World War II began in July, 1937 when Japan went to war with China. In 1939 Germany invaded Poland, beginning the European phase of that war. There followed a maelstrom of violence, hate, racism, ethnic cleansing and unspeakable acts. Hostilities finally ended on September 2, 1945 with the surrender of Japan. Today we mark an especially horrific episode in that terrible time: the atomic bombing by the United States of the Japanese city of Hiroshima. We can note that the entry of the United States into the war in December, 1941 was characterized by the call to arms of “Remember Pearl Harbor.” Our chair of the FCM Peace and Justice Committee, Carolyn Horvath, offers us the following brief reflection, asking us Christians to Remember a different reality.
By Carolyn Horvath, Chair of FCM Peace and Justice Committee
Today, August 6th is the 70th Anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and in a few days will come the anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki. As survivors and participants we all need to REMEMBER...that it happened...the many lives that were lost...the many who are suffering and have suffered because of it. And we all need to REMEMBER to send another kind of light into the world to counter the death and destruction of that terrible light issued so many years ago.