HISTORY THROUGH OUR EYES

Aug. 7, 1986: Memorial for A-bomb victims

Every August, people around the world commemorate the many thousands of lives that were lost when the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan in 1945 during the Second World War. The bombings of Hiroshima on Aug. 6 and Nagasaki on Aug. 9 with the stunning new weapon left a death toll in the order of 200,000; the precise number will never be known. So horrific was the impact that the weapons have yet to be used again in conflict.

This photo by Richard Arless Jr. appeared on page 1 of the Montreal Gazette on Aug. 7, 1986.

Taken the previous day, it shows Emmanuelle Caquille and Emmanuel Vaillant, of Paris, looking at a silhouette painted on a Montreal street to recall the shadows left by Hiroshima victims who perished instantly in the intense blast of heat. (Others died later of after-effects.)

The silhouette was one of 2,000 at various locations around Montreal that had been painted by peace activists using water-soluble paints, we reported in the related story, on page 3.

The activists had obtained the city’s permission, so there were no incidents, unlike the previous year when 89 people had been arrested and 46 charges laid, we wrote.

Coordinator Jeff Sniderman told us that Montreal originally had demanded a list of 2,000 addresses where the shadows would be painted, but eventually settled for a list of streets. To avoid trouble, the painters had decided to skip Outremont (then a separate municipality) and Westmount, where gaining permission had been more complicated.

An annual commemorative ceremony began in 1998, when Montreal and Hiroshima became sister cities. It takes place in the Botanical Garden at the peace bell, a gift of the city of Hiroshima.