Produced in 1945, “The Atom Strikes” was created by the U.S. Army Signal Corps Pictoral Division shortly after the end of the Second World War. It documents the findings of a commission sent to Japan to assess the damage caused by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The film opens with footage of the blast of the world’s first atomic bomb in Los Alamos, New Mexico in July 1945. The film then focuses on the flight of the B-29 bomber “Enola Gay” and its mission over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The narrator mentions the military significance of the city and the fact that the city’s residents were warned about an impending attack. The results of the bombing are then explained, with footage and descriptions of how various buildings were affected by the blast at different distances from ground zero. Afterwards, an interview with Father John A. Siemes, a Jesuit priest who was living at the Novitiate of the Society of Jesus in Nagatsuka, is shown giving a first hand account of the bombing. Siemes estimates that the bomb killed 100,000 people.

After the Japanese ignore an ultimatum, a second atomic bomb is dropped at Nagasaki. The narrator pointing out how much armament and other military supplies were being produced there. The effect of the atomic blast on local schools and churches is also shown.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com