Brooklyn College bore witness to a remarkable moment in history on March 6, when the campus welcomed Masako Wada, a survivor of the Nagasaki atomic bombing during World War II. With a poignant and urgent message, she shared her harrowing experience of devastation and loss—while offering a powerful testament to hope, resilience, and the fight for a nuclear-free future. Wada, who was just a toddler when her home was obliterated in 1945, has dedicated her life to ensuring the world never forgets the horrors of nuclear warfare. Now 81, she serves as assistant secretary general of Nihon Hidankyo, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organization, which was awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize for its tireless advocacy in eliminating nuclear weapons. Wada also participated in talks at the United Nations earlier in March to support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Masako Wada is the assistant secretary general of Nihon Hidankyo, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organization, which was awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize for its tireless advocacy in eliminating nuclear weapons. At the event, held during Women’s History Month, Wada spoke with both urgency and conviction in front of an audience of more than 100 students, staff, and faculty, recounting the unimaginable destruction she lived through and the lessons humanity must heed. She also addressed pressing concerns about today’s turbulent world, as students asked how her past might serve as a warning for the present and future. Assistant Professor of Health and Nutrition Sciences Kiyoka Koizumi played a key role in organizing and moderating the event, which was made possible by the Brooklyn College Cancer Center and the Center for Health Promotion of the Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences. Additional support came from the departments of History, Philosophy, and Sociology, along with the Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities.
