Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan | Museum

More than a half-century has passed since the atomic bombing, and the passing on of war and survivor experiences has become a major issue. To raise peace consciousness and ensure that the A-bomb experience is conveyed accurately to coming generations, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum provides eyewitness testimony by survivors and A-bomb documentary films for the children and students who visit Hiroshima on school field trips.

The Hiroshima Prefectural Commerical Exhibition Hall was constructed in 1915 as a base for promoting the sale of goods produced in Hiroshima Prefecture. The building designed by Czech architect Jan Letzel was highly regarded for its imposing, European-style design. Its name changed to Hiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall and then to Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. Intensification of the war led the government to discontinue commercial uses of the Industrial Promotion Hall in March 1944.

In 1952 it was decided that, under the Hiroshima Peace Memorial City Construction Law, the Peace Memorial Hall, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, City Auditorium, and the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims will be constructed in Peace Memorial Park as reminders of the past and contributions to a future of lasting peace.