Hibakusha

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The dark pattern of the kimono was burned into the skin by the heat of the explosion
A hibakusha tells young people about the atomic bomb being dropped on Nagasaki

As Hibakusha ( Jap. 被爆者 , dt. Explosion victims ) are in Japan the survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki called in August 1945.

overview

There are basically three categories of victims.

  • Those who died instantly, i.e. due to pressure waves, heat and / or extremely strong radioactive radiation in the vicinity of the detonation on the spot, and those who were so badly wounded by the event that they died shortly afterwards.
  • A second official category includes people who died as a result of radiation sickness , caused by still comparatively high radiation doses, by the end of 1945 (so-called early deaths).
  • The third category are the so-called Hibakusha; These are those people who survived the drop themselves, but who later suffered from illnesses or diseases due to the lower radiation dose received (and thus a longer latency period ). Deaths mainly from cancer were to be expected.

Hibakusha and her children were (and still are) victims of discrimination , including due to a lack of knowledge about radiation sickness, which many people believed to be hereditary or even contagious.

Studs Terkel's book The Good War contains a conversation with two Hibakusha and observes:

There is considerable discrimination against the hibakusha in Japan. This often extends to their children, both socially and economically. "Not only Hibakusha, but also their children are denied jobs," says Mr. Kito. "There are many among them who hide the fact that they are Hibakusha."

Even at the beginning of the 21st century, there are still new Hibakusha registrations, as some of those affected are only now going public with their personal stories.

A law on the treatment of the victims of the atomic bombs , in which the first supply arrangements for the Hibakusha were passed, was passed in 1957, but only from 1968 did the survivors receive free medical care. The material compensation or provision of the Hibakusha is still unsatisfactory today.

Many Hibakusha suffer from long-term physical damage, disabilities and secondary diseases. Thyroid diseases such as tumors or cysts are the most common . In addition, there are often psychological disorders : after the bombings, many survivors fell into lethargy due to family and social losses or developed feelings of guilt about their own survival , and when starting their own families it was initially unclear whether the children would be born healthy. On the occasion of the International Year of Peace in 1986, the Hiroshima Peace and Culture Foundation decided to record the reports from 100 Hibakusha and archive them in the Hiroshima Peace Museum .

Some 40,000 Korean forced laborers were also among the atomic bomb survivors , most of whom returned to Korea. Since South Korea waived all claims in the normalization treaty with Japan in 1965, it received no reparation payments . While Japanese courts had always rejected claims by Korean victims in the past, the Japanese government was sentenced for the first time in January 2005 to pay compensation for 40 South Korean atomic bomb victims.

Known Hibakusha

The student Sadako Sasaki (1943–1955), who lives in Hiroshima, was 2½ years old at the time of the atomic bombing. She was diagnosed with leukemia in early 1955 . Based on a Japanese legend that whoever folds 1,000 origami cranes would get a wish from the gods, Sadako began folding paper cranes during her hospital stay in order to regain their health. Due to the worldwide spread and sympathy that their story found, origami cranes have become a symbol of the international peace movement and resistance to nuclear war.

The manga artist Keiji Nakazawa (1939-2012) survived the bombing on Hiroshima near the hypocenter as a student , but lost a large part of his family and fell ill with leukemia. He has his memories u. a. captured in the manga series Barefoot by Hiroshima , published from 1973 to 1985 , which has received numerous international awards.

The doctor Michihiko Hachiya (1903–1980) was director of a hospital in Hiroshima and survived the atomic bomb only about 1,500 meters from the hypocenter. From August 6th to September 30th 1945 he kept a diary in which he recorded the activities of doctors and nurses in the destroyed city. The work has also been translated into other languages under the title Hiroshima Diary .

Kazuo Soda (born 1930) survived the bombing of Nagasaki , but lost his brother and later his parents. He is an internationally known peace activist and was a. a. awarded the Aachen Peace Prize.

Tsutomu Yamaguchi (1916-2010) witnessed both atomic bombs: On August 6, 1945, he was working in Hiroshima and survived the explosion about three kilometers from the hypocenter. He returned to his hometown of Nagasaki on August 8 and survived the second explosion a day later, again about three kilometers from the hypocenter. In addition, he was exposed to ionizing radiation in both cases . He was one of nine known survivors who were close to ground zero in both explosions , and the only "double hibakusha" ever officially recognized.

Araki Takeshi (1916–1994) survived the bombing of a factory on Hiroshima, but fell ill with radiation sickness that same month . He was Mayor of Hiroshima from 1975 to 1991 and campaigned for the abolition of nuclear weapons throughout his life. His peace declarations, which take place every year on August 6 and have been addressed to the world by the incumbent Mayor of Hiroshima since 1947, attracted worldwide attention . On his initiative, the international organization Mayors for Peace was founded in 1982 .

Tomotaka Tasaka (1902–1974), a famous film director , survived the drop in Hiroshima. He later processed his experiences in the film Never Forget the Song of Nagasaki . (Nagasaki no uta wa wasureji, 1953)

Others

In the popular mainly in Germany novel The cloud of Gudrun Pausewang call themselves the victims of a (fictional) nuclear accident also as Hibakusha. In reality, however, this designation is only common for the victims of the two atomic bombs. Such a transfer of the designation to the victims of civil nuclear technology, e.g. B. the accidents in Chernobyl and Fukushima did not occur.

Documentaries

  • Lucy van Beek, directed by Hiroshima: The real History . GB, 2015, 95 min, Brook Lapping Productions. (Broadcast in German on July 30, 2019 at 8.15 p.m. on the arte channel )

literature

  • Kei Nakamura, Mayumi Matsuo: The Light - Portraits of the Hibakusha . Beacon Press, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-907684-00-5 , pp. 211 (Japanese: 光 の 肖像 展 . Translated by Ability Interbusiness Solutions, contains portraits (paintings and résumés) of 100 Hibakusha, on the occasion of an exhibition in London in 2010; Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture Kingston University, Hiroshima City).
  • Arata Osada (Ed.): Children of Hiroshima . Verlag Volk und Welt, Berlin 1984, p. 226 (Contains a selection, translated into German, from approx. 2000 essays by Japanese primary to secondary school students about their experiences when the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.).

items

  • Hisako Matsubara, photos: Wilfried Bauer: Hiroshima: Un ga nai - no luck . In: Geo-Magazin. , 1980,8, pp. 124-146. Report on the Hibakusha, the atomic bomb victims.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Atomic energy and radiation risk . In: PSR / IPPNW-News , 1998/1
  2. ^ Prejudice Haunts Atomic Bomb Survivors . In: Japan Times , May 8, 2001
  3. ^ Studs Terkel : The Good War . Random House, 1984, p. 542.