Marshall Islands - Bikini Atoll

Unesco's Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization has recognized Marshall's Bikini Atoll Island as a World Cultural Heritage in 2010.

Bikini Atoll

Bikini is an atoll at an area of ​​about 6 km2 belonging to Marshall Islands - a country in the Oceania region. The women's swimsuit Bikini is named after the island.

After the end of World War II, Bikini was under the control of the US Government as part of the Territory of the Pacific Islands Trust. Until 1986, the Marshall Islands officially became independent.

In the Second World War, the United States returned to producing bombs and trying to bomb at the coast of coral island. During the production and testing of nuclear bombs here, the US dropped the Marshall Islands 67 bombs.

On March 1, 1954, the first time the US began a series of experiments " Operation Castle ". The bomb named Castle Bravo is one of the well-known bombs, which caused heavy radioactive Japanese fishing boats. Also on the island, America produced two other famous bombs: Fat Man and Little Boy. These two bombs were then dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki , causing great human and material losses, becoming an unforgettable story in world history.

Photos of the strenuous nuclear test at Bikini Island

The island is also the site of the first nuclear explosion in the world, in the Crossroad campaign.

The Crossroads campaign is a series of nuclear weapons tests conducted by the US at the Bikini Atoll in the middle of 1946. Its purpose is to study the effects of nuclear weapons on naval vessels.

The campaign closed with twice bomb activation. The 23 kiloton bomb, which bounced off 2 million tons of water and sand into the air, created a water column of nearly 1,830 m high, 600 m wide, 91 m thick. 57 mice, 109 mice, 146 pigs, 176 goats and 3,030 white mice were taken to 22 nearby target ships for observation. 35% of animals die from direct effects of explosions or radiation exposure.

The image of a large cloud of pillars rising up to the present is still the obsession of all humanity. This toxic, dark cloud carries radioactive toxins onto the stratosphere and poisones the atmosphere.

The Marshall Islands coral coral island of the Marshall Islands is recognized by the Unesco Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization as a World Cultural Heritage by criteria (iv), (vi)

Criterion (iv): Bikini Atoll is a historical demonstration of nuclear testing . It houses images and military elements of an underwater nuclear test area. The island is also a testament to the cold war and the development of nuclear weapons. It is here that the nuclear war has pushed humanity into a painful nuclear era and the birthplace of two bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Criterion (en): Bikini Atoll is the world's first underwater nuclear test site . A place that shows the escalation of military power during the Cold War and is an especially important place. The same things that happened on this island pushed the international movement to eliminate nuclear weapons. Images of nuclear weapons testing on the island have been used in the " nuclear era " struggles in the 20th century.

Images of the island through photographic airtight tubes are used in programs calling for nuclear disarmament.