The "Atomic Dome"
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The original building, the Hiroshima Prefecture Industrial Exhibition Hall,was opened on August 5th, 1915. It was designed by Jan Letzel, an Italian architect who later took Czechoslovakian nationality. On August 6th, 1945 -thirty years and one day after its opening-the first atomic bomb used in warfare exploded immediately above the dome, bringing almost total devastation to the city of Hiroshima; nearly 70% of the city's structures were damaged or destroyed and 260,000 people were killed or injured.
Hiroshima has been rebuilt into a fine, modern city but the blasted shell of the building and its dome are preserved as a reminder of the holocaust itself and of the horrors of war.
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