On 16th July he had just arrived in Berlin for the Potsdam Conference, 85 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:55,840 where he was meeting his fellow Allied leaders. 86 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:03,800 That very night came news of the successful New Mexico bomb test. 87 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:06,960 Listen to this. 88 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:12,400 Operated on this morning, the results seem satisfactory. 89 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:15,560 The test has already exceeded expectations. 90 00:11:15,560 --> 00:11:18,520 They did it! 91 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:24,360 Now the boys may be spared an invasion of the Japanese Home Islands. I'll drink to that. 92 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:33,400 But before going ahead with the new bomb, Truman gave the Japanese 93 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:36,000 one last chance to surrender. 94 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:42,440 The Americans had broken the secret Japanese codes, and could decipher 95 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:44,440 military and diplomatic cables. 96 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:50,040 So, they knew their demands for total, 97 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:53,800 unconditional surrender had been seen as a threat to the Emperor. 98 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:59,320 Now they decided to alter the terms, and give the Japanese a way out. 99 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:08,320 On Truman's staff was a young naval lieutenant, George Elsey - 100 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:11,760 the last surviving witness to these events. 101 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:17,680 The Potsdam Declaration called upon unconditional surrender. 102 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:24,040 It was modified in the light of this, what we were learning from 103 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:25,600 the intercepts, 104 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:31,440 to read, "unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Japan." 105 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:37,720 "We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the unconditional surrender 106 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:40,200 "of all Japanese armed forces." 107 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:45,440 That left the door open for a retention of the Emperor. 108 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:53,800 The modified ultimatum was broadcast to Japan. 109 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:09,040 But ironically, the softening of the surrender terms seems to have backfired. 110 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:50,040 Prime Minister Suzuki announced that his government would ignore the Potsdam Declaration. 111 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:53,120 He used the word "mokusatsu", 112 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:57,440 meaning "to kill with silent contempt". 113 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:02,440 From that moment, the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima was inevitable. 114 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:17,760 The bomb left San Francisco on board the USS Indianapolis, 115 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:22,200 two hours after the successful Trinity test in New Mexico. 116 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:27,640 It travelled across the Pacific on a ten-day voyage to the island 117 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:31,600 of Tinian, just six hours flying time from Japan. 118 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:41,520 The island was the biggest air base in the world, with four large runways, 119 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:46,400 and it was home to more than 500 B-29 Super Fortresses. 120 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:11,000 In charge was Commanding Officer Colonel Paul Tibbets, a veteran 121 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:14,360 of the bombing campaign against the Germans. 122 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:17,920 At 29 years of age, I was so shocked to ask what the confidence 123 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:19,520 of anything I couldn't do. 124 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:31,240 The two key members of his crew were bombardier Tom Ferraby, 125 00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:35,080 and navigator, Dutch Van Kirk. 126 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:39,120 You never heard the word "atomic", "nuclear", or anything of that type 127 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:43,880 around the group. We referred to the weapon as, the "gimmick", "weapon", 128 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:45,680 that sort of thing. 129 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:50,440 And, if you did figure it out, you'd better be smart enough not to talk about it. 130 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:54,560 All right, gentlemen, cities have been signed off. 131 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:58,720 Kyoto is out, Stimpson likes the temples too much, 132 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:04,440 but we've got Nyagada, Kokura, Nagasaki, and Hiroshima. 133 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:08,480 They're the only major cities left we haven't roasted. And the primary? 134 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:10,240 The primary is Hiroshima. 135 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:11,800 All right. 136 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:13,960 Have you worked out an aiming point? 137 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:19,640 The T-shaped bridge. 138 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:21,160 Here. 139 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:28,480 That's the most perfect AP I've seen in this whole damn war. 140 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:31,120 Angle of approach - bomb drop like this. 141 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:33,000 Prevailing winds from the north. 142 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:37,240 You may want to come in this way, then you'll be flying with the wind, and you'll clear the target sooner. 143 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:41,280 Too risky. We'll fly into the wind. That way we're slower and more accurate. 144 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:43,520 You may get caught in the blast. 145 00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:47,560 Once I make the dive turn, I'll have a tail wind, we'll be out quicker. 146 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:52,440 Anyway, we'll take that risk. We want to be as accurate as possible, don't we? 147 00:16:56,560 --> 00:17:00,360 Hiroshima was an important military base, the Headquarters of the Second General Army, 148 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:05,080 with a key role in the defence against the expected invasion. 149 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:16,240 Akiko Takakura, who was 19 and working as a bank clerk in the city centre, 150 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:19,280 remembers the atmosphere at the time. 151 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:22,040 People called it an army city. 152 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:26,080 Everywhere you looked you saw the army... 153 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:33,600 ..and there were always a lot of ships transporting soldiers from the port. 154 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:39,640 All the major cities of Japan had already been the targets of bombing raids, so everybody 155 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:43,960 living in Hiroshima expected that Hiroshima would be targeted soon. 156 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:57,240 What no-one could realise was that the city had been preserved for a reason - 157 00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:01,320 the Americans had deliberately avoided firebombing Hiroshima 158 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:04,560 so they could measure the precise effects of the atom bomb. 159 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:22,880 On the evening of the 4th August, Paul Tibbets called his men together. 