Archives at Cornell

Hiroshima atomic bomb damage photographs

Collection — manuscript box: 91 - Folder 1

Identifier: 8608

Scope and content

Photographs of the destruction in and around the city of Hiroshima shortly after the atomic bomb was dropped on it in August 1945. Images include both panoramic views and more detailed shots of particular buildings and other structures. Also shown are American soldiers in front of signs and rubble; Japanese citizens; and streetcars, bridges, factories, and ships.

Scope and content

46 photographs.

Dates

1945

Biographical / Historical

Beginning on September 18, 1945, the United States imposed a strict censorship code concerning images of war damage to Japan. The few images taken by Japanese photographers were suppressed or confiscated, and future photographs were banned. A more specific ban on photographs of atomic bomb sites was announced in October 1945. These photographs likely predate the ban.