Hiroshima atomic bombing on August 6, 1945 killed estimated 140,000 by December. A uranium bomb detonated 600 meters above the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall at 8:15 AM on August 6, 1945 About 30 people working inside the building perished instantly The building (later known as the A-Bomb Dome) survived because the blast came from directly above

On August 6, 1945, a uranium bomb detonated 600 meters above the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall at 8:15 AM, instantly killing about 30 people inside. The building survived because the blast came straight down — now known as the A-Bomb Dome. An estimated 140,000 people had died by December, though the exact toll is unknown since nearly every administrative record was destroyed.

Key Facts

  • A uranium bomb detonated 600 meters above the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall at 8:15 AM on August 6, 1945
  • About 30 people working inside the building perished instantly
  • The building (later known as the A-Bomb Dome) survived because the blast came from directly above
  • An estimated 140,000 people died by the end of December 1945
  • Casualties included approximately 20,000 Koreans, 12 American POWs, and 8 Asian students at Hiroshima University
  • The exact death toll is unknown because the bomb destroyed nearly every administrative agency and official document in the city
  • On August 9, 1945, a second bomb fell on Nagasaki, almost directly hitting Urakami Cathedral, the largest Christian church in East Asia when completed in 1925
  • The Soviet Union declared war on Japan on August 9, 1945, moving over 1 million soldiers into Japanese-occupied Manchuria
  • Japan surrendered 5 days later

Source: Japan's Hidden History & the Ancient Philosophy That Explains It All by Wandering Wolf