Posts Tagged ‘From Above’

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Ron Scholte

Saturday, August 13th, 2022

“After the war I saw the photo of the mushroom cloud, but I thought they should have shown photos of the people underneath. It’s a bloody shame!”

-Ron Schlote

Ron Scholte was serving in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) when he was taken as a prisoner of war by the Japanese when they invaded Java in 1942, and later sent to Fukuoka Camp 14 in Nagasaki.  He was used as a forced laborer until the end of the war in August 1945.  He was one of 120 Dutch POWs to survive the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.

Ron was working inside a tunnel about a mile from the hypocenter when the atomic bomb detonated.  When the workers heard a plane approaching, some of them went near the tunnel’s entrance to peek out.  When they only saw a B-29 I thought it couldn’t have been an air raid.  Then a small parachute was dropped.  Suddenly a bright flash of light blinded me and I was tossed back into the tunnel by a strong gust of wind.

“I didn’t know the type of weapon that was used.  I was in the middle of the chaos and couldn’t think of the end of the war.  We went back to the city without knowing the consequences of radiation exposure.  For a couple of days my task was to gather dead bodies to be cremated.  It was the most painful thing I had to do- especially when the bodies were children.  Sometimes I would pick up charred bodies which would just break apart.  There were a lot of wounded.  I also carried a wounded soldier on my back through a field to get medical attention.  I felt it was my duty to help no matter how badly I had been treated previously.

Nagasaki is now a beautiful city but it was totally destroyed.  I had to stay on top of a hill for two nights because the city was burning.  I saw the entire city in flames.  Many of us were burned and our open wounds were attacked by maggots.

I didn’t learn about the surrender until a couple of days after.  A Japanese man approached me and said “War Finished.  Japan and America are now friends.”  The soldiers disappeared and only the honcho (boss) from the Mitsubishi shipyard was there.  He told me that he lost all his family and had nothing to eat.  I had a little food and gave it to him.  I hugged him when we said goodbye.  I felt deep sympathy for his loss.  Three weeks later we were liberated.”

I had the privilege of photographing Mr. Scholte in January 2015.  I had learned about his story and it took me a long time to find him.  Even on the day of our meeting my train connections to the southern Netherlands were delayed because of a small snowstorm in Amsterdam.  I arrived at his home as the sun set, a few hours late, and snapped this photograph when I caught him glimpsing out a window as I walked to the front door.  I didn’t think this would be the portrait I would use in the project.  But as time passed and I thought about his story it made sense.  When I look at this photograph, he is beginning to fade away in the reflection of the landscape.  A few years prior, he had begun writing down his experiences in Nagasaki because he was diagnosed with dementia.  The story was too important to be lost in his fading mind so I’m grateful he had documented his experiences in great detail.  That day he was able to speak for hours about what he had seen in Nagasaki. 

He was living alone but shortly after my visit was moved to an elderly home as his mind rapidly deteriorated.  He lived a little less than four years after we met and passed away at the age of 94.  Not many people know that there were Dutch POW’s affected by the atomic bomb.  Most of them died from various forms of cancer within ten years of 1945.  The majority of Dutch people I speak to about Mr. Schlote and the other Dutch POW I photographed are shocked to learn about their stories.

This portrait is a part of From Above, which is a collection of portraits and reminiscences of atomic bomb survivors.  From Above is permanently exhibited at the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Hall for Atomic Bomb Victims. It has also been exhibited in numerous international museums and exhibition spaces. From Above was released as a limited edition book released as a limited edition book available at https://www.photoeye.com/bookstore/citation.cfm?catalog=I1040&i=&i2

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From Above featured in KYODO NEWS article

Thursday, August 11th, 2022

An article written by Miki Shirasaka for KYODO News about From Above was published in several newspapers around Japan.  From Above is a collection of portraits and reminiscences of atomic bomb survivors and firebombing survivors from the Second World War.  From Above is permanently exhibited at the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Hall for Atomic Bomb Victims. It has also been exhibited in numerous international museums and was most recently exhibited in Dresden, Germany. 

The article also introduced my portraits of Ukrainian teenagers who have fled the war that is currently raging in their country.  Miki was one of the first journalists to write about From Above when I began the project in 2008.  I’m grateful for her interest throughout the years.  

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Katsuji Yoshida

Monday, August 8th, 2022

“My face was fully burnt and scorched.

People stared at me, and children cried at the sight of my face.

Still, I feel pain every morning looking at the mirror.”