160 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:31,400 The bombing mission was set for the following night, when the clouds over Japan were due to clear. 161 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:35,600 The moment has arrived. 162 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:38,720 This is what we've all been working towards. 163 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:43,160 Very recently the weapon we're about to deliver was successfully tested in the States. 164 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:46,160 We have received orders to drop it on the enemy. 165 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:51,880 There will be three possible targets. 166 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:58,040 In order of priority, they are Hiroshima, Kokura, Nagasaki. 167 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:01,760 The bomb you are going to drop is something new in the history of warfare. 168 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:06,000 It is the most destructive weapon ever produced. 169 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:09,760 We think it's going to knock out everything within a three-mile area. 170 00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:15,640 Roll film. Kill the lights. 171 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:23,840 Weapons specialist Deke Parsons had brought film of the New Mexico explosion. 172 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:29,000 But the projector jammed. 173 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:36,000 The film you are now not about to see 174 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:39,280 was made of the only test we have performed. 175 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:43,080 I was in a B-29, looking down on the target, in the darkness, 176 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:48,360 and I can say that it is the brightest and the hottest thing on this Earth since creation. 177 00:19:48,360 --> 00:19:51,280 This is what happened. 178 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:53,680 The flash of the explosion was seen for ten miles. 179 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:58,480 A soldier 10,000 feet away was knocked off his feet. 180 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:03,920 Another soldier, more than five miles away, was temporarily blinded. 181 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:06,240 Those of us who were there 182 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:09,160 knew it was the beginning of a new age. 183 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:11,400 No-one knows exactly what will happen when 184 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:15,080 the bomb is dropped from the air - that has never been done before. 185 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:19,520 We expect a cloud, this shape, 186 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:26,640 rise to at least 30,000 feet, maybe 60,000 feet, 187 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:31,440 preceded by a flash of light much brighter than the sun. 188 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:34,440 A combat version of the bomb 189 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:38,360 has now been assembled and ready. 190 00:20:38,360 --> 00:20:45,080 All we are waiting for is an end to the rainstorms over Japan, so we can see our target. Colonel Tibbets. 191 00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:47,800 Right, men, I know some of you have seen a lot 192 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:51,120 of action already, and I picked you because you're the best available, 193 00:20:51,120 --> 00:20:57,680 but let me tell you all, beside this mission, whatever you've done before in this war is small potatoes. 194 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:01,200 I am personally honoured, and I'm sure all of you are, 195 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:07,160 to have been chosen to take part in this raid, which will shorten the war by at least six months. 196 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:09,440 You're now the hottest crews in the Air Force. 197 00:21:11,040 --> 00:21:14,080 There will be no talking about this to anyone. 198 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:16,680 No talking, even among yourselves. 199 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:19,000 No letters, no writing home. 200 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:23,120 No mentioning of the slightest possibility of a mission. 201 00:21:23,120 --> 00:21:26,440 Is that clear? ALL: Yes, sir! 202 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:33,240 MECHANICAL RUMBLING 203 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:42,280 The next morning, the aircrews on Tinian woke to a disturbing sound... 204 00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:44,920 HEAVY EXPLOSION 205 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:51,600 Once again, a B-29 had crashed on the runway. 206 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:02,920 The crash alarmed Parsons, the weapons specialist. 207 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:11,960 It was the day of the mission, and they were planning to load the bomb on to the plane, fully armed. 208 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:18,720 The bomb's firing mechanism used gunpowder to force two separate 209 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:22,720 pieces of uranium together, to start a nuclear reaction. 210 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:30,440 Parsons' worry was that if the plane crashed on take-off, the firing mechanism would be triggered, 211 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:33,440 and they would blow up the whole island. 212 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:38,880 So, without authorisation, he changed the plan. 213 00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:43,720 I think it's better if I load the powder charges into the gun barrel after we've cleared the island. 214 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:46,880 Have you made the assembly with the powder charges before? 215 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:48,440 Do you know how to do it? 216 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:50,840 Nope. 217 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:54,600 But I've got all day and night to learn. We don't take off till 02:00. 218 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:56,200 There's time. 219 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:07,320 If Parsons got it wrong, there was a serious risk the whole mission, and the bomb, would be wasted. 220 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:16,040 Parsons sat in that airplane for several hours, rehearsing exactly what he was going 221 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:19,880 to have to do, removal of the breech plug, inserting the powder, 222 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:21,800 hooking up the thing. 223 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:26,440 He made it, this time is when he made his detailed check-off list. 224 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:42,960 And he practised that for half a day, 225 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:48,000 and his hands were beaten up from handling this thing. 226 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:49,600 For God's sakes, man! 227 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:55,920 Why don't you let me lend you a pair of pigskin gloves? I wouldn't dare! I've gotta feel to touch. 228 00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:59,320 That's why I could be bombing the Japs with dirty hands! 229 00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:08,960 Paul Tibbets had reached a decision of his own - 230 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:14,080 as commanding officer, he was also planning to pilot the strike plane. 231 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:18,080 As was traditional, he chose a name for it. 232 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:20,840 I said, I'd like to name it after my mother. 233 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:24,840 Her name was Enola Gay, and I know that there'll never be another B-29, 234 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:29,520 I don't think there'll be an airplane flying, that will have the name Enola Gay on it. 235 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:35,280 I think the airplane will go down in history, and I want it to be with a good omen. 236 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:40,960 Tibbets' decision came as a shock to Captain Bob Lewis. 