Hospital in the Rock

On Wednesday May 23, 2018 our group visited Hospital in the Rock.  This site was a hospital run by the Red Cross during WWII and during a uprising against the Soviets.  The architect used the natural cave system to construct this shelter.  Originally the hospital was meant to be used for civilians only, but they soon had to expand this to soldiers as well.  So the hospital was often over max capacity with people laying sometimes 2 to a bed.  Later, a new section of cave was converted into a bomb shelter during the Cold War.  Luckily, this section never had to be used for its intended purpose.  This portion now contains a section warning against nuclear weapons with pictures and artifacts from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I grew up learning about this event because my Mom's uncle worked on the Manhattan Project, but I don't think it felt personal to me until this museum.  I was in awe that one little girl's lunch box was found in the clean up of the disaster where you could still see the shapes of peas and rice she brought for lunch, but the little girl was never found.  This museum not only provided a memorial for the doctors and nurses that worked continuously to heal the wounded, but also a warning of the destruction that war causes.