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Sciencemag.org Video: Hiroshima survivor explains why 75 years of radiation research is so important

Screen shot of Sciencemag.org video

by Sandra Yates
Archivist and Special Collections Librarian

August 6, 2020 marks the 75th Anniversary since the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Science (sciencemag.org), an AAAS publication, has produced an excellent video about the survivors and the Life Span Study of the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF), successor to the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC). The Life Span Study is one of the longest epidemiological studies in the world.

Watch: Hiroshima survivor explains why 75 years of radiation research is so important A video by Joel Goldberg, Sciencemag.org.

The McGovern Historical Center contributed four images to the video from the Mac Suzuki Photograph Collection (MS 196). The collection consists of over 800 35mm slides, depicting post-war Japan in full color. The photographs were taken by Dr. Masamichi “Mac” Suzuki while he worked at the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission between 1948-1953.

The Mac Suzuki Photograph Collection is one of several collections within the McGovern Historical Center related to ABCC. Since 1986, the archive has solicited and preserved the documents of the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission. The ABCC Collections consist of manuscripts and other records donated by former members throughout the United States, equaling around 30 collections and nearly 200 cubic feet of records. While the entire collection offers a comprehensive view of the attitudes, goals, and activities of the Commission from the late 1940’s through its evolution into the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF), the individual collections offer a human perspective. Through the personal papers of the staff, physicians, and scientists, the collections reveal an emotional context of the research activities and interactions of the personnel.

Click on the links below to find more information about:
Mac Suzuki Photograph Collection
ABCC Collections
Other posts related to ABCC and Radiation Effects & Events

Hijiyama bacteriology lab. ABCC, circa 1948-1952. [McGovern Historical Center, MS 196 Mac Suzuki Photograph Collection, MS196-0649]
Hijiyama bacteriology lab. ABCC, circa 1948-1952. [McGovern Historical Center, MS 196 Mac Suzuki Photograph Collection, MS196-0649]

Photograph. No More Hiroshimas, c. 1950. [McGovern Historical Center, MS 196 Mac Suzuki Photograph Collection, MS196-0617]
No More Hiroshimas, c. 1950. [McGovern Historical Center, MS 196 Mac Suzuki Photograph Collection, MS196-0617 (edited from original color version)]