Descriptions in enola gay exhibit
The atomic bomb controversy is not new to the Smithsonian. I urge you to convey the horrifying tragedy of nuclear weapons." That did not satisfy the mayor of Hiroshima, Tadatoshi Akiba, who wrote recently to Dailey that the plane is not "simply another exciting step in the technology of flight. "But we don't tell people what to think about it," he added. The labeling is "precisely the same kind used" for the other 81 military and civilian craft in the museum.ĭailey, a retired Marine general, said the bombing helped prevent later use of nuclear weapons during the Cold War because "it showed what can happen." Smithsonian officials rejected the petition, saying the simple plaque identifying the plane "does not glorify or vilify" its role in history. "It's just unconscionable for this country to display the Enola Gay in the national museum while whitewashing its role in history." "This plane began the era of ultimate destruction," said Peter Kuznick, who heads the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University. They seek recognition of the human cost of the atomic bomb attack.Ībout 400 historians, scientists and activists signed a petition urging the Smithsonian to "rethink its exhibit to include a balanced discussion of the atomic bombings and of current U.S. Tanaka and four other Hiroshima survivors, called hibakusha in Japan, came to Washington this weekend with petitions and plans for a protest today when the museum opens. I am surprised, angry and sad that it is on display." Terumi Tanaka, who was 13 when the atomic bomb fell on his city, killing five of his family members, sees the plane differently: "To the survivors, it is a symbol of evil in the world. John Dailey, the director of the museum, recently described the B-29 Superfortress as a "magnificent technological achievement," one of the crown jewels in a vast space that contains some of aviation's most notable craft. The unveiling of the Enola Gay and its presentation are touching off a debate about how a museum deals with the pride and pain surrounding one of history's great turning points: President Truman's decision to drop two atomic bombs on Japan. Nor is there mention of the claims that the bombing was necessary to force Japan's surrender or of the wider controversy about using weapons that could destroy humanity.
The unmistakable icon of the nuclear age, the fully restored Enola Gay goes on public display for the first time today in the Smithsonian's new, cavernous Air and Space Museum in suburban Virginia.īut there is no mention of the 140,000 people killed by that bombing. 6, 1945, this Martin-built B-29-45-MO dropped the first atomic weapon used in combat on Hiroshima, Japan." The two paragraphs of text compress its momentous impact on the world to one spare sentence: Each section of the text is related to a display in the exhibition.WASHINGTON - The Enola Gay, the simple plaque tells us, was the most sophisticated bomber of World War II. Michael Heyman, at the beginning of the script address the controversy generated by the first plans and script for the exhibition that "provoked intense criticism from World War II veterans and others who felt the original planned exhibit portrayed the United States as the aggressor and the Japanese as victims and reflected unfavorably on the valor and courage of American veterans." The Museum eventually replaced the original planned exhibit with a simpler display in which the focus was on the restoration of the Enola Gay by the Smithsonian, explanatory material on the aircraft, ancillary topics related to the use of the first atomic bomb, and a video about the Enola Gay's crew. Remarks by the Smithsonian's Secretary, I. The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to the surrender of Japan on August 14, 1945. This text accompanied the Smithsonian Institution's display, "Enola Gay," at the National Air and Space Museum commemorating the end of World War II and the role played by the B-29 aircraft, Enola Gay, that on Augcarried the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima, Japan.