#atomic warfare

"THE MUSHROOM CLOUD BECAME AN ICONIC IMAGE... IT IS HARD TO SPEAK TO THE MINDSET THAT GETS LULLED TO SLEEP BY THE END OF THE WORLD..."

PICS INFO: Resolution at 1098x1536 -- Spotlight on a poster design titled "Empêchons cela, guerre atomique," (or “Let’s Stop This”), considered by many to be the very first anti-nuclear propaganda poster, artwork by Hans Erni (Swiss painter, graphic designer, b. 1909-2015, died at age 106!).

PIC #2: Anti-atomic war poster titled "Atomkrieg Nein" (translation: "Atomic War-No!"), c. 1954, poster design by Hans Erni.

PRINT MAGAZINE: "The mushroom cloud became a charged symbol for the No Nukes movement, and yet it was also used in a trivial manner on souvenirs, etc. How do the two implications balance out?"

MEDLAND: "The mushroom cloud became an iconic image. We are all drawn to iconic images; it is hard to speak to the mindset that gets lulled to sleep by the end of the world, but I understand that powerful images are the ones we all love."

The children of the generations following the attacks still report health effects from the atomic blasts, meaning the problems were passed on in birth for generations.

(Art: Ken Currie)

not knowing its fate, all wait

one, two, perhaps more,

a few seconds to midnight,

politicians playing war.

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The second installation was in a bunker designed as an atomic shelter. It is called 20th Century Macabre, which I thought was cheap bait for a tourist trap.

I was wrong.

The title is sensationalistic, but what’s inside the bunker is true to the name, and the creator explained the meaning to me when I bought the ticket. The installation is really not designed to let you have a fun time. The second I entered the bunker I felt dread, and it took a lot to walk through all of it. I was shaking.

The back of the ticket says „no more war, ever”:

and that’s what Macabre is about. You’re not going down there to see a fun creepy haunted house, you’re going down there to experience existential dread and shock as you are reminded how terrible war can be.

It’s not just that the bunker is cold, damp, dark and cramped, although that certainly helps. The creators of the exhibit have done everything to make you face the fear of imminent destruction and mourn those who have already fallen victim to war.

It just goes very, very hard and I was impressed that it managed to be respectful while being so immersive.

Here are a few photographs. Each room had a sign explaining what its use would be along with historical items, but all of them had an additional symbolic art installation. Sounds of violence and death echo throughout the bunker, along with fragments of a heartbreaking song called  Hiroshima Mon Amour (not from the movie but the title is inspired.)

Two rooms I didn’t take pictures of because they just unnerved me too much were a cell plastered with photos of tortured prisoners of war, with the floor covered in votive candles, and the nook in the right of the second photo below, which was covered in women’s clothing and had a sign about the particular abuse of women in wartime.

The penultimate room of the bunker was dedicated to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with two small shrines set up with candles, one for the Shadows of Hiroshima and one for Tsutomu Yamaguchi (only recognised survivor of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki). Remember, this bunker was intended as an army shelter in case of atomic attacks.

Don't forget Atomic Just For The Hell Of It.

Yes, you are correct in that one cannot rest easy anymore. But whether they are unstable psychopaths, or elderly, or simply greedy and egotistical, wanting to create glory for themselves or to expand their empire - it all boils down to the same problem: if they have such power through nukes, and if they are willing to use them, the world is most likely doomed. I don't think many people can argue against that; to believe one can survive in a nuclear apocalypse like in Mad Max scenario is simply not something to be desired (or even possible). Let me elaborate; people think they can prepare for such a doomsday scenario - or that bullets or tin food will save them.

Ok, here are some basics:

1) ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) take approximately 25-40 minutes to cross the Atlantic, depending on where they launch. If they are launched from submarines or airplanes that are closer to the target, it could be even quicker. Assuming one gets warning through air-raid siren (or the news), there's nowhere to go (unless there is a nuclear shelter next to their house). Thousands will panic and trample one another on the streets, trying to get somewhere. Huge traffic jams will stop the traffic, block tunnels, causing chaos. All these people are doomed, if the nuke hits home.

2) if the nuke hits further away, and assuming it's smaller yield, kilotons instead of megatons, it can still cause chaos, EMP (the electromagnetic pulse will fry your electronics, no internet, no cellphone service etc) and the fireblast would engulf whole territory; the radioactive fallout will be in two stages: a) the immediate radiation emitted will kill, or cause skin burns and hair loss, including cancer; the rain (if it happens to rain) will be deadly to drink (people in Japan found out when they started to drink it, due to their thirst). Also, b) the fallout that will happen over several months, which will be part of the nuclear winter (if enough nukes are exploded globally). This scenario is very likely, as NORAD and other divisions are programmed to respond with deadly force, if attacked first; the same goes for the other side. In the nuclear exchange, even if many bombs or missiles fail to hit, getting exploded in the air, the world will become 80% uninhabitable.

 But let's suppose that it's a smaller scale war, and that more people survive after a limited nuclear exchange is done. Let's assume these people are still healthy, and able to go out. Go where? Petrol stations will empty in two days, and supermarkets will empty their shelves within a week, same as pharmacies. There will be nothing to buy; and no-one to go to work, to offer services. So looting will take place, and extreme violence. I believe that people are totally unprepared for anything like that, as neither them nor their parents have even lived through a conventional war, let alone such an armageddon. What will they do? 95% of those living in big cities will be doomed, in most scenarios, due to lack of services, starvation, thirst, and falling victim to extreme violence from other desperate people, that have now turned into raiders. The army or the police (if they are still functional) may try to contain some of it but the chances are they will be unable to stop the horror in the many millions of people that will be desperate and needing help; no electricity, no greengrocery, lack of petrol or medication... Even if people have stored ammo or tins, these can only provide for a small scenario - they can never truly have what is needed to survive. Many people will resort to suicide or will fall victim to ruthless others, or even cannibals.

 THE SOLUTION IS:  D O   N O T   H A V E   A   N U C L E A R   W A R.