Vom Inferno zum Friedenssymbol. 80 Jahre Hiroshima und Nagasaki

In 2025, we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While World War II in Europe concluded with Germany's capitulation in May 1945, the bombings in August 1945 marked the end of warfare in the Pacific. The detonations nearly obliterated both Japanese cities, resulting in the deaths and suffering of countless individuals. This catastrophic event has left profound scars on Japanese society and serves as a reminder for humanity to strive for peace.

In observance of this significant anniversary, the Museum Fünf Kontinente, in collaboration with the Japan Center of LMU, presents an exhibition conceived in partnership with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum. This exhibition not only pays tribute to the victims but also advocates for a stance against the use of nuclear weapons.

The exhibition serves as a memorial site where the stories of individual victims are given considerable attention.

Public guided tours of the special exhibition will take place on:

• Sunday, 10 August at 14:00
• 31 August at 11:00
• 28 September at 14:00
• 26 October at 11:00
• 30 November at 14:00
• 28 December at 11:00
• 11 January 2026 at 14:00

Registration is required via email at [email protected].

Accompanying the exhibition is an extensive lecture program in collaboration with the Japan Center of LMU Munich (held in the lecture hall; no registration required, free entry):

• "Hiroshima's Transwar and the Architecture of Memory and Forgetting" by Prof. Ran Zwigenberg, Ph.D. (Penn State College of the Liberal Arts) on Thursday 17 July at 18:00 (in English)
• "National and Global Victim Narratives in the Japanese Discourse on Hiroshima and Nagasaki" with Prof. Nobuhiro Yanagihara on Tuesday 22 July at 18:00
• "Images from Hiroshima. The Tradition of Victims' Memories Through Paintings" by Prof. i.R. Dr. Lothar Wigger (TU Dortmund) on Thursday 24 July at 18:00
• "The Relevance of Hiroshima and Nagasaki for Peace Education" by Prof. Dr. Takahiro Kondo (Waseda University) on Thursday 31 July at 18:00
• "Two Nobel Prizes and How History is Made" by Prof. em. Dr. Florian Coulmas (University of Duisburg-Essen) on Tuesday 7 October at 18:00
• "Resurrecting Nagasaki: Religion, Art, and Memory after the Atomic Bombing" by Chad R. Diehl, Ph.D. (Independent Scholar) on Tuesday 14 October at 18:00 (in English)
• "Hiroshima and Nagasaki: The Last Witnesses" by Prof. M.G. Sheftall, Ph.D. (Shizuoka University) on Thursday 23 October at 18:00 (in English)
• Wednesday, 12 November 2025, at 18:00: "The Atomic Bomb and its Victims. Memory in the Museums in Nagasaki and Hiroshima" by Dr. André Hertrich (Austrian Academy of Sciences)
• Online conversation with atomic bomb survivor Teruko Yahata and interpreter Yoko Itami on Wednesday 26 November at 10:00. The conversation will be held in Japanese with German translation.
• "Making the Invisible Visible: The Maruki Gallery For The Hiroshima Panels" with Prof. i.R. Dr. Steffi Richter on Thursday 4 December at 18:00 (Note: The location will be announced later)

Open Origami Workshop: The traditional Japanese art of paper folding with Yukiko Murakami-Wagner for all ages, held Sundays from 11:00 to 14:00 on 13 July, 27 July, 24 August, 21 September, 5 October, 9 November, 7 December, and 11 January 2026. Participation is included in the admission to the permanent exhibition. Limited spaces available; no registration required.

Concert: Bells in Nagasaki - Sounds of the Showa Era (1926-1989) in Japan. Solo piano evening with Masako Ohta on Saturday 9 August at 18:00. Admission is free; no registration required.

Exhibition duration: 4 July 2025 to 11 January 2026.