Beyond the immediate damage to human beings and property, the atomic bomb destroyed an entire community. In a single instant, the city lost its businesses, factories, stores, schools, hospitals, fire stations, city government--nearly all normal societal functions. In addition to the loss of family, friends and relatives, survivors had lost entire neighborhoods, their network of social relations. The unprecedented destruction of an entire city produced a profound pain utterly beyond verbal expression. Because the destruction was so swift, far-reaching, and painful, the social consequences have never been fully clarified.
Many felt it impossible for the city to recover. A rumor spread that no plants would grow in Hiroshima for 75 years. However, the survivors and Hiroshima residents returning from evacuation sites began immediately to build temporary shelters and generally responded to the emergency with efforts aimed at recovery. Through the post-bombing chaos and the continuing confusion that accompanied the loss of the war and occupation by foreign troops, the people of Hiroshima struggled continually to rebuild their city. It was a struggle fraught with obstacles and hardship.
The damage caused by the A-bomb failed to heal with the passage of time. Over the years and decades, the horrors of radiation grew ever more conspicuous. Research into radiation effects, strictly suppressed during the occupation, proceeded rapidly after Japan's independence. The research gradually brought radiation aftereffects and the plight of the survivors into the open.
The Hibakusha Medical Law in 1957 and the Hibakusha Special Welfare Law passed in 1968 were designed to help maintain or improve the health of survivors and provide for their continued welfare. Nonetheless, the fact that the now aging survivors still suffer from aftereffects can never be forgotten.
