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1 of 16Not published in LIFE. Urakami Cathedral (Roman Catholic), Nagasaki, September, 1945.Bernard Hoffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images -
2 of 16Not published in LIFE. Nagasaki, September, 1945.Bernard Hoffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images -
3 of 16Not published in LIFE. Hiroshima streetcar, September, 1945.J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images -
4 of 16Not published in LIFE. Nagasaki, Japan, September 1945.Bernard Hoffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images -
5 of 16Not published in LIFE. A photo album, pieces of pottery, a pair of scissors - shards of life strewn on the ground in Nagasaki, 1945.Bernard Hoffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images -
6 of 16From notes by LIFE's Bernard Hoffman to the magazine's long-time picture editor, Wilson Hicks, in New York, September 1945.Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images -
7 of 16Not published in LIFE. Hiroshima, 1945.Bernard Hoffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images -
8 of 16Not published in LIFE. Nagasaki, 1945, a few months after an American B-29 dropped an atomic bomb, codenamed "Fat Man," on the city.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images -
9 of 16Not published in LIFE. The landscape around Urakami Cathedral, Nagasaki, September, 1945.Bernard Hoffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images -
10 of 16From notes by LIFE's Bernard Hoffman to the magazine's long-time picture editor, Wilson Hicks, in New York, September 1945.Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images -
11 of 16Not published in LIFE. Neighborhood reduced to rubble by atomic bomb blast, Hiroshima, 1945.Bernard Hoffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images -
12 of 16Bust in front of destroyed cathedral two miles from the atomic bomb detonation site, Nagasaki, Japan, 1945.Bernard Hoffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images -
13 of 16Not published in LIFE. Hiroshima, 1945, two months after the August 6 bombing.Bernard Hoffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images -
14 of 16Not published in LIFE. Nagasaki, 1945.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images -
15 of 16Not published in LIFE. Two women pay respects at a ruined cemetery, Nagasaki, 1945.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images -
16 of 16Not published in LIFE. Hiroshima, September, 1945.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
It’s the most recognizable building in Hiroshima, described by TIME as “Hiroshima‘s Eiffel Tower, its Statue of Liberty.” The Genbaku Dome was once an exhibition hall, functioning as the city’s convention center. After the atomic bombing of Aug. 6, 1945—exactly 70 years ago Thursday—it was the only major building left standing near the explosion site.
“Where the dome rose, only the supporting beams remain, a giant hairnet capping four floors of vacant gray walls, much of their outer skin peeled away, exposing patches of brick,” TIME later explained. “The interior floors are also gone, making the entire structure an accidental atrium. A front doorway leads to nowhere. A metal spiral staircase ascends to nothing. A pillar lies on its side, wires springing like wild hairs.”
Today, the Dome is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, where it serves as a physical a reminder of the horrific destruction of atomic power—and humanity’s power to rebuild.
Read TIME’s 1945 assessment of the bombing, here in the TIME Vault: “Awful Responsibility”
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