Last month saw the fifty-fifth anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
As a warning to people everywhere and as an appeal never to use such weapons again, the two Japanese cities stage exhibitions and events every year worldwide.
The mounting of the present exhibition follows discussions between representatives of the two cities and organizations in the United Nations family at the Vienna International Centre (VIC). The VIC is a particularly appropriate setting, since two global bodies located there are involved in the international community's efforts to curb nuclear proliferation. These are the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO).
Together with the United Nations Office in Vienna, these organizations have agreed to co-sponsor this initiative and to make their headquarters available as the venue for an exhibit consisting of some fifty text and pictorial panels as well as numerous artifacts from the ruins of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the bombings. The city of Vienna is also lending support.
The exhibit will be opened in the presence of the Mayor of Hiroshima, Mr. Tadatoshi Akiba, on September 5 at 5.30.
The exhibition can be viewed on weekdays from 6 September onwards in the Rotunda of the VIC (U-1 station VIC/Kaisermühlen) in the framework of guided tours there. These tours start daily at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Visiting groups and school classes should register in advance with the United Nations Visitors Service (phone 26060-3325, fax 26060-5899).