At 8:15 a.m on August 5, 1945, Hiroshima became the first city in the world to become a victim of the atom bomb. The incident and the second bombing (at Nagasaki) led to Japan's surrender during World War II. By the end of 1945, close to 200,000 people in Hiroshima died from the bombing and its later effects.

A dome became the symbol of the horrifying effects of the dropping of the atom bomb.