The Forum 2000 Foundation, in conjunction with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, The Nippon Foundation and Prague’s New Town Hall, will organize a unique exhibition “Hiroshima – Nagasaki 1945–2010” which will run from October 12 to November 14, 2010 in Prague’s New Town Hall. This exhibition, held under the auspices of the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, commemorates the 65th anniversary of the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945. The theme of the exhibition also ties in with the recent treaty between the USA and the Russian Federation on the reduction of nuclear arsenals, which was signed in Prague on April 8, 2010.
The dropping of an atom bomb on Hiroshima towards the end of the Second World War on August 6, 1945 claimed the lives of more than 140,000 victims. A further 70,000 people died after another atomic explosion over Nagasaki. Thanks to the kind help of Japan’s Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, authentic artifacts and pictures of the atomic explosions over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the events that occurred in the hours and days that followed, will be presented in the Czech Republic for the first time. Panels displaying black-and-white photographs with explanatory texts analyze the consequences that the explosions had on the cities and their inhabitants. They record the suffering inflicted by the bombs, as well as the subsequent conflagrations and radioactive fall-out. They also describe the efforts of medical and rescue teams to provide aid to victims under difficult conditions. Nonetheless, the exhibition does not simply recount the causes and immediate impact of the bombs but also the subsequent renewal of the cities. In particular, it delivers a strong message of peace for the times we live in today. Part of the exhibition comprises an education program for secondary schools. The exhibition Hiroshima – Nagasaki 1945–2010 is associated with the 14th annual Forum 2000 Conference entitled “The World We Want to Live In”.
Further information about the exhibition will be being added to the project web pages.