WWII Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki:

Physical and Psychological Effects

Natalie Wolford

(Hiroshima)

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WWII Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Physical and Psychological Effects This was a project that would not only change the fate of the war but also the fate of the world. In December 1941, American scientists began research for the atomic bombs under the code name The Manhattan Project. They successfully completed this task in July 1945, and in August of that same year, the atomic bombs were dropped directly on Japanese cities where unsuspecting and unprotected people were subject to its massive destructive power (Effects 335). Countless people lost parents, friends, and neighbors; their households and places of work were reduced to rubble; and all human relationships were ruptured as the whole of society was laid waste to its very foundations (Effects 336). After the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, many survivors experienced debilitating physical injuries both immediately after the bombing and continuing throughout the survivors lives. Equally debilitating, however, were the psychological effects that also had an immediate and longstanding impact on the survivors. In 1945, Hiroshima was an important rail and industrial center and the support of a large military complex (Schull 2). On August 6, 1945, B-29 Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb codenamed Little Boy on the unsuspecting people of Hiroshima. The estimated population in Hiroshima on the day of the bombing was between 340,000 and 350,000 and the estimated death count was between 100,000 and 110,000 (Impact 18-20). In 1945, Nagasaki was not only home to a major shipyard, but also a Mitsubishi complex that provided weapons, namely torpedoes, for war machines (Schull 3). On August 9, 1945, B-29 Bocks Car intended to drop its atomic bomb dubbed Fat Man on the city of Kokura. However, due to thick cloud cover over the city, the B-29 backtracked and bombed the city of Nagasaki

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instead (Schull 2). The estimated population of Nagasaki on the day of the bombing was between 260,000 and 270,000 and the estimated death count was between 60,000 and 70,000 (Impact 45-48). Nagasaki suffered less damage than Hiroshima, despite the fact that the bomb Fat Man released more energy. Because of Nagasakis terrain and the way its population was distributed, it caused less fire damage and ultimately fewer deaths (Schull 8-9).

Fig. 1 Mushroom cloud from the bombing of Nagasaki (Wikipedia).

Physical Injuries Caused from the Atomic Bomb All injuries that resulted from the bombing can be categorized into one effect entitled Atomic Bomb Illness. Atomic bomb illness resulted from thermal and radioactive rays as well as from the blast itself. Many deaths occurred immediately following the blast, but the thermal and radioactive rays extended from the epicenter and resulted in an illness never before experienced (Impact 85).

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This illness can be classified into three stages. Stage 1 (early stage) followed immediately after the explosion and lasted until the end of the second week. Ninety percent of deaths occurred in this period and symptoms included thermal injury and secondary injury from structures (Impact 91-92). One survivor accounts his injuries immediately following the bombing: The skin from the shoulder to the fingertips of my left arm had peeled off and was hanging down like a tattered old rag. I passed my hand around to my back and found that the clothes I had been wearing were gone. When I brought back the hand and looked at it, I saw that it was covered with something like black grease. I had suffered terrible burns all over my back and left arm. (Testimonies 46) This survivor is just one of the many thousands of survivors who experienced horrific injuries during the first stage of a-bomb illness. The second stage of a-bomb illness (intermediate stage) began from the start of the third week after the bombing and concluded at the end of week eight. Ten percent of deaths occurred during this time and symptoms from radioactive rays began to appear. These symptoms included hair loss, anemia, fewer white blood cells, tendency to bleed, and diarrhea (Impact 92). The final stage of a-bomb illness (late stage) occurred from the beginning of the third month to the end of the fourth month. In this stage there began to be improvement in thermal injury, trauma, and radiation illness symptoms (Impact 92). The three stages of a-bomb illness only affected the atomic bomb survivors for a short term. After a latent period in which symptoms continued to improve, however, more permanent and long-lasting effects began to appear. Some effects of the atomic bomb included keloid, atomic bomb cataract, leukemiaas well as other cancersand genetic effects. Keloid is the overgrowth of tissue on thermal burns that occurs as the wound is healing. This forms an irregularly shaped lump on the skin and is the

