Ohio History Day
Peace Resource Center at Wilmington College: “The Hiroshima and Nagasaki Memorial Collection”
Peace Resource Center (PRC) Description: The PRC was founded in 1975 by the Quaker peace activist Barbara Reynolds (1915-1990) who worked to create a world free of nuclear weaponry and war and to help atomic bombing survivors share their stories of the tragedy of military conflict. In the late 1950s, Barbara and her husband Earle became icons of the global peace and antinuclear movement after sailing their yacht the Phoenix into a US nuclear test site next to the Bikini Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
Currently, the PRC develops events and programming that encourages dialogue on the Wilmington College campus about how to resolve conflict from the personal to the global level. The PRC assists faculty and students in creating student-led projects, internships, and local/global collaborations so that Wilmington College and its local region can become an even greater part of a global community of peace.
In addition, the PRC is the home of the unique archive, “The Hiroshima and Nagasaki Memorial Collection.” Scholars throughout the country have visited the PRC to utilize this vast collection of materials for their research on the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Peace Resource Center’s nonviolence, social justice, and global peace programming, as well as a priceless archive and collection of historical documents, makes it a unique space that promotes and affirms peace as a core value of the Wilmington College mission.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki Memorial Collection Description:
The Hiroshima/Nagasaki Memorial Collection houses a variety of documents, including correspondence, photos, slides, 16mm film, books, magazines, and other documents related to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and global peace activism. The collection includes the papers of Barbara and Earle Reynolds, a Japanese language library of books related to the atomic bombings, and an assortment of publications within the genre of global peace activism, including both religious and secular efforts to end conflict and promote cross-cultural understanding.
Ohio History Day Topics
The Decision to Use Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Various essays, pamphlets, letters, and white papers by leading scientists and commentators related to the development of nuclear weapons such as Albert Einstein, Leo Szilard, and Walter Lippman.
Vietnam Files Various historical materials including newspaper articles, pamphlets, essays, and personal accounts focusing on the protest actions of the Vietnam war
Hiroshima Maidens and the Rodney Barker Papers Archival materials (news reports, essays, commentaries, photographs, etc.) related to the Hiroshima Maidens visit to the United States in 1955, when 25 young women from Hiroshima were brought to the United States for reconstructive surgery as an act of goodwill.
Japanese Survivors of the Atomic Bombings Personal testimonials, writings, political actions of Japanese survivors of the atomic bombings.
Non-Japanese Survivors of the Atomic Bombings Extensive collection of articles, essays, and accounts by non-Japanese survivors of the atomic bombings.
Conscientious Objection Booklets, essays, and articles regarding pacifism and militarism as well as the “Lee Stern Papers” of World War II Conscientious Objector, Lee Stern.
Nuclear Testing Papers, articles, and pamphlets about nuclear testing as it relates to the exposure of American G.I.s in the Southwest United States as well as the exposure to radiation from nuclear tests of Islanders in the Pacific Marshall Islands.
Nuclear Accidents Pamphlets, posters, newspaper and magazine articles related to Nuclear accidents such as Chernobyl in the USSR and Three Mile Island in the United States as well as nuclear contamination from nuclear power plants.
Medical Effects of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Medical papers and reports on the effects of radiation on atomic bombing survivors.
Committee for A-Bomb Survivors in the United States Papers, pamphlets, news articles related to attempts by American Atomic Bombing Survivors to receive medical treatment and compensation from the United States for injuries related to the atomic bombings.
Peace Movements and Peace Making Extensive documentation of the postwar peace movement (1950-1990) stemming from the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Hiroshima Peace Pilgrimage (1962) Archival materials including letters, newspaper clippings, photographs, audio, and video regarding Barbara Reynold’s 1962 tour to Europe and the United States with two Japanese atomic bombing survivors to create awareness about the dangers of nuclear weapons.
Barbara and Earle Reynolds Extensive collections of letters, news clippings, articles, essays, photographs, and audio/video regarding Barbara and Earle Reynolds’s (Barbara Reynolds was the founder of the Peace Resource Center at Wilmington College) peace activism.
War Tax Resistance Essays, articles, and pamphlets related to war tax resistance—a form of political resistance in which individuals refuse to pay tax to the United States government to avoid supporting military violence.