237 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:45,760 He had always flown that plane, and assumed he would be the pilot. 238 00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:48,480 Why the hell are they putting that on my airplane? What's going on? 239 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:53,280 Number one, it's not your airplane, it belongs to United States Air Corps... 240 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:56,560 ..and number two, I'm the organisation commander, 241 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,680 I can do what I want with any one of those airplanes, including yours! 242 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:03,800 He shut up. That was the only discussion. 243 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:05,560 Dismissed! 244 00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:22,640 For most citizens of Hiroshima, 5th August was uneventful. 245 00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:36,520 As the day closed, people prepared themselves for more air-raid sirens, and more disturbed sleep. 246 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:40,840 Dr Hida was still on duty after a busy day. 247 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:45,040 He remembers the 5th quite clearly. 248 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:50,680 TRANSLATION: I returned to the hospital around 8pm. 249 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:58,120 An office on night shift came and told me that four guests from Manchuria were in Hiroshima. 250 00:25:58,120 --> 00:26:00,800 They were high-ranking army doctors. 251 00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:07,200 I was told to look after them. 252 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:12,880 SNORING 253 00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:21,640 Eventually I put everybody to bed, and then I lay down beside them. 254 00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:29,440 Then, in the middle of the night, an old man from the village come on his bicycle to see me. 255 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:46,400 There weren't any doctors where he lived, they were all at the Front. 256 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:51,120 Thinking it couldn't be helped, I went with him, in the middle of the night. 257 00:26:51,120 --> 00:26:52,960 I was very drunk. 258 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:57,480 There were no cars at that time, and so I sat on the back of the old man's bicycle. 259 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:02,040 That is how I survived. 260 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:05,120 OK, there are three planes involved in the mission. 261 00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:12,480 That night, in the last minutes before departure, there was a final briefing for all the crews 262 00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:14,840 who were heading to Hiroshima. 263 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:18,280 There are three planes involved in the mission. 264 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:20,120 Number one, 265 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:22,760 the Enola Gay, carrying the bomb. 266 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:26,240 Number two, the Great Artiste... 267 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:31,160 carrying recording equipment. 268 00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:35,320 Number three... ..the Necessary Evil, 269 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:37,800 we were the photographic ship. 270 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:44,920 Do your jobs, 271 00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:49,000 obey orders, don't cut corners. 272 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:51,000 That is all. 273 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:14,000 The mission was so secret, Tibbets was given suicide pills, in case they fell into Japanese hands. 274 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:18,800 That evening, when I came out the mess hall, the Flight Surgeon gave me the pills. 275 00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:20,480 He told me what they were. 276 00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:24,680 "I hope you don't need them, but," he said, "if you do, they're cyanide." 277 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:28,840 He said, "Here, if you need them, one for each man of the crew." 278 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:32,560 He said, "You'll never know anything, within six minutes, you're gone." 279 00:28:32,560 --> 00:28:35,160 "You never feel anything different, you never feel a thing." 280 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:37,120 And I told the guys outside the airplane, before we climbed up, 281 00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:40,200 "I'll give any one of you the pill, if you want the pill." 282 00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:46,400 And no-one said anything, but Captain Parsons, he said, "I'd like to have one." 283 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:52,440 And I understood his position, because he knew more technical stuff about that bomb than anybody. 284 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:58,440 When we got to the Enola Gay, that was our first big surprise, because we had, 285 00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:02,320 there were lights all over the place, 286 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:06,440 and this was not like any mission we'd ever flown. You know, this was like a Hollywood premiere! 287 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:21,200 Photographers and film crews had been ordered to record the historic mission. 288 00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:24,720 We had climbed into the airplanes, in order to start the engines, and 289 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:29,680 there were people all around, there were clegg lights right there, right in front of the number two engine, 290 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:33,840 and I couldn't do anything with that thing there, 291 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:37,360 so I opened the window, stuck my head out, I said... 292 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:39,320 Stand back! 293 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:41,240 Move out of the way! 294 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:45,080 But I just waved my hand like that, and some guy said, "Wave at us!" 295 00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:46,760 So I waved, 296 00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:48,800 and that's what you got. 297 00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:00,480 It was another day, it was another bombing run. 298 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:04,080 And that was it. It was my responsibility. 299 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:06,600 Dimples 82 to North Tinian tower, 300 00:30:06,600 --> 00:30:08,960 taxi out and take-off instructions. 301 00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:18,560 The bomb weighed more than four tons, making take-off even more dangerous than usual. 302 00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:20,480 15 seconds to go! 303 00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:27,880 'The take off I remember, the most dangerous part of flying is in take off.' 304 00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:31,720 Five seconds! Get ready! 305 00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:37,760 Everyone on board, I'm sure, felt the same way 306 00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:41,800 I did, waiting for it to lift off. 307 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:47,000 'And it seemed like it took an inordinate amount of time.' 308 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:07,160 I wanted to hold the airplane on the ground, to get all the air flat over the tail that I could get. 309 00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:09,240 I held it down longer than what Bob, 310 00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:13,000 used to see an airplane take off at 140, 145 miles an hour, 311 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:16,720 I held it down till I was over 150 miles an hour. 312 00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:19,640 'He reached for the yoke, tried to pull it back to...' Pull it back! 313 00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:22,040 Get your damn hands off this yoke! 314 00:31:22,040 --> 00:31:24,120 I'm flying this airplane! 