The previously unstudied records of the Japanese Red Cross Society (JRCS) narrate the heroic tale of the Red Cross personnel who carried out the organisation’s emergency response in the immediate aftermath of the nuclear detonations in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Aid workers began relief activities on the day of the bombings, while many themselves were suffering from injuries and radiation sickness. They treated civilians, soldiers, and Allied POWs without discrimination. Why did these aid-givers choose to work for the Red Cross in the face of such extreme risk? Why were they willing to walk into ground zero to render aid to survivors? JRCS records make clear that, as well-trained nurses and doctors, most aid workers understood the mortal dangers they faced from radioactive poisoning. This article argues that their actions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were attributable to strict quasi-military training, which transcended the ideology of the JRCS as an imperialist institution. Their emergency responses demonstrate the extent to which Red Cross workers had internalised their professional mission as medical aid-givers and eventually emerged as exemplars of the humanitarian relief ideal.

中文翻译：

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日本红十字会在广岛和长崎的紧急响应，1945 年

日本红十字会 (JRCS) 以前未被研究的记录讲述了 1945 年 8 月广岛和长崎核爆炸发生后，红十字会人员立即执行该组织的应急响应的英雄故事。救援人员开始救援活动在爆炸发生当天，许多人自己都受到了伤害和辐射病的折磨。他们一视同仁地对待平民、士兵和盟军战俘。面对如此极端的风险，这些援助者为何选择为红十字会工作？为什么他们愿意走进零地向幸存者提供援助？JRCS 的记录清楚地表明，作为训练有素的护士和医生，大多数救援人员都了解他们因放射性中毒而面临的致命危险。本文认为，他们在广岛和长崎的行动归因于严格的准军事训练，这超越了JRCS作为帝国主义机构的意识形态。他们的应急反应表明，红十字工作人员在多大程度上将他们作为医疗援助提供者的专业使命内化，并最终成为人道主义救援理想的典范。