News Release

Manhattan Project National Historical Park Messages of Peace

Date: July 29, 2020
Contact: Wendy Berhman, [phone]

DENVER —  Manhattan Project National Historical Park (Manhattan NHP) will observe the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Japan in the waning days of World War II in 1945. As a result of COVID-19, the park has tailored the commemoration events to provide virtual activities to honor these significant events in world history and reflect on the many wartime sacrifices and losses.

A core part of the programming is the Messages of Peace  (https://www.nps.gov/mapr/learn/historyculture/messages-of-peace.htm) project.  Manhattan Project National Historical Park is soliciting origami cranes and messages of peace from the public. In recognition of the historical trauma of the atomic bombings and to celebrate the values of resilience, strength, and peace symbolized by the origami crane, the cranes and messages of peace received for this project will be archived in a time capsule to be opened on the 100^th anniversary of the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The park may also share these messages of peace to foster dialogue about the complex and fraught legacies of the Manhattan Project.

The public is encouraged to fold paper origami cranes with messages of peace written on them and to mail those cranes to the park.   Alternatively, the public can take photographs of the cranes made and email the photo(s) to e-mail us; digital messages of peace can also be submitted to this email.  Submissions are due by August 5, 2020.   The park Superintendent states, “The Messages of Peace program is an opportunity for the voices of today to be heard in 25 years, a century after the end of World War II. Those messages may reflect our collective understanding of peace 75 years after the atomic bombings and the dawning of the nuclear age framed within the context of current events.”

Additionally, Manhattan Project NHP has created a 75^th Commemoration Webpage ( https://www.nps.gov/mapr/learn/historyculture/75th-commemoration.htm) with commemorative event information and content that will be routinely updated leading up to August 6 and 9.

The scientific research and wartime actions of the Manhattan Project have profoundly shaped the last 75 years of human history.  Please join the National Park Service in remembering these world-changing events and sharing personal messages of peace.

The uranium fueled atomic bomb “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945, at 8:16 am local time in Japan, resulting in the death of tens of thousands of people. It is one of only two times an atomic weapon was intentionally used on a human population. A second atomic weapon was dropped over Nagasaki, Japan, on Aug. 9, 1945, also killing tens of thousands. World War II came to an end less than a week later with the surrender of Japan on Aug. 15, 1945. The surrender became official on Sept. 2, 1945, 6 years and 1 day after World War II began when Germany invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939.  

  –   www.nps.gov/mapr   –

Formally established in November 2015 via a Memorandum of Agreement between the Department of Energy and the National Park Service to preserve portions of three World War II sites (Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Los Alamos, New Mexico; and Hanford, Washington) where the United States developed the first atomic weapons, the park marks the history of the people, science, events, and controversy associated with the creation of the atomic bomb in the top-secret effort known as the Manhattan Project. Under the agreement, the National Park Service and the Department of Energy jointly manage and administer the park.

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 419 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

 

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