Siemes, P (German Missionary)

Collection relating to the Second World War experience of Brother P. Siemes, German Missionary, Hiroshima, Japan, 1945.

Collection consists of one eight-page manuscript by Brother P. Siemes, which documents his experience of the dropping of an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. In his manuscript, Siemes describes being at the Novitiate on a hill above the city when the bomb hit, the light, being cut by glass splinters as the windows broke, the destruction of his accommodation, and nearby fires. He then relates that a stream of people made their way out of the city, and that many of them needed first aid for severe wounds and burns. He heard from them that many buildings had collapsed, trapping people inside, and that a large fire was sweeping through the city, and that the destruction was widespread. Siemes writes that he and several other brothers went into the city to aid members of their order at the church, that the streets were lined with dead and dying people, and that, when they found their friends, two were severely wounded, but all were still attempting to free people trapped under debris. He tells of the difficulty of transporting the wounded and dressing injuries, travelling in a boat on the river, distributing food and water, being threatened by a soldier who thought they were Americans, and carrying Father Superior home on a wooden stretcher. The next day, they went out with a handcart to help the wounded.

In September 1945, Father Siemes gave this typed account of his experiences to a member of the American occupation force, Bishop Franklin Corley, who later brought it back to the United States.