-Katsuji Yoshida

Katsuji Yoshida was 13 years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki and was at a very close distance of 850m from the hypocenter.  When the air raid siren sounded the all-clear, he and his classmates headed back to school from the shelter.  Looking up he saw American planes dropping parachutes and suddenly, the blast.

The boys were thrust up in the air and scattered about 120 feet away.  Katsuji was thrown into a wet rice field. The soft mud absorbed the force of the turbulent blast and probably saved his life but all his skin peeled off his body. Luckily, the boys survived. They encouraged each other and washed the mud off themselves in a nearby irrigation field.  They found grass and put some on their bodies to cool down the scorched and missing skin.

A rescue team came the following day and he spent another two nights with the other children at a relief station set up in a school yard until his mother came to identify him.  “At that time, my face was swollen. I couldn’t see because my eyes were swollen shut.  My mother did not recognize me, so she kept calling my name in the ear of every boy lying there. Then I raised my hand.  I lost consciousness from then until December. They told me that I was between life and death for four months.”

After years of emotional and physical pain caused by the atomic bomb and also discrimination, Katsuji slowly conquered his agony and suffering.  Later in life he spoke about his experiences throughout the world.  He became one of the most vocal Hibakusha and well known peace activists.  On April 1st, 2010, Mr. Yoshida passed away.  It was an honor to meet him. 

This portrait is a part of my From Above project which a collection of portraits and reminiscences of atomic bomb survivors  From Above is permanently exhibited at the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Hall for Atomic Bomb Victims. It has also been exhibited in numerous international museums and exhibition spaces. From Above was released as a limited edition book released as a limited edition book available at https://www.photoeye.com/bookstore/citation.cfm?catalog=I1040&i=&i2

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Etsuko Nagano

Sunday, August 7th, 2022

“I think my mother wanted to talk about the atomic bomb, but her physical condition did not allow her to. I think she is happy for me to speak out today.”

-Etsuko Nagano

Etsuko Nagano was 16 years old when she experienced the atomic bomb while working in the gymnasium of the Vocational College of Economy, 2.8km from the hypocenter where the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Her brother died three days after the bombing and her sister died a month later.

Shortly before Nagasaki was destroyed, Etskuo brought her siblings back to the city from their refuge in the countryside. That regret still has not vanished today. She feels sorry about her brother and sister and still misses them.

For days after the bombing she searched many make shift shelters for her missing brother. While searching she called his name. Then she found a boy who had a familiar stature to her brother. Etsuko could not tell if the boy was her brother. His body was completely burnt and his face was swelled perfectly round. “I spoke to the boy, are you Seiichi? The boy nodded. But I could hardly believe it, so I asked again, and he nodded. I looked at him carefully and found these words on his barely remaining pants: Seiichi Nakazawa, 9 years old.” She was remorseful about the 9 year old waiting for his family alone and she could not stop crying. Etsuko’s sister died an agonizing death from radiation poisoning weeks later.

50 years after the war, she saw an article searching for story tellers of the atomic bombs and started speak about her experience. Mrs. Nagano has dedicated her life to telling her experience all over the world. She talks for her deceased family and to protect the people who suffer the same sorrow.

This portrait is a part of my From Above project which a collection of portraits and reminiscences of atomic bomb survivors From Above is permanently exhibited at the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Hall for Atomic Bomb Victims. It has also been exhibited in numerous international museums and exhibition spaces. From Above was released as a limited edition book released as a limited edition book available at https://www.photoeye.com/bookstore/citation.cfm?catalog=I1040&i=&i2

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Dr. Shuntaro Hida

Friday, August 5th, 2022

“As a doctor who survived the atomic bomb, I have many missions to go on.
Till today, I lived for that mission.
If I don’t continue talking about the fierce
and unknown diseases caused by radiation; we will not find a cure.”
-Dr. Shuntaro Hida

Dr. Hida experienced the atomic bomb when he was 28 years old, at a patient’s home 6km from the hypocenter. He treated the wounded immediately after the bomb detonated.  Fortunately he was not at The Hiroshima Military Hospital at the time because it was only 300m from the hypocenter.  

Recognizing that he would be needed to treat the wounded, he dashed on his bicycle threading his way against the tide of the people escaping the surrounding areas outside of Hiroshima. Finally he reached the city, but he could not get near the hospital.  In just 30 minutes, the flames engulfed the entire city.

Dr. Hida dedicated his life to treating atomic bomb survivors.  He retired from medicine at the age of 92.  He passed away on March 20th, 2017 at the age of 100.   I photographed Dr. Hida in 2010 at his home in Saitama, Japan. The photograph almost didn’t happen because he had been ill with pneumonia. Luckily he was released from the hospital on the last day of my trip. He was the only doctor I photographed for the project.

