The first ever exhibit in the Scandinavian countries of artifacts from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima was recently opened on 9 September in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.
The title of the exhibit “No More Wars” conveyed the tragedy of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and underscored the threat of nuclear weapons.
The exhibit was arranged with the combined cooperation of the Sweden Military Museum, the Scandinavia-Japan Sasakawa Foundation, and The Nippon Foundation.
Twenty artifacts of the atomic bombing, and posters related to it, are on loan from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum for the exhibit. Together they communicate the horrors associated with nuclear damage, and the need for international peace. The exhibit will continue at the museum until 8 December.
Opening ceremony of the “No More Wars” Exhibition in Stockholm
The opening day ceremony of the exhibit and symposium on 9 September were attended by Princess Christina of Sweden, former Japanese foreign minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, former International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Dr. Hans Blix, The Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa and the Scandinavia-Japan Sasakawa Foundation Chairman Magnus Vahlquist.
The exhibit is arranged at the Military Museum from the point of view of cultural anthropology, showing the history of war and the materials of human conflict.
Head of the museum, Eva-Sofi Ernstell, said “I’m sincerely happy to hold this exhibit here. It is an important event for young people to deepen their interest and understanding of the problems of nuclear weapons.”
Chairman Sasakawa explained to the “A World Without Nuclear Weapons Symposium,” which followed the opening ceremony: “This is only a very small fraction of the materials to show the episodes involving the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”
“However, this exhibit transcends time and crosses borders and provides the opportunity for people to sense the destruction caused by nuclear weapons,” he added.
Chairman Sasakawa makes comments at the symposium
Then, Mr Blix and former foreign minister Kawaguchi made remarks on ways to eliminate nuclear weapons and reduce fears of their existence. They also took lively questions from the symposium audience.
Finally, Keiko Sasamori, who miraculously survived the Hiroshima bombing, told of her experiences on that fateful day.
Keiko Sasamori tells audience her experiences of the Hiroshima atomic bombing
“My sister thought the sun had fallen on us,” recalled Sasamori. “In my fading consciousness, I heard the sound of a baby screaming. That scream still remains clearly in my ears, as if it happened yesterday,” she said, as the symposium audience listened raptly to her and were drawn into her narrative.
She recounted the severe burns to her face and upper body, and the many months of treatment that was required before she was finally able to venture outside.
Immediately after the bombing, she recalls how stunned she was at the change in her neighborhood landscape. She saw a nearby house where a woman stood crying over the body of her child, who had been trapped from the waist down under the wreckage of their collapsed house killing her in front of her mother’s eyes.
Sasamori said she saw many tragic scenes like this. “I don’t want anyone else to have this kind of experience,” she said. “To create a world without war, it is crucial that people understand each other on a one to one basis.
If we have the courage to take action, then wars cannot occur,” she emphasized. These words were greeted with loud applause from the audience.