2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Around 100,000 people died immediately in these attacks; many tens of thousands died in the years that followed as a result of the explosions and lethal radiation.

To mark this commemorative year, the Peace Academy Rhineland-Palatinate and CampusKultur at RPTU, together with the organization ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017, "Internationale Ärzt:innen für die Verhütung des Atomkrieges (ippnw)" and "Ohne Rüstung Leben" organized a conference on 27 and 28 June 2025 entitled "Im Schatten des Atompilzes. Another 80 years without nuclear weapons?" organized a series of events in Kaiserslautern.

At the commemorative event in the Japanese Garden in Kaiserslautern, voices of the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as those affected by nuclear weapons tests were heard. The people who have to live and die with the direct consequences of the nuclear age are remembered.

"Ohne Rüstung Leben" published a compiled documentation of the texts presented.

The panel discussion at RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) followed on Saturday. Dr. Gregor Walter-Drop, Dr. Sumiko Hatakeyama, Dr. Steffen Hagemann and Juliane Hauschulz discussed the question "In the shadow of the mushroom cloud" - Panel discussion: Security without nuclear weapons - (How) can this succeed?".

The cooperation between the project partners Peace Academy Rhineland-Palatinate, Ohne Rüstung Leben, ICAN and IPPNW has also resulted in various projects for young people. These include a simulation game "Nuclear Weapons Policy" in which pupils take on different roles, deal intensively with nuclear weapons and get to know different perspectives and arguments on the topic.

You can find out more about the various projects and a summary of the panel discussion in the detailed report by "Ohne Rüstung Leben".