The hidden horrors of Nagasaki: Confiscated photographs of the devastating effects of America’s atomic bomb – taken 12 hours after the blast – are revealed 70 years on

Daily Mail

Haunting photographs taken the day after the Japanese city of Nagasaki was hit with an atomic bomb have emerged 70 years after being confiscated by American forces.

The collection of poignant images taken by Yosuke Yamahata, a Japanese military photographer, show the flattened landscape, mass death and desperate plight of survivors immediately following the nuclear blast.  

Yamahata was tasked with documenting the destruction for propaganda purposes and arrived at the scene just 12 hours later.

The collection of poignant images taken by Yosuke Yamahata, a Japanese military photographer, show the flattened landscape, mass death and desperate plight of survivors immediately following the nuclear blast in Nagasaki, Japan

The collection of poignant images taken by Yosuke Yamahata, a Japanese military photographer, show the flattened landscape, mass death and desperate plight of survivors immediately following the nuclear blast in Nagasaki, Japan

Haunting photographs taken the day after the Japanese city of Nagasaki was hit with an atomic bomb have emerged 70 years after being confiscated by American forcesA picture of the devastation caused by the atomic bomb

Photographer Yosuke Yamahata, pictured in Shanghai in 1943 here, took the iconic snaps

Photographer Yosuke Yamahata, pictured in Shanghai in 1943 here, took the iconic snaps

Supreme Commander Dwight Eisenhower (left), who later became president, shaking hands with General MacArthur, who played a prominent role in the war against Japan. The photo, taken in 1946, shows a rare moment of tenderness between the two men, who are widely known to have disliked each other later on

Supreme Commander Dwight Eisenhower (left), who later became president, shaking hands with General MacArthur, who played a prominent role in the war against Japan. The photo, taken in 1946, shows a rare moment of tenderness between the two men, who are widely known to have disliked each other later on

Supreme Commander Eisenhower carrying out inspection in the historic snaps, which have not seen the light of day for 70 years

Supreme Commander Eisenhower carrying out inspection in the historic snaps, which have not seen the light of day for 70 years

Yamahata was tasked with documenting the destruction for propaganda purposes and arrived at the scene just 12 hours later 

Yamahata was tasked with documenting the destruction for propaganda purposes and arrived at the scene just 12 hours later

His haunting photographs encapsulated the devastation left behind by the atomic bomb

His haunting photographs encapsulated the devastation left behind by the atomic bomb

They were requisitioned following a direct order from General Douglas MacArthur to seize and destroy any such pictures to shield the true scale of the carnage from the public back at home

They were requisitioned following a direct order from General Douglas MacArthur to seize and destroy any such pictures to shield the true scale of the carnage from the public back at home

The full album contains 24 photographs developed from Yamahata's original negatives

The full album contains 24 photographs developed from Yamahata’s original negatives

Some of his photographs, which became iconic after featuring in a 1952 edition of Life Magazine, are considered the most complete record of the attack's aftermath. However some were confiscated by an unidentified US military policeman in the months that followed, never to be seen again until now

Some of his photographs, which became iconic after featuring in a 1952 edition of Life Magazine, are considered the most complete record of the attack’s aftermath. However some were confiscated by an unidentified US military policeman in the months that followed, never to be seen again until now

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3802248/The-hidden-horrors-Nagasaki-Confiscated-photographs-devastating-effects-America-s-atomic-bomb-taken-12-hours-blast-revealed-70-years-on.html#ixzz4L5BnPLhV
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4 thoughts on “The hidden horrors of Nagasaki: Confiscated photographs of the devastating effects of America’s atomic bomb – taken 12 hours after the blast – are revealed 70 years on

  1. notice how the cement/stone structures are intact? Only the wooden structures are gone. If it were truly an atomic bomb and not firebombing, all would be flattened.

    just saying..this could have been yet another lie.

    1. LOL, WTF? You don’t think the nuking of Japan actually happened? Now I’ve heard everything.

      Have you seen the photos of Dresden after it was firebombed? Sure, the destruction was terrible, but it’s in NO way comparable to the utter devastation shown in these post-nuke photos.

      And what about the survivors in those Japanese cities? You don’t think they could tell the difference between getting nuked and being firebombed?? I can assure you, the destruction would happen a whole lot more quickly in the former case. But I suppose someone paid all those survivors to lie about their experiences, right?

      It may appear odd that the smokestacks stayed upright, but that can be explained by a combination of strong construction and narrow profile (i.e., a smokestack wouldn’t catch the blast wind as easily as a flat wall). And the few buildings that weren’t TOTALLY flattened were most likely shielded from the blast by other buildings.

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