This portrait is a part of my From Above project which a collection of portraits and reminiscences of atomic bomb and firebombing survivors from the Second World War.  From Above is permanently exhibited at the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Hall for Atomic Bomb Victims. It has also been exhibited in numerous international museums and exhibition spaces, including at the United Nations in New York and most recently in Dresden, Germany. From Above was released as a limited edition book available at https://www.photoeye.com/bookstore/citation.cfm?catalog=I1040&i=&i2=

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Jong-keun Lee

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2022

“My mother used to pick off the maggots from the back of my neck, one by one, with bamboo forceps. She was sobbing and saying to herself, ‘Where is your dignity as a human being with maggots crawling over your living body? Your face, hands and feet will never be the same again. I almost wish you were dead, so that you can at least rest in peace.’ I felt her tears on my cheek, her warmth and her heartrending sorrow, which made me cry.”
-Jong-keun Lee, Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor

Jong-keun Lee is an ethnic Korean who was born in Hiroshima during 1928, five years after his family came to Japan.He was exposed to the atomic bomb while commuting to his job at a mechanics’ workshop for steam locomotives. When he returned home he had no choice but to cross through the hypocenter and was exposed to high levels of radiation. 

Before the war Mr. Lee was treated as Japanese and allowed to get a job for the government, even though he was of Korean ancestry, but when the war ended he was considered a foreigner and lost all rights as a Japanese citizen. Instead of using his Korean name, he continued to use his Japanese name to avoid being considered a foreigner. 

Mr. Lee lived his entire life in Hiroshima. This week I received the sad news that he passed away, shortly before the 77th anniversary of the first atomic bomb being dropped. He was 93-years-old. I had photographed Mr. Lee several times when he came to New York to speak with students about the horrors of nuclear war and the importance of reconciliation.  He was a kind and thoughtful person who cared about others. He will be missed. 

This portrait is a part of my From Above project which a collection of portraits and reminiscences of atomic bomb and firebombing survivors from the Second World War.  From Above is permanently exhibited at the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Hall for Atomic Bomb Victims at the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum. It has also been exhibited in numerous international museums and exhibition spaces, including at the United Nations in New York and most recently in Dresden, Germany.It was released as a limited edition book available at https://www.photoeye.com/bookstore/citation.cfm?catalog=I1040&i=&i2=

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Kazutoshi Nakamura

Tuesday, June 21st, 2022

I received the sad news that Kazutoshi Nakamura passed away recently.  He was 88 years old.  I photographed him during 2018 at the hypocenter where the atomic bomb was detonated over Nagasaki.  He was a kind person and I consider myself lucky to have known him. 

“There was so much debris that I decided to walk along the river. When I got to the area near the Urakami Cathedral, where the river was already narrow, the water stopped flowing because about 100 dead bodies were piled in the water.”

-Kazutoshi Nakamura

Kazutoshi Nakamura was eleven-years-old when the atomic bomb detonated over Nagasaki. His family lived 500m from hypocenter in the Urakami district.  It was decimated into scorched earth because it was ground zero.  At the time, he was away from his home getting food at the St. Francisco Hospital.  There were 9 members of his family. Most of the his family who perished were never recovered.

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Christa Hennemann

Thursday, February 17th, 2022

“Returning to the ruins of my old house at 85 Wittenbergerstrasse was a terribly sad experience.  We saw the burnt frame of my mother’s bicycle, my doll carriage was destroyed and our old clothing that was still hanging on an old drying line.  These are memories that have always stayed with me.  I wrote down my story during the 1990’s so my grandchildren know what happened.  What is also important to me is correspondence with bombing victims from other countries.

Later in life my sister was interested in what happened.  My mother and I spoke to her often about what we experienced. 

During East German times the number of casualties was reported at 35,000.  Researchers now put the casualty rate at 25,000.  I believe that the number is somewhere in between.  My husband, who is 15 years older than me, was a young soldier at the time.  Days after Dresden was destroyed he had to cremate the dead bodies that were stacked on wooden lorries.  Until this day he still can’t go to the remembrance ceremonies on February 13th because it is too painful.” 

