Atomic Bomb Survivors Inspire Pulitzer Center Webinar for Educators

In the webinar, Retro Report’s director of education, David Olson, and Hannah Berk, a senior program manager with the Pulitzer Center’s K-12 Education team, showcase resources and approaches for covering World War II, ethical decision-making, and the human costs of conflict.

The webinar, timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the U.S., equips educators with free, ready-to-use classroom resources to use with the Retro Report short doc What Japan’s Atom Bomb Survivors Have Taught Us About the Dangers of Nuclear War. View the related lesson plans and student activities here, along with a Japanese-language version of the video.

Retro Report Senior Producer Scott Michels, who produced the short doc on atomic bomb survivors, and Collin Kim, a high school student who wrote a poem inspired by the short doc for the Pulitzer Center’s national Fighting Words Poetry Contest, were interviewed in the webinar. Kim’s poem was awarded first place in the contest’s Peace and Conflict category. Read the full poem here.

Seventeen students from eight states and Qatar selected the Retro Report short doc on hibakusha, or bomb-affected people, as the anchor story for their entries. Here are excerpts from other atomic bomb-related poems:

“Was this what it felt like to be pinned down by the sky?”
– Eighth-grade student from New York City

“What happens when the survivors remember?

When the rest of the world forgets,

what happens when they still care?

When that date is still a brand on their brain

and every thought of what could’ve been is sealed with pain….

What will happen when no one is left to pass down the stories?

When their words and warnings are unspoken and ignored,

enveloped into nothing.

When the memory is faded and it’s not written down.

What happens when we forget? What happens then?”
– Ninth-grade student from Amarillo, Calif.

“On Aug. 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped the first atomic weapon on
Hiroshima, Japan

“Flash! Boom! It was an extremely loud blast,” said Michiko Hattori…

From the bomb, the suffering remains. The risks of nuclear conflict remain high, with more than 12,000 nuclear weapons stockpiled sky-high…Masako Wada later becomes an activist.

She advertises how the nuclear war might happen again

“There may come a day when no one is left to tell the stories.”

So the moral is,  “What is taught is made.”
–  Sixth-grade student from New Orleans

The Pulitzer Center’s annual Fighting Words poetry contest invites students to compose poems that respond to and use lines from Pulitzer Center-supported news stories, merging the worlds of art and journalism to amplify the voices of young people and the urgent issues of our times. Click here to learn more about the contest and explore this year’s 23 winners and finalists. Subscribe to the Pulitzer Center’s weekly Education newsletter for contest updates and other opportunities for students and teachers.