315 00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:27,320 '..and he pulled back right quick.' 316 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:50,480 'But eventually it lifted off, and we didn't crash at the end of the runway, so we were off.' 317 00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:12,560 Fifteen minutes after take-off, with the plane still 318 00:32:12,560 --> 00:32:16,440 at low altitude, Parsons was ready to assemble the bomb. 319 00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:19,520 We're starting! 320 00:32:24,840 --> 00:32:28,080 Dimples 82 To North Tinian tower. 321 00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:34,040 Judge going to work. I repeat, judge going to work. 322 00:32:34,040 --> 00:32:39,440 It's about, maybe eight inches wide around the outside, to the back end 323 00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:44,120 of the weapon, which had those big fins. 324 00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:45,520 Very cramped quarters - 325 00:32:45,520 --> 00:32:52,920 you had to squat down in order to peer into the back end of this bomb, 326 00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:56,560 and that's the position that Parsons took, 327 00:32:56,560 --> 00:33:00,800 is to work inside these fins. 328 00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:07,840 They all knew a mistake would jeopardise the entire mission. 329 00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:10,880 I'm screwing breech! 330 00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:23,120 Inserting charges! Parsons would then take the powder charges, 331 00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:26,200 about the size of a loaf of bread. 332 00:33:26,200 --> 00:33:32,920 He would put those in there, one at a time, then he'd pick up the breech block, 333 00:33:32,920 --> 00:33:36,960 put it into where it was supposed to go, turn it, just make the seal. 334 00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:39,480 Inserting breech! 335 00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:46,800 Each one of these manoeuvres he would check off on his check-off list, to ensure that he had made no mistakes. 336 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:52,360 And returning home! Check! 337 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:05,320 Two hours later, the Enola Gay met up with the scientific and photographic planes. 338 00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:08,600 They were now three hours from Hiroshima. 339 00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:12,880 Dawn was breaking, and it's now just a beautiful, beautiful morning. 340 00:34:12,880 --> 00:34:17,320 We're about at 9,000 feet at that time, and we all remarked about 341 00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:21,760 what a beautiful sunrise it was, that particular morning. 342 00:34:21,760 --> 00:34:27,640 Dick Jepson, Parson's assistant, had one task left, to arm the bomb. 343 00:34:27,640 --> 00:34:32,960 Before the plane went to altitude, I had to climb into the bomb bay, 344 00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:40,520 and remove these three green plugs, and replace them with three 345 00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:48,800 arming plugs, which enabled the fusing circuit to fire the weapon, causing it to detonate. 346 00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:06,320 And the only time I felt really nervous on this mission 347 00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:12,560 was the time when I inserted these red plugs into the bomb. 348 00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:21,480 The bomb was now armed and live. 349 00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:31,720 After they were in place, I breathed a sigh of relief, because nothing had happened 350 00:35:31,720 --> 00:35:35,120 at this point in time. 351 00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:39,520 Evidently, with the action of replacing these plugs, or switching 352 00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:44,240 these plugs, I became the last person to put a hand on this bomb. 353 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:48,160 I hadn't realised that at the time. 354 00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:13,320 We're at 30,000 feet. 355 00:36:22,680 --> 00:36:27,960 Ahead of the Enola Gay, another B-29 was already flying over Hiroshima, 356 00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:29,760 checking the weather. 357 00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:32,000 It triggered an alert. 358 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:38,400 ANNOUNCEMENT IN DIALECT SIRENS BLARE 359 00:36:44,800 --> 00:36:47,320 TRANSLATION: There was an air-raid warning. 360 00:36:47,320 --> 00:36:50,600 It was the type that warned that a raid was a possibility. 361 00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:05,680 As the people waited in air-raid shelters, the weather plane 362 00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:10,200 reported its findings to the Enola Gay by coded message. 363 00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:13,840 Cloud cover less than three tenths at all altitudes. 364 00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:16,640 Advice - bomb primary. 365 00:37:20,400 --> 00:37:23,200 It's Hiroshima! 366 00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:31,000 The weather plane now headed away. 367 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:34,360 For a time, it seemed that the threat had passed. 368 00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:44,120 About 30 minutes later, they sounded the all-clear. 369 00:37:44,120 --> 00:37:48,520 It meant there was not going to be an air raid, 370 00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:54,840 so everyone went about their business, going to offices and factories. 371 00:37:54,840 --> 00:38:00,400 I think that was the reason why such a large number died, and could not be found afterwards. 372 00:38:08,720 --> 00:38:14,000 On the drill ground, thousands of soldiers were doing their early morning exercises. 373 00:38:20,640 --> 00:38:26,560 Dr Hida had spent the night at a farm outside Hiroshima, looking after the girl with heatstroke. 374 00:38:29,840 --> 00:38:36,000 It was just after eight o'clock when I woke up. I was already late. 375 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:38,920 I had to go back to the hospital. 376 00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:44,800 I got myself ready, took the child's pulse, and then examined her chest 377 00:38:44,800 --> 00:38:46,960 with a stethoscope. 378 00:39:03,760 --> 00:39:09,640 Sixteen-year-old Teruko Fujii had enlisted as a tram driver, to support the war effort. 379 00:39:11,680 --> 00:39:15,120 The men were sent to the Front, with the army. 380 00:39:15,120 --> 00:39:20,960 Because their numbers gradually declined, they wanted students to drive the trams. 381 00:39:23,920 --> 00:39:30,600 Clerk Akiko Takakura and her friend were the first to arrive at the bank in central Hiroshima - 382 00:39:30,600 --> 00:39:35,120 just 260 metres from the aiming point, the T-shaped bridge. 383 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:41,400 At the bank, I stamped the arrival book. 384 00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:46,160 You stamped next to your name when you arrived, so I stamped the book. 385 00:39:46,440 --> 00:39:52,920 In those days, female staff were supposed to arrive 30 minutes before the men, to do the cleaning. 386 00:39:55,960 --> 00:39:59,560 That sort of thing would be unthinkable now! 387 00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:05,240 Kinuko Doi was working as a nurse at the communications hospital, 388 00:40:05,240 --> 00:40:07,920 also near the centre of the city. 389 00:40:11,160 --> 00:40:16,640 TRANSLATION: My first job of the day was to sterilise the hospital tools, 390 00:40:16,640 --> 00:40:20,040 and prepare the patients for surgery. 391 00:40:24,920 --> 00:40:30,800 The weather was beautiful. The sky was clear blue, not a cloud in sight. 392 00:40:36,240 --> 00:40:41,160 In another part of the city, eight-year-old Takashi Tanemori was on his way to school. 393 00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:43,960 Every morning, as soon as we get to school, 394 00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:46,760 we went and played a game of hide and seek. 395 00:40:46,760 --> 00:40:52,400 Then we stand, picking who's going to be It. 396 00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:55,920 And so we ran to the main gate... 397 00:40:58,640 --> 00:41:02,520 ..and I was to become It that morning. 