Nagasaki: Before and After

Before

Nagasaki was full of history before Truman and the atomic bomb. Founded around 1500 AD, it held many Medieval battles within it's ancient structure. The cities main use through out history though was as a port, constantly housing trade ships carrying tobacco, bread and textiles. The city was almost converted into Catholicism during the Crusades, but the citizens rebelled sending the priests back to Europe. Nagasaki has served as a tourism location and history lesson with it's beautiful scenery and strong series of events from the end of the Dark Ages to the end Renaissance. Towards the Modern Era, Nagasaki's ports turned into military bases. The city became darker as the military grew stronger, and one of the most catastrophic events in history was about to strike.  


Picture from http://www1.city.nagasaki.nagasaki.jp/na-bomb/museum/images/airplane01.gif and was taken 2 days before the bombing of Nagasaki.

After

On August 9, 1945, at 11:02 AM, Nagasaki was struck by an atomic bomb killing 73,884 people. The bomb also left 74,909 injured and several hundred thousand infected with diseases. The city has not been the same yet soon enough, the city was rebuilt and many memorials have been made to remember those who have died. An "Atomic Bomb Museum" was built within the city as well. Since the explosion, many of the city's  citizens have turned to Christianity and prayer for hope. We can only pray that the people of Nagasaki will find that hope they need for the future.



Picture from http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www1.city.nagasaki.nagasaki.jp/na-bomb/museum/images/airplane01.gif&imgrefurl=http://www1.city.nagasaki.nagasaki.jp/na-bomb/museum/m2-1e.html&h=425&w=600&sz=287&hl=en&start=16&tbnid=25ITzB77T-iYTM:&tbnh=96&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnagasaki%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den and was taken 3 days after the bombing of Nagasaki.