Photo/Illutration Jeremy Kinney explains about a replica of the Enola Gay B-29 bomber at an annex of the National Air and Space Museum in the U.S. state of Virginia in June. (Ryo Kiyomiya)

WASHINGTON--In a more receptive time, the National Air and Space Museum here plans to feature the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki three decades after a similar project was scrapped due to public opposition. 

The museum, one of the Smithsonian Institution facilities, will exhibit photos of both cities after the atomic bombs were dropped in World War II although there are not expected to be ones showing any victims or their personal possessions. 

The museum plans to display those photos in 2025 along with a model of the atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima, known as Little Boy, according to Jeremy Kinney, associate director of research and curatorial affairs.

Domestic arguments during the war will be examined, such as opposition from scientists to the dropping of the bombs.

The museum is also considering referring to damage wrought by the atomic bombs. 

The museum has not exhibited items related to the atomic bomb carnage out of consideration to public opinion as many Americans believe that the nuclear weapons helped hasten Japan’s surrender and lessen U.S. casualties.

However, Kinney said the times have changed since the 1990s and now allow people to discuss the dropping of the atomic bombs "in an objective way."

He also said the museum hopes to present different perspectives on World War II for visitors from all backgrounds through the new exhibits.

In 1995, the National Air and Space Museum planned to exhibit items affected by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, such as victims’ personal effects, along with the Enola Gay B-29 bomber that dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima.

The project faced a storm of protests from veterans’ organizations, among other opponents. Noted politicians and major newspapers also spoke against it.

The museum was forced to cancel the exhibition in January 1995, and its director stepped down four months later.

A restored of the Enola Gay has been on display at the museum’s annex in Virginia since 2003.

The museum label near Enola Gay only explains that the bomber dropped the first nuclear weapon used in war and does not touch on the destruction caused by the atomic bomb.

The National Air and Space Museum in DC plans to complete the renovation of its facilities in 2025—the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II—and introduce new exhibits at that time.

The photos of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will be among World War II-related exhibits planned as part of this undertaking.


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Aidan Lilienfeld, a staff reporter at The Asahi Shimbun’s American General Bureau, contributed to this article.

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