398 00:41:07,080 --> 00:41:12,320 Shigai Hiratsuka died in 2002, but her extraordinary story 399 00:41:12,320 --> 00:41:14,760 is taken from her written account. 400 00:41:16,680 --> 00:41:19,240 It had just gone past eight in the morning - 401 00:41:19,240 --> 00:41:21,480 we had finished breakfast. 402 00:41:21,480 --> 00:41:25,880 Our two children were playing beside us. 403 00:41:25,880 --> 00:41:28,920 My husband was reading the newspaper. 404 00:41:37,040 --> 00:41:41,440 Paul, Tom, Deke and I were all three up there, confirming, 405 00:41:41,440 --> 00:41:45,520 yes, this was the target, yes, that was bridge, yes, 406 00:41:45,520 --> 00:41:50,720 that was the aiming point. You might say we were having a convention in the nose of the plane. 407 00:41:50,720 --> 00:41:54,400 OK, we're about to start the bomb run! Put on your goggles! 408 00:41:58,840 --> 00:42:03,320 We were on that bomb run for three, three and a half minutes. 409 00:42:03,320 --> 00:42:05,640 Tom and I are talking! 410 00:42:05,640 --> 00:42:09,240 Christ, Dutch! We never sat on a bomb run this long over Germany! 411 00:42:09,240 --> 00:42:11,760 They'd have blasted us out the sky! Yeah! 412 00:42:11,760 --> 00:42:13,600 He said, "Nothing there!" 413 00:42:13,600 --> 00:42:16,520 No opposition, no nothing. 414 00:42:16,520 --> 00:42:19,560 Just...going to bomb the target. 415 00:42:48,520 --> 00:42:53,920 TRANSLATION: I saw an aircraft, like a tiny silver drop, entering the sky above Hiroshima. 416 00:42:56,880 --> 00:43:00,640 I instantly recognised it as an American plane, 417 00:43:00,640 --> 00:43:05,320 as no Japanese aircraft could fly at that altitude at the time. 418 00:43:05,320 --> 00:43:11,160 It was just one plane, so I assumed that it was passing by, as usual. 419 00:43:21,920 --> 00:43:24,120 I was counting. 420 00:43:24,120 --> 00:43:25,880 Ichi...ni...san... 421 00:43:31,480 --> 00:43:35,680 I was wiping the desktop. That was when the bomb was dropped. 422 00:43:45,840 --> 00:43:47,800 Bomb away! 423 00:44:17,120 --> 00:44:22,920 It took about 45 seconds from the time the bomb left the airplane until it exploded. 424 00:44:22,920 --> 00:44:27,520 There wasn't a man in the airplane that wasn't either timing it with his watch, 425 00:44:27,520 --> 00:44:29,760 or counting, or doing something. 426 00:44:29,760 --> 00:44:32,400 I was sure the bomb was a dud. 427 00:44:32,400 --> 00:44:34,400 I was sure it wasn't going to work. 428 00:45:11,800 --> 00:45:14,960 After falling for 43 seconds, 429 00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:18,840 the time and barometric triggers started the firing mechanism. 430 00:45:18,840 --> 00:45:23,600 A uranium bullet fired down the barrel into a uranium tunnel. 431 00:45:23,600 --> 00:45:27,160 Together they started a nuclear chain reaction. 432 00:45:27,160 --> 00:45:33,160 Solid matter began to come apart, releasing untold quantities of energy. 433 00:46:35,040 --> 00:46:37,760 There was a white light in the window. 434 00:46:37,760 --> 00:46:40,360 A flash, white like magnesium. 435 00:46:43,240 --> 00:46:47,640 The bomb delivered its destruction in stages. 436 00:46:47,640 --> 00:46:52,120 The flash came from a giant fireball 300 metres wide. 437 00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:56,240 I was astonished. 438 00:46:56,240 --> 00:46:58,520 It was a startling light. 439 00:46:58,520 --> 00:47:05,120 Even if you had your back turned to it, you felt the shock go through, right to the centre of your brain. 440 00:47:05,120 --> 00:47:10,440 At the same time, any area of skin that was exposed became very hot. 441 00:47:10,440 --> 00:47:14,360 Heat. Heat. Such burning heat. 442 00:47:18,600 --> 00:47:24,080 Temperatures directly below the fireball were 4,000 degrees Celsius. 443 00:47:24,080 --> 00:47:26,640 The heat rays left shadows. 444 00:47:26,640 --> 00:47:32,880 Ladders, railings, even people, left their outlines on stone and metal. 445 00:47:32,880 --> 00:47:38,960 Anyone in the open air was either vaporised, or turned to carbon, in an instant. 446 00:47:42,440 --> 00:47:48,800 At the same time, the flash sent out powerful infra-red radiation and gamma rays. 447 00:47:50,840 --> 00:47:55,120 These could penetrate walls, and attack the cells in human bodies. 448 00:48:01,600 --> 00:48:07,840 Then I slowly opened my eyes, and for the first time, looked in the direction of the light. 449 00:48:12,920 --> 00:48:17,320 Just at that moment, a mushroom cloud appeared. 450 00:48:19,720 --> 00:48:24,960 People who saw this in Hiroshima are nearly all dead by now. 451 00:48:24,960 --> 00:48:29,040 There is barely anyone left now, who can say they actually saw it happen. 452 00:48:31,120 --> 00:48:35,760 A fraction of a second later came a powerful shockwave, 453 00:48:35,760 --> 00:48:41,640 which moved at the speed of sound. It turned everyday windows and walls into shrapnel. 454 00:48:56,080 --> 00:48:59,800 As soon as the blast hit, I was thrown across the room. 455 00:48:59,800 --> 00:49:02,200 My body was flung from wall to wall, 456 00:49:02,200 --> 00:49:04,400 and from the ceiling to the floor. 457 00:49:04,400 --> 00:49:09,720 My body was thrown around like it was a ball. 458 00:49:12,880 --> 00:49:16,040 A jet black belt of cloud came towards me. 459 00:49:16,040 --> 00:49:19,920 It came from there, over the lip of the mountain. 460 00:49:19,920 --> 00:49:22,600 The black cloud spread between the mountains, 461 00:49:22,600 --> 00:49:25,840 and came rolling in my direction, swirling like this. 462 00:49:31,840 --> 00:49:36,160 Just like that, my body was scooped up! It was the blast. 463 00:49:36,160 --> 00:49:38,720 It sent me flying through the house. 464 00:49:42,200 --> 00:49:47,240 The flash was very brilliant, and it only lasted a very short period of time. 465 00:49:47,240 --> 00:49:51,400 It was over in a...few short seconds. 466 00:49:53,000 --> 00:49:58,040 We didn't see any bodies down there, or anything of that type. 467 00:49:58,040 --> 00:50:00,920 You didn't see any buildings collapsing, 468 00:50:00,920 --> 00:50:04,120 you can't really distinguish things like that. 469 00:50:04,120 --> 00:50:07,400 And even if we had been able to, we couldn't do it, anyhow, 470 00:50:07,400 --> 00:50:10,200 because it was all covered with smoke and dust, and everything. 471 00:50:17,320 --> 00:50:19,360 I'm not emotional. 472 00:50:19,360 --> 00:50:24,600 I didn't have a first goddamn thought, or I'd have told you what it was. 473 00:50:24,600 --> 00:50:29,760 I did the job, but I was so relieved that it was successful, you can't understand that. 474 00:50:34,520 --> 00:50:40,520 Seeing the fires on the ground, and the cloud coming up, 475 00:50:40,520 --> 00:50:46,640 then you get pretty...distressed that there's such havoc down there, and people are suffering. 476 00:50:52,400 --> 00:50:58,480 There are no exact figures for the number who died in the instant of the explosion, 477 00:50:58,480 --> 00:51:04,680 but tens of thousands of people in the open near the fireball vanished in a fraction of a second. 478 00:51:14,200 --> 00:51:18,440 For the survivors, the ordeal was just beginning. 479 00:51:18,440 --> 00:51:22,920 Thousands of people were injured and terribly burned. 480 00:51:22,920 --> 00:51:25,760 Many were trapped in the rubble. 481 00:51:32,280 --> 00:51:38,360 Just 260 metres from the bomb, the two girls in the bank had been sheltered from the worst 482 00:51:38,360 --> 00:51:41,440 of the explosion by the earthquake-proof building. 483 00:51:44,040 --> 00:51:48,800 When the girls struggled outside, they found a vision of hell. 484 00:51:54,680 --> 00:52:00,480 The morning sunshine was gone, the whole city was dark, and shrouded with smoke. 485 00:52:00,480 --> 00:52:04,040 The streets were full of corpses. 486 00:52:12,640 --> 00:52:17,600 The words "city of death" came to mind. There were only dead people. 487 00:52:17,600 --> 00:52:19,960 We were the only living souls. 488 00:52:25,240 --> 00:52:28,960 It had been the morning commuting hour, 8:15 in the morning. 489 00:52:28,960 --> 00:52:35,680 People that had been walking the streets were doubled up dead on each other for as far as we could see. 490 00:52:35,680 --> 00:52:40,120 They had died immediately, naked, burnt. 491 00:52:40,120 --> 00:52:43,360 I just asked myself, why? 492 00:52:43,360 --> 00:52:46,200 And could not find any words. 493 00:52:55,560 --> 00:53:00,160 The two of us just crouched down, and burst into tears. 494 00:53:03,040 --> 00:53:06,600 How could such terrible things happen? 495 00:53:13,000 --> 00:53:14,880 At the communications hospital, 496 00:53:14,880 --> 00:53:21,840 one mile from the explosion's hypocentre, nurse Kinuko was blown away from the window. 497 00:53:21,840 --> 00:53:26,520 Like so many others, she was badly lacerated by flying glass. 498 00:53:29,520 --> 00:53:33,760 I had pieces of glass sticking up from my body, all over. 499 00:53:33,760 --> 00:53:36,520 From my head, my face, my body. 500 00:53:43,120 --> 00:53:49,240 In another part of the city, Shigei Hiratsuka's peaceful family breakfast 501 00:53:49,240 --> 00:53:52,080 had given way to chaos and confusion. 