NAGASAKI NATIONAL PEACE MEMORIAL HALL

Nagasaki will forever be infamous for being the second and last city hit by the atomic bomb, only three days after Hiroshima. On this day of August 9, 1945 (at 11:02 a.m.), the fate of Nagasaki changed, almost by chance. It was the weather conditions that forced the American B-29 bomber to decide to drop Fat Man (the name given to this bomb) on Nagasaki, which was only a subsidiary target to the cities of Kokura and Fukuoka, above which a cloudy sky greatly reduced visibility. The U.S. army then accentuated its ascendancy over the Japanese empire while revealing to the world the existence of a nuclear weapon even more destructive than the one used a few days earlier (21 kilotons of TNT against 12.5). The human toll was extremely heavy (74,000 instantaneous deaths and as many wounded) and many civilians suffered unspeakable physical and psychological consequences. This magnificent and moving memorial is an essential complement to the visit of the museum it adjoins. The hall of remembrance, with its 12 pillars that seem to extend into infinity, invites meditation and meditation in memory of the dead of August 9, 1945 at 11:02 a.m.. Photos, testimonies and information on treatment for people affected by nuclear accidents inhabit this monument. A hall of remembrance displays pillars of light and an antechamber of remembrance shows photos.