[BITList] Hiroshima

[David Harvey]

I was running regularly to Japan from Australia soon after the war. To watch the Japanese and their work ethic after their defeat was truly amazing. They Worked with a capital W and I often shook my head and wondered how the allies had been beaten by such an industrious nation. The way they worked left the Australians, the Brits, even the Chinese, a long way behind. They didn't win the war, but they won, or are winning, the peace.

I visited Hiroshima in the early 50's and even then the place had been rebuilt as a modern functioning city. Quite frankly, although I had been brought up with wartime atrocities evident and war time propaganda I had to admire the nation. Russel Braddon in his book 'Behind Bamboo" wrote of the appalling treatment and conditions of his experiences as a POW but in a later book, and  after visiting Japan, he forgave the nation and expressed his admiration. Although I didn't have his experiences I felt much the same way.

Dave
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