502 00:53:57,560 --> 00:54:03,000 When we got out, we saw that the whole of Hiroshima had been turned upside down. 503 00:54:03,000 --> 00:54:05,680 None of the buildings were left. 504 00:54:05,680 --> 00:54:10,200 Fires were breaking out in different places all over the city. 505 00:54:10,200 --> 00:54:12,600 Then I looked around for the children. 506 00:54:17,200 --> 00:54:21,960 There was my daughter, Kazu. She was six. 507 00:54:21,960 --> 00:54:28,960 She was buried from the chest down, and was wedged in by timber and plaster. 508 00:54:33,440 --> 00:54:36,920 I tried to get her out, I was desperate to, 509 00:54:36,920 --> 00:54:41,200 but whatever I tried, wouldn't work. 510 00:54:44,520 --> 00:54:48,080 The fires were moving closer and closer. 511 00:54:48,080 --> 00:54:52,120 The flames were at our feet, and roaring up around us. 512 00:54:52,120 --> 00:54:56,440 We could not stand the heat and pain any longer. 513 00:55:39,560 --> 00:55:41,720 KAZU SCREAMS 514 00:55:58,040 --> 00:56:02,920 The school building had also collapsed in the blast. 515 00:56:02,920 --> 00:56:06,160 Eight-year-old Takashito Nimuri and his friends 516 00:56:06,160 --> 00:56:11,680 were trapped in the rubble, crying out for someone to rescue them. 517 00:56:11,680 --> 00:56:15,680 First things I saw, was pitch dark. 518 00:56:19,280 --> 00:56:25,800 Then I sensed there were several soldiers above my head, moving the debris. 519 00:56:25,800 --> 00:56:28,520 And finally one soldier dug me out. 520 00:56:52,320 --> 00:56:57,680 All I remember was the soldier clutched me in his arms, 521 00:56:57,680 --> 00:57:00,960 weaving through the fires, between the fires. 522 00:57:02,640 --> 00:57:10,480 The only place we were able to escape - it was the river that runs behind our school. 523 00:57:27,960 --> 00:57:32,760 Near the station, about two miles from the flash, Teruko Fujii 524 00:57:32,760 --> 00:57:38,400 thought her tram had short-circuited on the overhead cables, and that the whole thing was her fault. 525 00:57:40,120 --> 00:57:45,000 I thought that I'd caused some kind of disaster. 526 00:57:45,000 --> 00:57:48,880 I thought I'd broken the tram and done something terrible! 527 00:57:54,360 --> 00:57:56,720 And then I thought, 528 00:57:56,720 --> 00:58:02,400 "Is it a bomb?" That was when I realised it wasn't me who'd caused all this trouble. 529 00:58:03,960 --> 00:58:10,040 First I thought only the station area was affected. 530 00:58:10,040 --> 00:58:16,080 Then I saw people walking towards me with injuries, and skin hanging from them. 531 00:58:20,360 --> 00:58:25,440 Everybody thought, "Perhaps if I go over there, I could be saved." 532 00:58:25,440 --> 00:58:28,920 People to the west thought the east might be better. 533 00:58:28,920 --> 00:58:33,440 People were going in every direction, in total silence. 534 00:58:39,760 --> 00:58:45,600 Amid all the destruction, there was at least one miracle. 535 00:58:45,600 --> 00:58:52,440 Eight-year-old Takashito Nimouri was carried through the burning city by the soldier who rescued him. 536 00:58:52,440 --> 00:58:59,000 At last, the soldier reached the river, and from the crowds, the little boy heard a familiar voice. 537 00:58:59,000 --> 00:59:02,680 TAKASHI! TAKASHI! 538 00:59:02,680 --> 00:59:05,240 Somehow my father spotted me! 539 00:59:06,760 --> 00:59:09,720 I guess he called my name, 540 00:59:09,720 --> 00:59:15,040 and maybe I responded, and I said, "That's my daddy!" 541 00:59:15,040 --> 00:59:20,880 And then he stood straight to the soldiers, and then he bowed 542 00:59:20,880 --> 00:59:26,360 many, many times to the soldiers, said, "Thank you! You are saviours!" 543 00:59:40,440 --> 00:59:44,080 Later on, after we were flying back, 544 00:59:44,080 --> 00:59:48,720 conversation started about, you know, the war being over, 545 00:59:48,720 --> 00:59:52,760 as a result of this bombing. Despite the number of people we killed, 546 00:59:52,760 --> 00:59:54,400 we saved multiple numbers 547 00:59:54,400 --> 00:59:58,480 over that from being in a war, and being killed, 548 00:59:58,480 --> 01:00:01,280 on America's side, and on the Japanese side. 549 01:00:01,280 --> 01:00:05,560 That time, there was such a hatred for the Japanese, 550 01:00:05,560 --> 01:00:08,240 that the more we killed, 551 01:00:08,240 --> 01:00:11,360 the better off we thought we were, because that means there's going 552 01:00:11,360 --> 01:00:15,800 to be less that we're going to have to contend with during the invasion. 553 01:00:19,880 --> 01:00:23,000 After a six-hour return flight, 554 01:00:23,000 --> 01:00:27,120 the Enola Gay reached Tinian Island. 555 01:00:27,120 --> 01:00:28,840 The following... 556 01:00:28,840 --> 01:00:30,960 300, 400, 500 people there. 557 01:00:30,960 --> 01:00:36,680 And when we got out of the airplane, of course we were all getting out, we're tired, and everything, 558 01:00:36,680 --> 01:00:42,960 and I get out, I remember getting out, carrying my oxygen mask, I'm right behind Paul, 559 01:00:42,960 --> 01:00:46,840 and then some joker calls us to attention. 560 01:00:46,840 --> 01:00:50,760 I got out of the airplane, like I was told, he pins this thing 561 01:00:50,760 --> 01:00:58,040 on my shirt, guys take pictures of us, I saluted, and after that was over with, I'm back to my duty. 562 01:00:58,040 --> 01:01:00,880 We've got to go to de-briefing, by the intelligence people. 563 01:01:00,880 --> 01:01:04,880 They had certain things to ask, "Did you see this, and did you see that?" and so forth. 564 01:01:04,880 --> 01:01:07,360 Confirming that we had bombed the right target. 565 01:01:09,120 --> 01:01:10,800 I said, "Sure." 566 01:01:20,760 --> 01:01:26,480 Dr Hida escaped from the rubble of the farmhouse four miles outside Hiroshima. 567 01:01:26,480 --> 01:01:31,440 After checking on the child he had been treating, he headed back towards the city. 568 01:01:35,840 --> 01:01:40,400 It's about six kilometres to Hiroshima from there. 569 01:01:40,400 --> 01:01:46,120 When I was halfway there, suddenly a strange creature appeared out of nowhere. 570 01:01:54,920 --> 01:02:01,560 As it was summer, if it were human, it would have been wearing white. 571 01:02:01,560 --> 01:02:05,440 What I saw was all black, from top to bottom. 572 01:02:05,440 --> 01:02:08,400 Pitch black. I thought it was strange. 573 01:02:11,920 --> 01:02:15,560 At the top there was something round, like a head. 574 01:02:15,560 --> 01:02:17,640 It had shoulders... 575 01:02:17,640 --> 01:02:21,240 something like a body followed. 576 01:02:21,240 --> 01:02:25,520 But it was like it had no face. It was black. 577 01:02:25,520 --> 01:02:30,080 The area around the eyes had swollen up, it had no nose, 578 01:02:30,080 --> 01:02:33,560 the lower half of the face was just mouth! 579 01:02:33,560 --> 01:02:39,560 It was frightening. As a doctor, the first thing you do is take a pulse. 580 01:02:39,560 --> 01:02:42,400 But when I took his hand, there was no skin. 581 01:02:42,400 --> 01:02:45,560 There was nowhere I could hold. 582 01:02:45,560 --> 01:02:50,280 So I stood up, saying, please, pull yourself together, 583 01:02:50,280 --> 01:02:52,200 and walked around him. 584 01:02:52,200 --> 01:02:57,440 This person gave a small shudder, and then he stopped moving. 585 01:02:57,440 --> 01:02:58,920 He had died. 586 01:03:01,120 --> 01:03:04,440 He had fled three kilometres, and then he died there. 587 01:03:04,440 --> 01:03:10,000 That man was the first fatality caused by the bomb, that I saw. 588 01:03:13,840 --> 01:03:15,680 Army recruit Shigeru Terasawa 589 01:03:15,680 --> 01:03:20,880 had been stationed seven miles from the centre of the blast. 590 01:03:22,480 --> 01:03:28,320 His unit was sent to help survivors, but they soon faced a terrible conflict 591 01:03:28,320 --> 01:03:30,760 between their compassion and their training. 592 01:03:34,680 --> 01:03:38,000 Even now there are things that I will never forget. 593 01:03:43,480 --> 01:03:47,360 One is the sound of people begging me for water. 594 01:03:57,320 --> 01:04:03,000 In those days, we had been told not to give water to the badly burned, 595 01:04:03,000 --> 01:04:08,280 to tell you the truth, we all had these big, military water flasks on our hips. 596 01:04:08,280 --> 01:04:10,440 People were begging for water, 597 01:04:10,440 --> 01:04:13,600 but we didn't give them any. 598 01:04:13,600 --> 01:04:19,360 We had been told that if we did, they would die straight away. 599 01:04:22,760 --> 01:04:26,520 And so I didn't give them any. A lot of people died. 600 01:04:26,520 --> 01:04:31,120 Now, looking back, I wish I had given them water. 601 01:04:39,000 --> 01:04:41,640 Burned, and bleeding, in the intense heat, 602 01:04:41,640 --> 01:04:45,400 people were desperate to find any water they could. 603 01:04:45,400 --> 01:04:49,680 They fled to the rivers, to pools, and reservoirs. 604 01:04:49,680 --> 01:04:52,480 Among them, nurse Kinuko. 