Swiss filmmaker seeks information on her grandfather who treated A-bomb victims
May 1, 2010
by Toshiko Bajo, Staff Writer
Aya Domenig, 37, a filmmaker based in Zurich, Switzerland, is seeking information on her grandfather, the late Shigeru Doi, who was an internist at the Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital (now, the Hiroshima Red Cross and Atomic Bomb Survivors Hospital) and treated victims of the atomic bombing in the aftermath of the blast. Ms. Domenig has paid visits to one person after another who might know something about her grandfather in order to create a documentary film.
According to Dr. Doi's wife, Kiyomi, 83, who lives in Hiroshima, he saw the flash of the bomb from the inside of a train on the Geibi Line near Yaga Station in the eastern part of the city. He then walked to the Red Cross Hospital and treated victims. Dr. Doi was reunited with his family, who were evacuated from the city at the time of the bombing, ten days later. He seldom spoke about his experience and died in 1991 at the age of 77.
Dr. Doi was Ms. Domenig's maternal grandfather. As A-bomb survivors are now aging, Ms. Domenig feels a sense of mission to make a film which will show the damage wrought by the atomic bombing to people in Europe.
Before visiting Japan, she made a list of the nurses who worked at the Red Cross Hospital around the time of the bombing by searching for information through the internet and other means. She has been staying with Kiyomi and her family at their house since March 30 and has met about ten of these nurses. However, they knew very little about Dr. Doi because they worked in different departments or due to other factors. Utilizing her fluent Japanese, she also visited peace-related organizations and Peace Memorial Museum, but was unable to locate further information.
After returning to Switzerland on April 29, Ms. Domenig will continue to seek information as well as solicit donations to make the film, and visit Hiroshima again next year. She is asking for information about her grandfather, saying, "I would like to know as much as possible about the situation in Hiroshima which my grandfather witnessed. My grandmother and I would be grateful for any information on him."
(Originally published on April 29, 2010)
Aya Domenig, 37, a filmmaker based in Zurich, Switzerland, is seeking information on her grandfather, the late Shigeru Doi, who was an internist at the Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital (now, the Hiroshima Red Cross and Atomic Bomb Survivors Hospital) and treated victims of the atomic bombing in the aftermath of the blast. Ms. Domenig has paid visits to one person after another who might know something about her grandfather in order to create a documentary film.
According to Dr. Doi's wife, Kiyomi, 83, who lives in Hiroshima, he saw the flash of the bomb from the inside of a train on the Geibi Line near Yaga Station in the eastern part of the city. He then walked to the Red Cross Hospital and treated victims. Dr. Doi was reunited with his family, who were evacuated from the city at the time of the bombing, ten days later. He seldom spoke about his experience and died in 1991 at the age of 77.
Dr. Doi was Ms. Domenig's maternal grandfather. As A-bomb survivors are now aging, Ms. Domenig feels a sense of mission to make a film which will show the damage wrought by the atomic bombing to people in Europe.
Before visiting Japan, she made a list of the nurses who worked at the Red Cross Hospital around the time of the bombing by searching for information through the internet and other means. She has been staying with Kiyomi and her family at their house since March 30 and has met about ten of these nurses. However, they knew very little about Dr. Doi because they worked in different departments or due to other factors. Utilizing her fluent Japanese, she also visited peace-related organizations and Peace Memorial Museum, but was unable to locate further information.
After returning to Switzerland on April 29, Ms. Domenig will continue to seek information as well as solicit donations to make the film, and visit Hiroshima again next year. She is asking for information about her grandfather, saying, "I would like to know as much as possible about the situation in Hiroshima which my grandfather witnessed. My grandmother and I would be grateful for any information on him."
(Originally published on April 29, 2010)
