Hiroshima at 75 & Canada's Involvement

Setsuko Thurlow in her Toronto home on Aug. 2, 2017. Setsuko was thirteen when the nuclear bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. FRED LUM/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

The beginning of August has always been a sleepy time in churches for any commemorations but I always tried to acknowledge the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the Sunday closest to the 6th of the month. The Americans detonated atomic bombs over both of these cities in the waning days of WW2. 

The devastation and civilian loss of life was catastrophic and crushed the will of the Japanese people who were already on the cusp of defeat. These were truly weapons of mass destruction and some historians have asked whether they were literally overkill. 

My desire in the setting of worship was to acknowledge the terrible consequences of war, even on the supposed side of good, and to pray for peace. wherever conflicts existed. 

US military photo of Hiroshima an hour after detonation 

This year marks the 75th anniversary of these bombings and thanks to Green Party Elizabeth May the Peace Tower in Ottawa will toll its bell 75 times. This past weekend I discovered that at the time Canada celebrated what had transpired because this country was instrumental in producing the uranium used in the development and execution. The uranium was mined in the Northwest Territories and refined in Port Hope, an hour down the road from Belleville, where we live. I had no idea of Canada's significant involvement before this. 

Setsuko Thurlow wrote an opinion piece in the Globe and Mail which had the title: Canada must acknowledge our key role in developing the deadly atomic bomb. Thurlow was a 13-year-old survivor of the bombing of  Hiroshima and has been a long-time nuclear disarmament campaigner. In her powerful piece she writes 

...Canada’s extensive role in the Manhattan Project and the development of the atom bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki has been completely wiped from the collective Canadian consciousness and memory.

The Canadian government has never publicly acknowledged its participation in the Manhattan Project after gloating about it when the bombs were first dropped in 1945. There is little published about Canada’s contribution in the creation of atomic weapons and the subject is not taught in schools. Canadians of all ages believe Canada had nothing to do with the American atom bomb. 

In my appeal to Mr. Trudeau, I asked that the government acknowledge Canada’s participation in the Manhattan Project and that the Prime Minister issue a statement of regret for the deaths and immense suffering inflicted on the inhabitants of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I am praying that the bell ringing in the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill will occur at the same time that Mr. Trudeau issues a public expression of regret for Canada’s role and announces that Canada will ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. 

It would be terribly ironic to have an acknowledgement of the bombings of the two cities from the Peace Tower if inside the Parliament buildings the Prime Minister refused to acknowledge Canada’s role. By the end of 1945, more than 140,000 people had perished in the nuclear strike against Hiroshima. Another 70,000 died in the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. 

When Mr. Trudeau hears the bell in the Peace Tower strike 75 times on Aug. 6 and 9, I hope he will not wonder why. As John Donne wrote in his famous poem, “Any man’s death diminishes me … never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.”

While most of us won't be in churches this Sunday we can join in this prayer for public contrition and peace for our planet. This is  an excerpt of a prayer from ten years ago provided by the World Council of Churches: 

Help us to fall on our knees and to cry for that vision of unity
Without which we would perish.

Teach us not to deal with others falsely,
Saying “peace, peace” when there is no peace.

Grant us grace that we may walk
In the paths of righteousness.

Bring us to yourself, that our hearts and minds
May discern the way of peace shown by your son.

For you alone have been our help in ages past,
And you are our shelter in the years ahead.