Nagasaki Beyond – War Photographer Joe O’Donnell Photo Exhibition
American soldier Joe O’Donnell was sent as a war photographer to Nagasaki in the aftermath of the tragedy that struck Japan in August 1945.
The shots he made are moving and sadly poetic, they deeply affected O’Donnell, so deeply that, on his return to his homeland, he locked them in a trunk and they came back to light only after almost half a century from the explosion of the atomic bomb.
Now these images are supplied to the Kyoto Buddhist museum and travel the world as a warning to the consciences of individuals and nations.
Of the more than 100 photographs taken in 1945, the most iconic and famous is certainly the one that portrays a child from Nagasaki with his little brother on his shoulder who died in the atomic bombing while taking him to the crematorium. That same image was chosen in 2018 by Pope Francesco to convey a renewed message of peace and remind everyone “… the fruit of the war”, as the caption on the comment of the photo read.
The images of “NAGASAKY Beyond” relaunch a message aimed at the future, beyond borders, beyond nations, beyond religions, beyond hatred, only for peace.
