Hiroshima

Hiroshima research papers can focus on several important factors regarding the dropping of a nuclear bomb on the city of Hiroshima in Japan. Paper Masters suggests the following topics for your research paper on Hiroshima:

• Is the area around Hiroshima still affected by the events of the bombing today?
• Use John Hersey's book called Hiroshima to explore the experience of the Japanese people in Hiroshima
• Use first person narratives to explore the repercussions of Hiroshima regarding U.S. and Japanese relations
• Discuss the events that led up to the dropping of the bomb
• Discuss the justification for dropping a nuclear bomb on the people of Hiroshima

"Hiroshima" written by John Hersey and published by Bantam Books in 1948 is the story of six very different people, some Japanese and some not, who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Each of the six, by circumstances unknown to anyone, were able to survive this catastrophic disaster when more than 100,000 others perished. Was there chance at survival luck or a curse? Their lives would never be the same.

Hiroshima and Dr. Sasaki

On this specific day in August, Dr. Sasaki, a Red Cross Hospital surgeon, took an earlier train to work than usual. This enabled him to take a streetcar from the train terminal promptly instead of his normal wait later in the morning. Once at the hospital, he went to work beginning with the testing of a man's blood, which he drew and took to the laboratory for testing. He no sooner started down the corridor, when the bomb went off, causing him to crouch against the wall of the corridor. His customary time of leaving his house would have placed him in the center of town near the bomb's center, where he would have definitely died. Others in his laboratory were killed. He was to live and aid many dazed, injured, and barely living casualties of this dreadful bombing.

It took Dr. Sasaki six months to return to some normalcy. His idealist nature was now gone, taken by the realities of such devastation experienced by the people of Hiroshima, but he was able to find solace in his work at the hospital and he eventually married and began a new life.

Tragic Stories from Hiroshima

Miss Toshiko Sasaki, no relation to the doctor, was a young woman, twenty years old, who worked in the personnel department of the tin works factory. Her desk was situated far from any windows but behind her were some tall bookcases full of books. When the bomb went off she became pinned under the falling bookcases and all of the books. Her left leg was twisted and broken as the weight of the books crushed upon her.

After several attempts by rescuers, Miss Sasaki was finally removed from the debris. Through the help of many passer-bys she finally ended up at the Red Cross Hospital. She was very sick and took many months to heal not only physically, but mentally and emotionally. Her life was changed forever, her fiance never returned, her leg would brand her a cripple for life, so she turned to Catholic Church for strength to move on.