I remember learning about Hiroshima when I was in grade 4. We learned about Japan, and then read a story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. We then folded a thousand paper cranes as a class.
Due
to schools around the world reading Sadako's story to children,
millions of paper cranes are shipped to Hiroshima every year, and they
are added to the containers surrounding this Children's Peace Monument
(with a statue of of Sadako on top, holding a giant golden crane).
Sadako's story touched me at that age and I remember not understanding how it could be a true story. Every time I heard about the bombing from that point forward, the more real it became, and yet, the more inconceivable it became. Visiting the Peace Memorial Museum, and the surrounding grounds epitomized that feeling.
The above photo is of a diorama of Hiroshima before the bomb.
And after. Very few buildings survived the blast, but one that did, the Genbaku Domu, we visited later that day. It is now a UNESCO world heritage site.
Above: Genbaku Domu and surrounding area - August 1945
Below: Genbaku Domu and surrounding area - August 2014
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