The story of Suzuko Numata

[rumpel]

Story of Hiroshima
- Mission to pass it on to younger generation

I was born in Osaka on July 30th, l923. When I was five years old, my family moved to Hiroshima because of my father's job. My family consisted of five people, my parents, elder brother, younger sister, and me. A younger brother was born in Hiroshima in April 1945, making us six.
As a child, I lived a comfortable life and did as I pleased. After elementary school, I started life I had dreamt about as a student at a girls' school.
I was in the eighth grade when I learned of the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, a war which was destined to change our lives, and even our minds. I was not aware of the evil of war at that time, so I could not foresee what would happen to us. Living in a militaristic system as I did, I became a little militarist without even being aware of it.
During the so-called "Fifteen-year War", from the Manchurian Incident to the surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945, we were not taught about such things as the aggression against China and Southeast Asia, the Nanking Massacre, the bombing of Chongging, the repression on the Korean Peninsula, or the real war situation that developed after the attack on Pearl Harbor and throughout the Pacific War, not the fact that Japan had been the aggressor all those years. In the name of a "holy war", "nationalism", "justice", and "victory", we shouted phrases like "Hakkoh ichi-u(One world under the sky)," "Ichioku isshin hi-no-tama ni nare. (Be united in one mind like a fireball, 100 million people!", "Zeitaku wa teki da. (Luxury is the enemy)", "Hoshigari masen, katsu made wa. (We will endure anything until we defeat the enemy)". We uncritically obeyed orders and made every effort for victory in the war.

http://www.hiroshima-spirit.jp/en/voice/numata_e.html

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Those who don't learn from history

are doomed to repeat it.