At Issue; Hiroshima

Item Information

Title:
At Issue; Hiroshima
Description:
"There was a yellow flash. I didn't know what happened. There was no sound at all. But the next moment I found myself buried in darkness. I sat in the darkness thinking a bomb hit my house and I was there to die?" The atomic bomb that fell on Hiroshima was the equivalent of 20,000 tons of TNT. By today's standards it was a crude nuclear weapon, but the statistics of destruction were awesome - 78,000 people killed and ninety-seven percent of all structures within a two mile radius totally destroyed. Today, twenty years later, the city is completely rebuilt, but the memory of August 6, 1945, remains vivid in the minds of those who survived. In a special documentary program commemorating the twentieth anniversary of that grim day, National Educational Television's "At Issue" revisits the Japanese City for a first-hand report on the people and the city which were the world's first victims of nuclear destruction. The one-hour program which presents a detailed picture of conditions in modern day Hiroshima will be broadcast. As N.E.T. cameras record the sights and sounds of the bustling Japanese metropolis, producer-correspondent Andrew Stern talks with a cross-section of Japanese and Americans who discuss the events of that fateful day in 1945 in terms of what they mean to Hiroshima and Japan today. Edwin Reischauer, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, comments on how the atomic experience has affected Japanese thinking regarding the war. Survivors recall the horror and tragedy of the nuclear holocaust, and scientists, government officials, journalists, and Americans in Hiroshima discuss the bomb's political and psychological implications, the physical effects still evident among its victims, the medical and scientific research being continued to aid them, national attitudes toward the United States, and Japan's growing trend toward pacifism. Featured Personalities: Edwin Reischauer, U.S. Ambassador to Japan; Antonio Ciocco, head of statistical studies, Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission; Dr. Fumio Shigeto, director of Hiroshima's Red Cross Hospital; Barbara Reynolds, founder of Hiroshima's Friendship Center, and a longtime activist in the World Peace Movements; Kasushige Hirasawa, editor of Japan Times; Marvin Tack, an American social worker in Hiroshima. There was a yellow flash. I didn 't know what happened. There was no sound at all. But the next moment I found myself buried in darkness. I sat in the darkness thinking a bomb hit my house and I was there to die. The atomic bomb that fell on Hiroshima was the equivalent of 20,000 tons of TNT. By today's standards it was a crude nuclear weapon, but the statistics of destruction were awesome 78,000 people killed and ninety-seven percent of all structures within a two mile radius totally destroyed. Today, twenty years later, the city is completely rebuilt, but the memory of August 6, 1945, remains vivid in the minds of those who survived. In a special documentary program commemorating the twentieth anniversary of that grim day, National Educational Television's "At Issue" revisits the Japanese City for a first-hand report on the people and the city which were the world's first victims of nuclear destruction. The one-hour program which presents a detailed picture of conditions in modern day Hiroshima will be broadcast. As N.E.T. cameras record the sights and sounds of the bustling Japanese metropolis, producer-correspondent Andrew Stern talks with a cross-section of Japanese and Americans who discuss the events of that fateful day in 1945 in terms of what they mean to Hiroshima and Japan today. Edwin Reischauer, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, comments on how the atomic experience has affected Japanese thinking regarding the war. Survivors recall the horror and tragedy of the nuclear holocaust, and scientists, government officials, journalists, and Americans in Hiroshima discuss the bomb's political and psychological implications, the physical effects still evident among its victims, the medical and scientific research being continued to aid them, national attitudes toward the United States, and Japan's growing trend toward pacifism. N.E.T.'s Alvin Perlmutter is the executive producer of "At Issue: Hiroshima." Lois Cunniff is the associate producer. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche) The special report, filmed by N.E.T. entirely in Japan, examines the people and the city which were the victims of the world's first nuclear explosion on the twentieth anniversary of the event (August 6, 1945). Through a documentary film, narration, and a series of interviews with survivors, scientists, government officials, Americans in Hiroshima, and journalists, the on location documentary recalls the horror and tragedy of the nuclear explosion and also assesses the bomb's political and psychological implications, the physical effects still being felt by its victims, the medical and scientific research being continued to aid them, national attitudes toward the United States and the A-bomb's influence on the growing Japanese trend toward pacifism. People featured include Edwin Reischauer, U.S. Ambassador to Japan; Tazu Shibama, an English teacher in Hiroshima for thirty years, who miraculously survived the A-blast; Rihei Numata, a Hiroshima newspaper reporter at the time of the explosion, now a tourist guide; Father William Tanimoto, a German Jesuit priest who has lived in Hiroshima for thirty years, and who still suffers from radiation sickness; Rev. Kiyoshi Tanimoto, a Methodist minister, who was one of the first people to re-enter the city and help the injured after the bomb blast; Antonio Ciocco, head of statistical studies for the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission which studies the long term effects of radiation upon man; Dr. Fumio Shigeto, director of Hiroshima's Red Cross Hospital, who personally supervises the care and treatment of the still suffering bomb victims; Barbara Reynolds, founder of Hiroshima's Friendship Center, who has long been active in the World Peace Movement; Marvin Tack, an American social worker in Hiroshima; Kasushige Hirasawa, editor of Japan Times; Jun Eto, a leading Japanese literary critic. Running Time: 58:59 (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche) The special report, filmed by N.E.T. entirely in Japan, examines the people and the city which were the victims of the world's first nuclear explosion to mark the twentieth anniversary of the event (August 6, 1965). Through interviews with survivors, scientist, government officials, Americans in Hiroshima, and journalists, the on location documentary recalls the horror and tragedy of the nuclear explosion and also assesses the bomb's political and psychological implications, the physical effects still being felt by its victims, the medical and scientific research being continued to aid them, national attacks toward the United States, and the A-bomb's influence on the growing Japanese trend toward pacifism. People featured on the program include Edwin Reischauer, U.S. Ambassador to Japan; Antonio Ciocco, head of statistical studies, Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission; Dr. Fumio Shigeto, director of Hiroshima's Red Cross Hospital; Barbara Reynolds, founder of Hiroshima's Friendship Center, and a longtime activist in the World Peace Movements; Kasushige Hirasawa, editor of Japan Times; Marvin Tack, an American social worker in Hiroshima. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche) At Issue consists of 69 half-hour and hour-long episodes produced in 1963-1966 by NET, which were originally shot on videotape in black and white and color.
Production company:
National Educational Television and Radio Center
Producer:
Perlmutter, Alvin H.
Producer:
Cunniff, Lois
Author:
Cunniff, Lois
Producer:
Stern, Andrew A.
Author:
Stern, Andrew A.
Director:
Stern, Andrew A.
Creator:
Jackson, Bob
Interviewee:
Reynolds, Barbara
Interviewee:
Reischauer, Edwin
Creator:
Waku
Editor:
Goldsmith, Charles
Interviewee:
Tack, Marvin
Interviewee:
Shibama, Tazu
Interviewee:
Numata, Rihei
Interviewee:
Hirasawa, Kasushige
Interviewee:
Tanimoto, William
Interviewee:
Eto, Jun
Interviewee:
Shigeto, Fumio
Interviewee:
Ciocco, Antonio
Date:
August 1965
Format:
Film/Video
Genre:
News
Documentary
Location:
Library of Congress
Collection (local):
American Archive of Public Broadcasting Collection
Series:
Library of Congress > At Issue
Subjects:
News
War and Conflict
Extent:
01:01:00
Link to Item:
https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-75-171vhrvn
Terms of Use:
Rights status not evaluated.
Contact host institution for more information.
Notes:
Episode Number: 58