I first visited Hiroshima one year after the atomic bomb. I shall never forget the devastation that I saw then, nor the horrors, which have been preserved in the Peace Memorial Museum.
I look back with sorrow and sympathy for all those who suffered in the air raids, which destroyed the cities and towns of Japan, especially in the fire bombing raids on Tokyo in March 1945 and in the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japanese, however, need to bear in mind that if the Nazis or the Japanese military had plumbed the secrets of creating a bomb they would not have hesitated to use such a terrible weapon against the Allies. They should also not forget that Japan's sufferings were largely preceded by saturation bombing of cities in China, not least against Chongqing in May 1939.
Nor can we Europeans fail to remember the horrors and casualties caused by the bombing of European cities. The Nazis attempted to destroy London in 1940 and 1941. The saturation bombing attack by German aircraft on Coventry in 1940 lasted 10 hours and destroyed the city center and the cathedral, causing numerous civilian casualties. The Nazis bombed indiscriminately other British cities and attempted to destroy the British economy and will to resist. Toward the end of the war in Europe they launched indiscriminate attacks on southern England by launching the V1 flying bombs and the V2 rockets, which were the first two of the secret weapons they were developing.
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