Wikijunior:World Heritage Sites/Hiroshima Peace Memorial

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial and now commonly called the Genbaku Dome is part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The ruin of the hall serves as a memorial to the people who were killed in the bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945.

At 8:15 a.m. on 6 August 1945, the first atomic bomb to be used in World War Two was dropped by the United States Army Air Forces and destroyed the city of Hiroshima, Japan. The bomb exploded directly over a hospital and everyone inside the hospital was killed immediately from the fireball. The building was the only structure not destroyed after the bombing. In 1966, The Hiroshima City Council called for permanent preservation of the building, named the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.

In December 1996, the Genbaku Dome was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List due to its survival from a destructive force (atomic bomb), the first use of nuclear weapons on a human population, and its representation as a symbol of peace.