The Atomic Bomb Dome

Hiroshima is a major city in the south of Japan and has always been an important centre of trade. A landmark in the city is a building, in western style, with a distinctive dome designed by the Czech architect Jan Letzel.

The building was completed during April 1915 and was named the Hiroshima Prefecture Commercial Exhibition. It was officially opened to the public in August 1915. During 1921 the name of the building was changed to the Hiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall, and again in 1933, to the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall.

Long before the outbreak of the second World War the western style building with its oval dome and wavy walls had become a feature of Hiroshima City attracting many visitors. At 08:15 in the morning of 6 August 1945, sixty-five years ago recently, an event took place that was to introduce the world to the horror of nuclear warfare.

The United States of America and Japan had been at war since 1941 and it was in the interest of the former to bring the war to a swift end. The main target set for the bombing was the distinctive " T "- shaped Aioi Bridge situated on the river close by the building. The attack was slightly off target and the nuclear device detonated almost directly above the dome of the building. The centre of the blast was 160 meters to the south east of the building and 600 meters above the dome.

Because the detonation was almost directly above the building, parts of the walls of the building and the steel frame of the dome on top remained standing in the devastated burnt-out surrounding city area. The devastation was mind-boggling as it is estimated that over 70 000 people were killed instantly and another 70 000 suffered fatal injuries from nuclear radiation.

After the war ended and as part of the reconstruction of Japan, Hiroshima was gradually rebuilt around the ruin of the building and the dome. Scheduled to be demolished but due to delays the dome began to become a symbol of hope as a reminder of the need to avert warfare but not without a degree of controversy ; some of the locals wanted it torn down as it was a painful reminder of their loved ones who had succumbed in the horror attack.

In 1966 Hiroshima City declared it intended to preserve the now termed Atomic Bomb Dome or the Genbaco Dome indefinitely. Fund raising for the restoration of the building and dome to preserve it as a memorial of the bombing commenced in Japan and Internationally. To date the dome and the immediate precinct has undergone two preservation projects.

During December 1996 the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List based on the convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and National Heritage.

The devastated city has been rebuilt as a modern metropolis with aspirations of hosting a Summer Olympic games and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial remains a grim reminder of the devastation caused by the use of nuclear weapons ------ yet in a silent way building and dome is also a testimony to the skills of those who designed and constructed a structure that remained standing after an atomic bomb was dropped on it.

Pieter Rautenbach