Anniversary of Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

On August 6, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, on August 9, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. These nuclear weapons killed over 270,000 people, almost all civilians, and injured many tens of thousands more. By all measurements, this aggressiveness qualifies as a crime against humanity. Ever since, people around the world have lived with the fears of the Nuclear Age. Deadly weapons loom over humanity like great clenched fists, shaping the characters of nations and troubling international diplomacy. The threat of nuclear annihilation has influenced entire generations, coloring their attitudes toward the future, family, marriage, work, time, leisure and death.

To Observe the 61st Anniversary of the Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki:

• View the DVD Hiroshima No Pika & Hellfire, a two-part documentary. The first is an animated film of the award-winning children's book Hiroshima No Pika narrated by Susan Sarandon with illustrations by the Japanese artist Toshi Maruki. Here is a simple but moving account of the experiences in the city of a little girl and her parents. The second part charts the amazing careers of this artist and his wife whose courageous creations have presented a monumental portrait of the slaughterhouse of the twentieth century.

• Remember the bombings in your congregation or community. Faithful Security, the National Religious Partnership on the Nuclear Weapons Danger has assembled prayers and other resources for worship or prayer services as well as resources for group of individual study.

• View this e-card to see a representation of the number of nuclear weapons the United States currently has — and what could be done with the 17.6 billion dollars a year it costs to maintain them. Then send it to your friends. Rededicate yourself to peace by working to stop your government from developing new nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction and to start destroying safely the current arsenals.