605 01:04:56,480 --> 01:05:00,720 I knew there was a pool of water, in the back yard of the hospital. 606 01:05:04,800 --> 01:05:07,880 Lots of people had already got into the pool. 607 01:05:07,880 --> 01:05:11,320 More people had jumped on top of them. 608 01:05:16,480 --> 01:05:19,280 The people underneath drowned. 609 01:05:22,040 --> 01:05:24,760 This is one scene I can never forget. 610 01:05:24,760 --> 01:05:27,440 I still dream about it. 611 01:05:36,880 --> 01:05:39,120 THUNDER RUMBLES 612 01:05:44,960 --> 01:05:48,280 Then came a strange deliverance. 613 01:05:48,280 --> 01:05:53,200 Dark raindrops began to fall from the clouds above the burning city. 614 01:06:00,080 --> 01:06:02,360 We opened our mouths, and drank it. 615 01:06:02,360 --> 01:06:06,920 Our throats were parched, but it was difficult to capture the rain 616 01:06:06,920 --> 01:06:09,400 into our mouths. 617 01:06:14,360 --> 01:06:16,800 The rain had been made black by ash 618 01:06:16,800 --> 01:06:20,880 and smoke that had been sucked into the rising mushroom cloud. 619 01:06:20,880 --> 01:06:25,560 When these ashes mixed with cool, humid air in the upper atmosphere, 620 01:06:25,560 --> 01:06:30,000 they formed thick, black raindrops, and fell back down on to the city. 621 01:06:35,000 --> 01:06:37,200 The drops of rain were big enough to hurt, 622 01:06:37,200 --> 01:06:41,280 when they hit your skin. It descended in a torrent. 623 01:06:41,280 --> 01:06:44,560 Black fluid flowed where the rain fell. 624 01:06:44,560 --> 01:06:47,600 It was raining black fluid. 625 01:06:52,440 --> 01:06:58,080 What the people who drank the rain didn't realise, was that it was highly radioactive. 626 01:07:01,760 --> 01:07:05,040 In time, it would poison many thousands. 627 01:07:25,720 --> 01:07:31,440 On the day the bomb was dropped, President Truman was still travelling home from Europe. 628 01:07:33,080 --> 01:07:36,360 On our way back, on the Augusta, returning to Washington, 629 01:07:36,360 --> 01:07:42,080 we were on the edge of our chairs, because we expected any day - any time, any day - 630 01:07:42,080 --> 01:07:45,160 to have a flash from the War Department 631 01:07:45,160 --> 01:07:47,600 that the first bomb had been dropped. 632 01:07:47,600 --> 01:07:51,760 And on August 6th, as we were one day out from Norfolk, that flash came. 633 01:07:54,840 --> 01:08:01,120 George Elsie decoded the telegram that brought the news to President Truman on the Augusta. 634 01:08:01,120 --> 01:08:04,360 When something like that came, we would walk in to him immediately, 635 01:08:04,360 --> 01:08:05,920 we would interrupt whatever he was doing. 636 01:08:05,920 --> 01:08:09,480 He happened to be having lunch with the crew, at that point. 637 01:08:11,400 --> 01:08:14,680 I took it to Truman, who showed it to Secretary Burns, 638 01:08:14,680 --> 01:08:20,760 and to Admiral Leyhey, and Truman announced to the ship's crew this great accomplishment. 639 01:08:22,680 --> 01:08:29,080 We have dropped a single bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, 640 01:08:29,080 --> 01:08:33,400 with the power of 20,000 tons of TNT. 641 01:08:33,400 --> 01:08:38,040 The city has been completely destroyed! 642 01:08:38,040 --> 01:08:40,480 There was cheering - 643 01:08:40,480 --> 01:08:45,720 cheering by the crew, and by the officers, when he read it in the officers' mess. 644 01:08:48,120 --> 01:08:52,440 The Augusta was one of the ships that was destined for the Pacific, 645 01:08:52,440 --> 01:08:55,440 and would have been involved in the invasion. 646 01:08:55,440 --> 01:08:57,880 The crew knew that. 647 01:08:57,880 --> 01:09:01,440 Just about everybody who was in Europe knew that they 648 01:09:01,440 --> 01:09:04,680 would be headed for the Pacific, and an invasion of Japan. 649 01:09:04,680 --> 01:09:10,160 So they were just as overjoyed as the President was, that this damned thing is over! 650 01:09:10,160 --> 01:09:15,640 We hope this will be a warning to the Japanese military. 651 01:09:15,640 --> 01:09:19,640 Come on, boys, we're going home! 652 01:09:19,640 --> 01:09:27,360 He was eager to get home, because he was sure that the Japanese surrender would come very soon. 653 01:09:28,880 --> 01:09:34,600 In case there was any doubt, Truman spelt it out to the Japanese High Command. 654 01:09:34,600 --> 01:09:39,440 It was to spare the Japanese people form utter destruction 655 01:09:39,440 --> 01:09:44,760 that the ultimatum of July 26th was issued at Potsdam. 656 01:09:44,760 --> 01:09:49,160 Their leaders promptly rejected that ultimatum. 657 01:09:49,160 --> 01:09:54,120 If they do not now accept our terms, they may expect a rain of war, 658 01:09:54,120 --> 01:09:58,440 from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth. 659 01:10:08,480 --> 01:10:15,360 Late that afternoon, the mayor of Hiroshima, issued his own proclamation. 660 01:10:17,480 --> 01:10:23,000 The present catastrophe is the result of a horrible and inhuman air raid. 661 01:10:25,840 --> 01:10:32,400 The enemy's intention is clearly to undermine the fighting spirit of the Japanese people. 662 01:10:34,600 --> 01:10:36,880 Citizens of Hiroshima, 663 01:10:36,880 --> 01:10:38,720 the damage is great, 664 01:10:38,720 --> 01:10:42,320 but that is only to be expected during a war. 665 01:10:42,320 --> 01:10:45,520 Keep up your spirits. 666 01:10:45,520 --> 01:10:49,120 Do not lose heart. 667 01:11:35,440 --> 01:11:40,520 The morning after the bomb, a full-scale rescue effort began. 668 01:11:42,120 --> 01:11:46,520 Squads of soldiers from surrounding garrisons were drafted in to help. 669 01:11:49,240 --> 01:11:54,520 They collected the dead bodies and disposed of them before disease could spread. 670 01:11:58,920 --> 01:12:02,240 The wounded were quickly taken away for treatment. 671 01:12:04,720 --> 01:12:10,160 Makeshift hospitals were set up, although there were only a handful of medical staff. 672 01:12:13,040 --> 01:12:19,680 Dr Hida found himself treating 3,000 survivors in a village outside Hiroshima. 673 01:12:24,480 --> 01:12:28,400 At first we had no medicine, no equipment. 674 01:12:28,400 --> 01:12:31,280 There was nothing we doctors could do. 675 01:12:31,280 --> 01:12:36,760 However, we gathered up some things, and started treating the burns. 676 01:12:39,360 --> 01:12:43,840 Nurse Kinuko had an extraordinary escape. 677 01:12:45,880 --> 01:12:50,840 I don't know whether I was unconscious for hours or for days. 678 01:12:53,360 --> 01:12:57,800 When I did come round, I thought, "so, I'm still alive. 679 01:12:57,800 --> 01:13:00,520 "God must have given me strength." 680 01:13:03,680 --> 01:13:08,160 She woke to find that she had been thrown into a mass grave. 681 01:13:10,240 --> 01:13:17,280 After I crawled out of the hole, I managed to cross the road, to get to the entrance of the hospital. 682 01:13:20,640 --> 01:13:25,520 It took me a terribly long time, as I could not stand, nor lift my arms, 683 01:13:25,520 --> 01:13:27,560 or move them to the side. 684 01:13:31,680 --> 01:13:36,560 I crawled like an insect, and finally reached the hospital entrance. 685 01:13:42,080 --> 01:13:47,440 Dr Hinoki from the pharmacy spotted me, and exclaimed, "you're still alive!" 686 01:13:51,760 --> 01:13:55,440 He picked me up, and carried me to the surgery area. 687 01:14:01,120 --> 01:14:05,320 The corridor was full of people lying side by side. 688 01:14:12,200 --> 01:14:15,920 This was where they operated on me... 689 01:14:17,040 --> 01:14:21,720 ..and removed all of the large pieces of glass that were stuck in me. 690 01:14:30,560 --> 01:14:33,560 All over the city, relatives searched the ruins 691 01:14:33,560 --> 01:14:36,000 for signs of survivors. 692 01:14:40,920 --> 01:14:44,720 Before midday, my friend's father came to get us. 693 01:14:49,240 --> 01:14:53,040 But my friend, who had escaped from the bank with me, 694 01:14:53,040 --> 01:14:55,600 turned out to have a broken spine. 695 01:14:59,560 --> 01:15:01,760 She died a week later. 696 01:15:02,800 --> 01:15:05,240 She was a year younger than me. 697 01:15:05,240 --> 01:15:09,760 I am nearly 80 years old now, but she was only 18 at the time. 698 01:15:09,760 --> 01:15:13,440 Whenever I think of her, she is till 18 years old. 699 01:15:15,000 --> 01:15:18,240 She was a very pretty, gentle person. 700 01:15:24,720 --> 01:15:26,960 Three days after the Hiroshima bomb, 701 01:15:26,960 --> 01:15:31,120 despite all the destruction, Japan still hadn't surrendered. 702 01:15:31,120 --> 01:15:34,320 A second bomb was made ready 703 01:15:34,320 --> 01:15:36,640 and Truman issued another warning. 704 01:15:38,120 --> 01:15:44,720 The world will note that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a military base. 705 01:15:44,720 --> 01:15:49,840 If Japan does not surrender, bombs will have to be dropped on more industries. 706 01:15:57,760 --> 01:16:02,040 I urge Japanese civilians to leave industrial cities immediately 707 01:16:02,040 --> 01:16:05,480 and save themselves from destruction. 