(July 28, 1998, The Chugoku Shimbun)
A valuable set of negative films (63 cuts) to tell the Hiroshima disaster immediately after the bombing were donated by 27 July 1998, to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum by a former American officer's son and his wife. The pictures seem to have been taken in Oct. 1945 and have never been introduced to the public. They clearly show Hiroshima experience with the first atomic bomb in human history. They include aerial and panorama photographs.
360 Degrees Celsius, Expanding Scorched Rubble
Due to the heat rays, the temperature reached the maximum of 4,000 degrees Celsius and Hiroshima was reduced to a scorched plain by such heat rays, the blast and the radiation. The picture shows the heart of the city two months after the bombing. It's a view from the top of the three-story building which was Koudou Elementary School then. This concrete building was located 760 m away (to the west) from the hypocenter in the City's Naka-Ward, Nekoya-Cho. It is the first time in City's history that a panorama picture taken from the west side of the city was found.
The former American officer, Lieutenant Harvart Orstin (deceased in 1978 at the age of 66) kept these films. His oldest son Mr. Bret Orstin (company president, age 54) donated such the valuable set of negative films to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
Late Lt. Orstin came to Hiroshima in the fall of 1945 as the commander of the landing force of the 7th fleet. He stayed in Hiroshima for two months. Those pictures seem to have been taken during his stay then. The research tells us that they were most probably taken between the mid-October and the late-October by the way remains looked.
A photographer Mitsuo Ide (age 57), the resident of Asakita-Ku, Hiroshima, has been researching pictures with historical values said, "The grade of these pictures is superior to the ones taken by the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey, in fact, we can see the entire area so clearly. It must be a work of a professional."
Bret Orstin had a shock 6 years ago when he visited the A-bomb dome his father had photographed. His Japanese wife, Hisayo (age 54) recommended that they visited Hiroshima again this May and told the museum about the pictures and donation.
Bret Orstin said, "All the people in the world especially India and Pakistan who conducted nuclear tests recently should pay more attention to Hiroshima. Please make a use of them when you tell the truth about nuclear weapons."
There are some other panoramas taken by a photographer Shigeo Hayashi, which show the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce and Industry building. They include a picture taken from the top the Chugoku Shimbun (Newspaper). A three set of pictures were identified.
Panoramas donated by Bret Orstin and five aerial pictures which show the entire area of hypocenter will be introduced to the public from 1 August, 1998.
Picture: 2 months after the bombing, the heart of Hiroshima looking from the old Koudou Elementary School. To the right is Honkawa Elementary School and A-bomb Dome. Below is the famous target Aioi Bridge (T-shaped). A-Bomb Dome is right below the bridge. The old Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce and Industry is at the top of the picture.
