Hiroshima

On August 6, 1945, for the first time in human history, nuclear weapons were used: the American bomber “Enola Gay” dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. More than one hundred thousand people died, and hundreds of thousands were maimed and developed radiation sickness. A year later, the magazine The New Yorker devoted an entire issue to a report by John Hersey, tracing what happened to six survivors before, during, and after the explosion. Published as a book, the report sold over three million copies and was repeatedly recognized as the best example of American journalism of the 20th century. In 1985, Hersey wrote an article that became the fifth chapter of “Hiroshima”: it told how the fates of his six main characters unfolded. With endless attention to details and facts, Hersey describes the embodiment of a nightmare spanning several generations—a nightmare that has not stopped haunting us.