708 01:16:06,560 --> 01:16:10,960 I realise the tragic significance of the atomic bomb. 709 01:16:10,960 --> 01:16:15,360 Having found the atomic bomb, we have used it. 710 01:16:15,360 --> 01:16:20,720 We have used it against those who attacked us, without warning, at Pearl Harbour. 711 01:16:20,720 --> 01:16:26,800 Against those who have starved, and beaten, and executed American prisoners of war. 712 01:16:26,800 --> 01:16:33,640 Against those who have abandoned all pretence of obeying international laws of warfare. 713 01:16:33,640 --> 01:16:36,800 We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, 714 01:16:36,800 --> 01:16:42,880 in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans. 715 01:16:57,200 --> 01:16:59,960 The second bomb was intended for the city of Kokura, 716 01:16:59,960 --> 01:17:04,280 but it was too cloudy, so the plane moved on to Nagasaki. 717 01:17:05,880 --> 01:17:11,360 Desperately short of fuel, the crew released the bomb despite more clouds. 718 01:17:13,120 --> 01:17:17,200 The bomb missed the aiming point and fell into a valley. 719 01:17:17,200 --> 01:17:19,480 This time there was no firestorm. 720 01:17:19,480 --> 01:17:24,080 But, even so, more than 50,000 people were killed. 721 01:17:29,320 --> 01:17:32,880 The Supreme War Direction Council was meeting the same day. 722 01:17:32,880 --> 01:17:36,720 By now, the Russians had declared war on Japan. 723 01:17:36,720 --> 01:17:40,560 Then came the news from Nagasaki. 724 01:19:07,560 --> 01:19:11,680 Then, Prime Minister Suzuki did something unheard of. 725 01:19:11,680 --> 01:19:16,160 He asked the Emperor to break the deadlock and make a decision. 726 01:19:17,400 --> 01:19:21,360 Emperor Hirohito told them he wanted to end the suffering 727 01:19:21,360 --> 01:19:24,320 and bear the unbearable. 728 01:19:26,880 --> 01:19:31,840 Four days later, radical soldiers attempted a coup to prevent the surrender. 729 01:19:31,840 --> 01:19:33,800 They failed. 730 01:19:35,280 --> 01:19:38,560 At dawn, on the day that Emperor Hirohito 731 01:19:38,560 --> 01:19:42,320 was to broadcast an announcement that the war was over, 732 01:19:42,320 --> 01:19:48,600 General Anami prepared to end his life in the time-honoured tradition of seppuku. 733 01:19:58,400 --> 01:20:01,440 His suicide note read, 734 01:20:01,440 --> 01:20:05,440 "My death is my apology for my great crime." 735 01:20:18,760 --> 01:20:20,280 The war was over. 736 01:20:23,240 --> 01:20:26,400 At last the troops were going home. 737 01:20:26,400 --> 01:20:29,680 There was jubilation around the world. 738 01:20:43,880 --> 01:20:49,640 But then came something that would forever change perception of the bomb. 739 01:20:51,160 --> 01:20:54,360 It started in the hospitals. 740 01:20:58,320 --> 01:21:02,120 A mysterious illness began to spread. 741 01:21:02,120 --> 01:21:05,200 I noticed it from about the fourth day. 742 01:21:05,200 --> 01:21:10,840 Of course, it had been there all along, but I thought people were dying of severe burns. 743 01:21:14,880 --> 01:21:19,400 The woman who lost her children in the fires, Shigei Hiratsuka, 744 01:21:19,400 --> 01:21:22,680 and her husband, were amongst those affected. 745 01:21:24,680 --> 01:21:30,240 They lined my bed up next to my husband's and took his test first. 746 01:21:30,240 --> 01:21:34,840 When they had taken enough blood for the sample, they withdrew the needle. 747 01:21:39,080 --> 01:21:41,120 But the blood wouldn't stop. 748 01:21:42,640 --> 01:21:46,000 Nothing worked, whatever they did. 749 01:21:46,000 --> 01:21:49,880 Even when they applied pressure, he carried on bleeding. 750 01:21:51,440 --> 01:21:56,880 During this time, purple spots began breaking out all over my husband's body. 751 01:21:56,880 --> 01:21:59,920 He then vomited a large amount of brown liquid. 752 01:22:01,640 --> 01:22:05,280 Afterwards he went limp and died an hour later. 753 01:22:07,760 --> 01:22:13,160 He had managed to survive that far but then even he was taken away from me. 754 01:22:33,800 --> 01:22:39,600 Her husband was one of thousands who would die from this new and untreatable condition. 755 01:22:43,040 --> 01:22:45,120 They were rotting. 756 01:22:45,120 --> 01:22:47,040 It was necrosis. 757 01:22:47,040 --> 01:22:51,840 There were no white blood cells, so the blood had no power to fight against infection, 758 01:22:51,840 --> 01:22:54,040 and so, suddenly, the rotting set in. 759 01:22:54,040 --> 01:22:57,440 In the end, the hair would start to fall out. 760 01:22:57,440 --> 01:23:02,440 When you put your hand on the patient's head, tufts of hair would come away in your hand. 761 01:23:06,360 --> 01:23:09,440 It emerged that those who were worst affected 762 01:23:09,440 --> 01:23:11,560 had been close to the hypocentre, 763 01:23:11,560 --> 01:23:14,560 or had swallowed radioactive material, 764 01:23:14,560 --> 01:23:17,800 like the people who drank the black rain. 765 01:23:24,680 --> 01:23:30,720 In hindsight we realised that it was radiation but, at that time, we didn't know what it was. 766 01:23:32,600 --> 01:23:38,880 Radiation sickness has become the single most disturbing legacy of the bomb. 767 01:23:38,880 --> 01:23:43,440 American scientists always knew the bomb would produce radiation 768 01:23:43,440 --> 01:23:48,840 but the scale of the after effects came as a shocking surprise. 769 01:24:16,360 --> 01:24:20,840 Today, Hiroshima is a thriving city of over a million people. 770 01:24:24,640 --> 01:24:27,720 Japan, too, has been transformed 771 01:24:27,720 --> 01:24:32,400 into a prosperous country that has renounced the use of war entirely. 772 01:24:41,640 --> 01:24:45,400 Although no-one has used a nuclear weapon since, 773 01:24:45,400 --> 01:24:49,320 arguments continue as to the morality of dropping the bomb. 774 01:24:49,320 --> 01:24:52,280 Was it really necessary? 775 01:24:52,280 --> 01:24:54,520 Could it have been avoided? 776 01:24:57,720 --> 01:25:03,320 The nation had no rice to eat, people had not eaten white rice for a whole year. 777 01:25:03,320 --> 01:25:06,080 How could such a country go to battle? 778 01:25:06,080 --> 01:25:10,720 The Americans knew that very well and still dropped the atomic bomb. 779 01:25:10,720 --> 01:25:13,800 Why? It was an experiment! 780 01:25:13,800 --> 01:25:17,360 They knew that the bomb had enormous explosive power. 781 01:25:17,360 --> 01:25:21,520 What they did not know was how much damage the radiation would cause. 782 01:25:21,520 --> 01:25:25,320 Some scientists thought they knew, but they had not tested it, 783 01:25:25,320 --> 01:25:30,440 so they made an experiment to find out by testing it on human beings. 784 01:25:30,440 --> 01:25:35,960 The final decision that resulted in the two bombs - 785 01:25:35,960 --> 01:25:39,400 Hiroshima and Nagasaki - was not made in Potsdam, 786 01:25:39,400 --> 01:25:43,400 it wasn't made by Truman, it was made by the Japanese militarists 787 01:25:43,400 --> 01:25:47,320 when they rejected any opportunity 788 01:25:47,320 --> 01:25:50,440 to surrender just their armed forces 789 01:25:50,440 --> 01:25:53,000 and save further massive loss of life. 790 01:25:58,120 --> 01:26:03,560 Today, there are just a few places that bear the scars of August 6th 1945. 791 01:26:06,320 --> 01:26:09,320 There are burn marks on trees... 792 01:26:11,680 --> 01:26:15,160 ..the shadow of a vaporised man left on stone. 793 01:26:18,920 --> 01:26:22,040 First-hand memories are fading too. 794 01:26:23,760 --> 01:26:26,680 Akiko Takakura, the bank clerk, 795 01:26:26,680 --> 01:26:31,200 who had been just 260 metres from the hypocentre, 796 01:26:31,200 --> 01:26:35,120 is one of the last witnesses to the full horror of the bomb. 797 01:26:38,520 --> 01:26:42,360 There is a department store called Sogo, in Hiroshima, 798 01:26:42,360 --> 01:26:44,600 where I stop sometimes for tea. 799 01:26:47,200 --> 01:26:53,120 From the tearoom, I can see the road from the bank to the drill ground where we escaped. 800 01:26:56,840 --> 01:27:02,440 I see old people walking happily down the street, 801 01:27:02,440 --> 01:27:05,800 young people holding hands and enjoying conversation, 802 01:27:05,800 --> 01:27:10,040 children holding their parents' hands and looking happy. 803 01:27:17,440 --> 01:27:22,000 And I think about those awful scenes that I experienced, many years ago now, 804 01:27:22,000 --> 01:27:25,960 and all the people that lost their lives. 805 01:27:25,960 --> 01:27:29,160 I think to myself, what was all that? 806 01:27:30,160 --> 01:27:32,600 Did it really happen? 807 01:27:39,040 --> 01:27:41,080 Every year, on the 6th of August, 808 01:27:41,080 --> 01:27:44,920 there are ceremonies to recall what took place on that day... 809 01:27:45,960 --> 01:27:50,320 ..to make sure that these events are never forgotten or repeated. 810 01:27:53,520 --> 01:27:59,520 At sunset, tens of thousands of candles are released on the river in Hiroshima... 811 01:28:01,000 --> 01:28:06,280 ..each candle representing the soul of one of the dead.