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site of itching and stinging pain (Impact 119-120). Atomic bomb cataract, the most frequent atomic bomb aftereffect, causes the ocular lens to become opaque, and can result in severe visual impairment (Impact 123-125). Leukemia is cancer that occurs because of an excessive overgrowth of white blood cells. People with leukemia have anemia, a tendency to bleed, and since white blood cells do not function properly, the resistance to infection is reduced which can often lead to death (Impact 125-126). Because radiation is one of the most important factors in carcinogenesis, many other malignant cancers were also developed among survivors. Frequent cancers include, but are not limited to, lung, breast, stomach, esophagus, colon, urinary tract, malignant lymphoma, multiple myeloma, thyroid, and salivary gland tumors (Impact 133-134). Radiation not only affected the people who were directly exposed to it, but children whose parents were exposed to the bombs radiation were also affected. For example, when a mother was exposed to atomic bomb radiation it resulted in a high percentage of infant deaths. Children born to these mothers also showed signs of radiation illness including hair loss, a tendency to bleed, and a higher rate of mental retardation (Impact 138-139). Many survivors, therefore, kept their identity to themselves due to the stigma associated with the atomic bombs radiation. Many people were concerned that their children would be subject to the genetic effects that result from an individual who was exposed to radiation (Lindee 5-7). Because of the many aftereffects caused by the atomic bomb and its radiation, the organization Heath Checkup System for A-Bomb Survivors was set up to ensure that each survivor was entitled to two health checkups a year plus another detailed checkup for cancer. Another organization, Hiroshima Council for Health Care of the Radiation Exposed, was also established so that survivors who no longer inhabited Japan would continue to have the

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assistance needed to ensure that their long-lasting physical injuries would still be attended to (Ogawa and Sasaki 891). Psychological Effects Caused from the Atomic Bomb Equally as debilitating and long-lasting as the physical effects on the atomic bomb survivors were the psychological effects. Psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton explains that survivors seem not only to have experienced the atomic disaster, but to have imbibed it and incorporated it into their beings, including all of its elements of horror, evil, and particularly of death (Lifton 482). Immediately following the bombing, many survivors experienced an initial shock. Minds became blank and once people began to return to their senses a sense of panic flooded in. The destruction surrounding them was surveyed and chaos ensued as people tried to save themselves. Because of shouting and constant movement from people, the fears of many became intensified. Eventually survivors found a place they felt was safe to rest and could then slowly begin to recover from those first psychological reactions (Effects 485-486). One survivor accounts his experiences immediately after the bomb having lost his shoes and being forced to walk on broken glass and debris: I used to say proudly that I would willingly give up my life for my country, but now even my shoes were hard to part with when occasion demanded (Testimonies 3). The Japanese had a great sense of pride for their country; however, the atomic bomb had a negative impact immediately after the explosion and this individuals opinion was completely altered on what he would now be willing to sacrifice. Rumors began to circulate throughout the disaster areas and caused the people to become frightened. Survivors feared that the cities would be unable to grow vegetation because the bomb injected a deadly poison and because of this the cities would be uninhabitable. People were also concerned that they would

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either all be dead in three years, or that the bombs exposure could unexpectedly affect its victims at any time during their lives (Lifton 471). The most striking psychological feature that resulted immediately following the bombing, however, was the sense of a sudden and absolute shift from normal existence to an overwhelming encounter with death (Lifton 465). This remains with the survivors indefinitely: the sense that they have encountered death. This feeling of death continued throughout the survivors lives resulting in many psychological effects. One study compared the long-lasting psychological effects on Holocaust victims with that of atomic bomb victims. Life for both atomic bomb and holocaust survivors was focused around their being a victim. As victims of these horrific events, they were negatively affected not only because they experienced these events, but because of their treatment by others after these events. Survivors attempted to connect to the real world by talking about their experiences with other people, but many people refused to believe the terrible events of their stories. This led to a phenomenon called the conspiracy of silence in which survivors felt betrayed and kept silent about their experiences (Sawada, Chaitin, and Bar-On 48-57). In the 1990s, however, a study conducted to find the psychological effects of Sri Lankan refugees who had experienced aerial bombing can be used to understand the effects many atomic bomb victims felt over the course of their lifetimes. One effect that was discovered was somatization. Somatization is physical complaints that victims attribute to the bombing, but have no association with the bombing. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as well as anxiety and depression were also prevalent in many victims. Other effects are psychosocial problems. These effects included, but were not limited to, irritability and hostile impulses, social withdrawal, change in religious beliefs (whether by increase or decrease in faith), and functional disability