-Christa Hennemann, Dresden firebombing survivor

Christa Hennemann was eight-years-old when Dresden was firebombed into cinder by the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force. The attack was divided into three bombing raids dropping over 4,500 tons of high explosives, including incendiary bombs, onto the city known as “Florence on the Elbe.” This portrait is a part of my From Above project which featured portraits of atomic bomb and firebombing survivors from WWII. My limited edition book is available at https://www.photoeye.com/bookstore/citation.cfm?catalog=I1040&i=&i2=

A selection of From Above portraits taken in Dresden and also including portraits of firebombing survivors from Coventry, Rotterdam, Tokyo and atomic bomb survivors is now being exhibited in Dresden at the outdoor display case in front of the Gewandhaus Strasse from February 12th-March 26th. Eight portraits will be displayed along with short testimonies. The photographs will change every two weeks.

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Renate Baum

Tuesday, February 15th, 2022

“My family was living in the Dresden Neustadt at the time of the firebombings.  I was the eldest of five children and attended the Dresden Neustadt School.  For about a year my mother and all the children stayed with relatives outside the city because they thought it would be safer during the war.  In December 1944, we returned to Dresden because there had been no major attacks on the city.  Our family hoped that the war would end because they believed Dresden would eventually be attacked. 


At the time of the bombing we rushed into the cellar.  The house next to us suffered a direct hit and nine people died.  When the bomb detonated it had such an intense impact I thought the entire city was gone.  We spent all night in the cellar.  There was another family, who were artists, that had a flat in the building but they weren’t home at the time.  They returned in between bombing waves and told us what was happening in the city. 

In the morning our aunt from Heidelberg came by bicycle to check if we were alive.  Dresden Neustadt wasn’t hit badly compared to the rest of the city but still when we went outside there were fires raging.  The wind was carrying sparks everywhere.  Flames came out of the windows of buildings, filling the air with smoke.  Some men were putting water on roofs to prevent the sparks from igniting more fires.  We prepared a wagon and passed Alaunpark, the big park which was used by the military, on the way to Heidelberg.  There were many people leaving the city and even horse wagons pulling burnt and dead people.  We thought that nothing would be left and we would never see the city again.”

-Renate Baum, Dresden firebombing survivor 

Renate Baum is photographed in the cellar where her family experienced the firebombings 77 years ago.


On February 13th, 1945 the baroque city of Dresden, Germany was firebombed into cinder by the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force. The attack was divided into three bombing raids dropping over 4,500 tons of high explosives, including incendiary bombs, onto the city known as “Florence on the Elbe.”  This portrait is a part of my From Above project which featured portraits of atomic bomb and firebombing survivors from WWII. My limited edition book is available at https://www.photoeye.com/bookstore/citation.cfm?catalog=I1040&i=&i2=


A selection of From Above portraits taken in Dresden and also including portraits of firebombing survivors from Coventry, Rotterdam, Tokyo and atomic bomb survivors is now being exhibited in Dresden at the outdoor display case in front of the Gewandhaus Strasse from February 12th-March 26th. Eight portraits will be displayed along with short testimonies. The photographs will change every two weeks.

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Rudolf Eichner

Sunday, February 13th, 2022

“I wrote a family chronicle for my children and grandchildren, with background about the past and what I experienced so that others don’t need to witness this again.” 

-Rudolf Eichner, Dresden firebombing survivor

Rudolf Eichner is photographed holding a chess piece that was given to him by his father while he was staying at the hospital.  His father regularly visited him to play chess.  He was injured as a soldier and was sent to a hospital in Dresden, which was located in a school near the city centre.

Shortly before 10pm on February 13th, 1945, the first wave of bombers approached Dresden.  The hospital was evacuated.  The injured grabbed valuables and made their way to the cellar. 

After the first wave of bombing the building remained intact but the houses on the opposite side of the street were in flames and the fire was spreading towards the hospital.

The hospital wasn’t as fortunate during the second wave of bombing, three hours later.  The cellar was overcrowded with inhabitants of the burning buildings.  The force of the explosions was more intense than during the first attack.  Rudolf crawled with the other injured across the street and into a garden.  Surrounded by growing flames, they formed a circle and fought back the flames for six hours.  The men beat back the approaching flames with anything they could find.

When the flames succumbed to the men’s exhausting efforts, Rudolf asked the man next to him where his chess set was.  The man said he had to use the board to beat the flames.  It was lost in the inferno.

Every year on the anniversary of the bombings Rudolf returned to the spot where he had fought the inferno.  Three years later, February 13th, 1948, he found a chess piece, a black knight, from the chess set destroyed by the flames.

Rudolf was one of the most active in getting a monument dedicated to the victims of the fire bombings. The small remembrance is located in the Altmarkt, the town square, where many of the dead were cremated in the days after the fire bombings.

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