Douglas Wachter
My photographs of San Francisco Bay Area politics in the 1960s
1962 — "No more Hiroshimas" demonstration in San Francisco
The Bay Area peace movement in the sixties organized hundreds, and occasionally thousands to demonstrate against war, nuclear weapons, nuclear testing and in remembrance of the brutal and unnecessary bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6, 1945 and August 8, 1945, respectively. Appromixmately 200,000 Japanese were killed due to the blasts and the radioactive residue that was produced. For several years, an annual "Hiroshima" demonstration was held in the streets of San Francisco. Women For Peace, a national organization, organized the 1962 demonstration shown in these photographs and several others in the early 1960s. The women's peace movement drew thousands of people from the religious community and other mainly white liberal organizations and was a consistent, visible source of popular resistance in the early sixties.
1962 Hiroshima demonstration on Market St in San Francisco. Monitors keep protesters on the sidewalks. Women Strike For Peace, also known as Women For Peace, always had beautiful, printed signs.
A common destination for protests against government policies was the imposing San Francisco U.S. Federal Building.
The development of the H-Bomb, also known as the "dirty bomb," the brain-child of Hungarian-born nuclear physicist Edward Teller, added a new element of terror to the arms race.
Folksinger Joan Baez often appeared at Bay Area progressive rallies. Her beautiful voice, relevant songs and intense passion for peace and justice was inspiring.
Her soulful voice and beauty added hope and heart to the the often staid speeches that accompanied protest rallies
My parents Saul and Billie Wachter, dressed up the way they always did for demonstrations--unlike most of us younger folks