In the middle of five jump in the center of Tilburg is a striking boulder. No ordinary stone, but a monument with a powerful message: ‘Never again – Hiroshima – Nagasaki – 6–9 Aug. 1945 /1982. It recalls the more than 240,000 victims who fell through the atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this Wednesday exactly 80 years ago. And despite the fact that the stone is at the most famous intersection of the city, many Tilburg people don’t know him.
Hans has been living in Tilburg since 1969. He regularly walks past the Vijfsprong. “I know there is a stone here, but I have never really looked at it,” he says. If he reads the text, he is surprised. “Why is there a monument here in Tilburg in memory of those terrible bombs?”
The monument is a bit hidden on the corner of the terrace of Steck013. You can see the boulder litter between two planters and the terrace table. Most people who are drinking something on the terrace or walk past the intersection do not pay attention to the monument.
And Hans is not the only one who wonders why the monument is here. “I didn’t know that Tilburg has a monument for this,” says Jordy. “And that’s not good, because I live around the corner here. I have never seen this. I think it’s great that we have this here in Tilburg.” But Jordy doesn’t know why Tilburg has this monument either.
“For a disaster that happened and that should never happen again.”
For the answer we have to go back to 1982. It was the time in which there was plenty of demonstration against atomic weapons throughout the Netherlands. Tilburg then had a very active peace movement. For example, it went to major demonstrations with more than 200 buses.
Beatrijs van der Weijden was one of the cart -of the Peace Movement. “We thought it was a good idea to put a monument here on the five -jump, where many people pass by. For a disaster that happened, and that should never happen again.”
On 6 and 9 August 1945, the Americans threw two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They wanted to force Japan to surrender. “At that time, there were incredibly many people killed. That should never have happened. A person should not do that,” says Van der Weijden.
And it didn’t just stay with a monument. In 1985 a group of survivors of the Tilburg atomic bombs visited. “Seven Japanese were here. They could tell from their own history what incredible, desperate disaster this was. If you start with atomic weapons … Yes, that is so against humanity. And also in a city like Tilburg that should be told, they thought. They really wanted to convey that message.”
The monument was almost disappeared. Fifteen years ago the five jump was refurbished. It hung with a ginkgo. That is a Japanese tree that stands for peace. The tree did not survive the renovation. There was a new ginkgo. Later, Beatrijs, together with someone from the municipality, ensured that the plaque was given a new place on the Zwerfkei.
What can we still learn from this monument? “You have to consider that enormous madness that capitalize on humanity,” says Beatrijs. “Destroying so many people, whatever you see in Gaza, and in other places in the world. So many people are killed meaninglessly.”
The Tilburg Ernst is drinking on the terrace. The boulder has never noticed him. “For these kinds of events there can be no boulders enough to help us remember. We learn very little from it.”