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(Somasundaram 1465-1468). These effects caused by the aerial bombing had a negative impact on the refugees, and will affect their way of life indefinitely. Victims from the atomic bombing also experienced the same sort of psychological distress as expressed by the Sri Lankan refugees; however, some individuals were only able to survive these experiences whereas others were able to thrive. Surviving is defined as the ability to continue to exist, despite adverse situations. People in this category constantly reflect on bombing memories, often display anxiety and mistrust, and focus on the stigma that is associated with being an atomic bomb survivor (Knowles 58). Fear has embedded itself into the minds of atomic bomb survivors and has drastically changed their present lives as well as their ideas for the future. Whenever another atomic bomb victim dies, for whatever reason, it frightens the survivors that are still living into thinking that their death may also be imminent (Schull 2). Survivors also often relish on one moment of ultimate horror, or one experience that had a profound impact on them, which usually leaves them with a sense of guilt, pity, and shame (Lifton 470). Survivors of the atomic bomb constantly dwell upon their experiences with the atomic bomb, and although all victims of the atomic bomb are subject to psychological effects, individuals who chose to simply survive are affected by them more. Opposite of the idea of merely surviving is the idea of thriving. Thriving is defined as the ability to prosper or flourish despite adverse conditions (Knowles 58). These people focus on the future, seem hopeful, and are willing to forgive (Knowles 58). One survivor accounts his experiences in which he learned that thriving is a better option than merely surviving: There was a young girl in the hospital who, like me, had burns over half of her face. On the night before her discharge she hung herself to death in the thicket

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behind the hospital Her death was a crushing blow to the other patients However, I reminded myself how I had barely escaped death and how hard I had struggled to come this far, and I refused to let her death dishearten me. (Testimonies 53) Other victims who have chosen to thrive, despite their horrific circumstances, have emerged with a better outlook on life. They have chosen the idea of living over death, advocate anti-nuclear weapons, and feel they have a mission in life to help other people overcome hardships (Effects 498-500). It is common for victims of the bomb to display characteristics from both surviving and thriving. Different events in atomic bomb victims' lives can cause them to waver between these two psychological patterns of behavior (Knowles 58-59). Survivors of the atomic bomb had their lives drastically altered by the horrific experiences caused by the bombing. Some effects, both physical and psychological, occurred immediately following the blast and lasted only a short time. However, many other effects either appeared later in the victims lives or continued to have a lasting impact thus preventing them from coexisting normally after the experience. This experience and experiences just as horrific as this one, usually caused by war, can have a lasting impact on its victims and ultimately beg the question: are war and the actions done in war really worth the risk of debilitating human life? There has been much controversy on whether dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was necessary to end the war. In the world today where there is much controversy over nuclear bombing, many people use the example of the bombings of 1945 to argue on behalf of one side or the other. Many people believe that there may come a time in which nuclear bombing may be necessary. However, people who have been directly affected by the atomic bombs are

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continually advocating for peace in the hopes that other people will realize that war is not worth the human risk and that life is more important than death.

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Works Cited Hiroshima: Aftermath of the atomic bomb. Photograph. Encyclopdia Britannica Online. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Physical, Medical, and Social Effects of the Atomic Bombings. Ed. Hiroshima-shi Nagasaki-shi Genbaku Saigaishi Hensh Iinkai. New York: Basic Books, c1981., 1981. Print. Hiroshima Nagasaki no Genbaku Saigai.

The Impact of the a-Bomb, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 1945-85. Ed. Hiroshima-shi Nagasaki-shi Genbaku Saigaishi Hensh Iinkai. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1985., 1985. Print. Genbaku Saigai--Hiroshima, Nagasaki.

Knowles, A. "Resilience among Japanese Atomic Bomb Survivors." International Nursing Review 58.1 (2011): 54-60. Print.

Lifton, Robert Jay. "Psychological Effects of the Atomic Bomb in Hiroshima: The Theme of Death."Daedalus 92.3 (1963): 462-97. Print.

Lindee, M. Susan. Suffering Made Real: American Science and the Survivors at Hiroshima. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1994. Print.

Mushroom Cloud. Photograph. Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 21 Dec. 2008.

Ogawa, Marilia Marufuji, and Hideo Sasaki. "Hiroshima, an Experience that can Never be Forgotten: Long-Term Follow-Up of Hiroshima Survivors." International Journal of Dermatology 50.7 (2011): 890-2. Print.

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Sawada, Aiko, Julia Chaitin, and Dan Bar-On. "Surviving Hiroshima and Nagasaki--Experiences and Psychosocial Meanings." Psychiatry: Interpersonal & Biological Processes 67.1 (2004): 43-60. Print.

Schull, William J. Effects of Atomic Radiation : A Half-Century of Studies from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. New York: Wiley, c1995., 1995. Print.

Somasundaram, Daya J. "Post-Traumatic Responses to Aerial Bombing." Social Science & Medicine1996: 1465-71. Print.

Testimonies of the Atomic Bomb Survivors : A Record of the Devastation of Nagasaki. Ed. Nagasaki-shi (Japan). Nagasaki: City of Nagasaki, 1985, 1985. Print.