Hibakusha is the Japanese word for the survivors of the American bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This powerful and moving documentary focuses on a few of the eighty hibakusha who journeyed from Japan to New York in June, 1982, to take part in peace demonstrations held to coincide with the Second United Nations Special Session on Disarmament. They came to urge the nations of the world to prevent nuclear war. Instead of concentrating on the physical suffering of the victims, the film reveals the mental anguish of the hibakusha, who are still haunted by nightmares.
Warnings: Disturbing images of dead victims of the atomic bomb. Disturbing firsthand description of the experience of a five-year-old survivor in the moments after the bomb.
This documentary tells the stories of a few survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima as they were attending a 1982 conference at the United Nations to advise against nuclear weapons. Students may hear statistics about the atomic bomb, but this film gives firsthand personal accounts. Students can discuss the impact of the bombing of Hiroshima on survivors’ lives. Students could write a research essay and/or reflective journal entry about the impact of the nuclear bomb. The survivors were at the UN promoting peace and the end of nuclear weapons. Students could debate the necessity of nuclear weapons. The film ends with a survivor folding an origami crane, which links the film to the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, which students could also read and discuss.