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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“My father said, “The war will have an awful end. If we are separated from each other, you have to leave the town! Because there will be a battle for the town.” -Nora Lang
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.” Nora Lang still lives close to where her original home was destroyed. From her living room window you can see the location of her old house. She is photographed next to a ruined church, Trinitatiskirche, one street from her home.
Nora was 13 1/2 when Dresden was destroyed. Her family lived in Dresden-Johannstadt. They survived the first attack by taking shelter in their cellar. After the first attack they had to leave their burning home and experience hell as they were chased by the firestorm through burning streets. They tried to find shelter several times during the deadly second and third attack waves which lasted the entire night and didn’t succumb until the next morning.
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 Gewandhausgasse from February 12th-March 26th. Eight portraits will be displayed along with short testimonies. The photographs will change every two weeks.
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.”
Reflection of the sculpture “Mourning Girl At the Sea of Tears” near a mass grave in the Heidefriedhof Cemetery. Feels like sculpture gives meaning to more than just the destruction of Dresden. It speaks for a world which has been ravaged by war.
“Since the bomb detonated above the city thestrong blast and flash of light hit our house which was located on a hill. All the glass from the windows was smashed. My father thought a regular bomb dropped on the roof because tiles had blown off, so he went onto the roof to get rid of it, although he quickly discovered it was not a regular bomb. As the day progressed my parents saw the mushroom cloud rise above Nagasaki.” -Noboru Tasaki, Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivor
Noboru Tasaki was a year and 4 months old when the atomic bomb was over Nagasaki. His entire family was bombed. He was the second youngest of 8 siblings – his mother was pregnant with his younger brother. The family’s home was located in a town outside of the city called Yokoo, about 5.5km (3.5 miles) from the hypocenter.
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&fbclid=IwAR1MsnTQNUo5AAD7OGWp_hM1LlvM8_zojBgUwd4s-Q7Hhs4HGFzIs33pZAI
From Above at Gallery ef. From Above, consists of portraits and reminiscences of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and WWII firebombing survivors from Dresden, Coventry, Tokyo, Wielun and Rotterdam.
“It worries me to think that the passage of months and years tends to cloud memories and that the grave reality of the atomic bombings will eventually fade into the background.” -Koichi Wada, Nagasaki atomic bomb survivor
I received the sad news that Koichi Wada passed away at the age of 94.
I photographed other hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) during my initial trips to Nagasaki who knew Wada-san but I didn’t have the opportunity to photograph him until 2016. Our paths never crossed until Ayumi-san asked him about being photographed.
At the time he had already lost many of his memories to dementia. But during our conversation there were brief moments where he would remember something about his experience on August 9th, 1945. Even though his memories were impeded by dementia I hope that his message to abolish nuclear weapons comes through in his portrait.
