Day of Peace: Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki

This August, Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace invites you to Halifax City Hall for two days of remembrance, learning, and hope for a nuclear-free future.

Some anniversaries ask us to pause. On August 6 and 9, 1945, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed more than 210,000 civilians — women, children, seniors, Koreans, Chinese, American prisoners of war, and so many others whose lives ended in an instant or in the long, painful years that followed. Eight decades later, we gather not only to mourn, but to learn, and to recommit ourselves to the work of peace.

This year, Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace is proud to host the Hiroshima–Nagasaki Poster Display at Halifax City Hall. Donated by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, the collection of 30 posters tells the story of how the atomic bombs were created, the human toll of the explosions, and why our concern about nuclear war can become a source of energy for action and peacebuilding rather than despair.

What to expect

The display is free and open to the public across both days. Each afternoon, we’ll screen the documentary The Vow from Hiroshima, which follows survivor and peace activist Setsuko Thurlow and her lifelong commitment to abolishing nuclear weapons. Families are warmly welcome — children’s activities will be available throughout, along with light refreshments compliments of the ever-wonderful Halifax Raging Grannies.

Then, on Friday at noon, please join us at Grand Parade as we raise the Peace Flag in a brief ceremony that includes a reading of the HRM Proclamation, “Day of Peace.” It’s a small, meaningful moment of public witness — a chance to stand together and say, plainly, that we choose peace.

Why we gather

Remembrance is not only about looking back. The posters, the film, and the flag all point in the same direction: toward the world we still have the power to shape. As long as nuclear weapons exist, the events of 1945 remain a warning that belongs to all of us. Coming together — to look, to learn, to grieve, and to imagine something better — is itself an act of peacebuilding.

We look forward to your presence.

Presented by Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace, with Peace Quest Cape Breton, The Simons Foundation Canada, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Science for Peace, CRED NB, and the Halifax Regional Municipality.