On the eightieth anniversary of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the city of Aachen, together with the Aachen Alliance Against Nuclear Weapons, dedicated a square next to the City Church - as a memorial to the victims and as a warning to future generations. An estimated 140,000 people died directly or as a result of the atomic bomb.

Lord Mayor Sibylle Keupen thanked the Aachener Bündnis gegen Atomwaffen for its many years of work and the Aachen-Mitte district council for the unanimous decision to name this square "Hiroshimaplatz". She explained: "With the inauguration of Hiroshima Square here in Aachen, we are sending a conscious signal. A sign of remembrance. A sign of responsibility. A sign of peace - in the middle of our city." Signs like this square are important: "They don't stop missiles - but they keep us vigilant. They make visible that peace is more than the absence of war - it is an attitude, a task, a promise to future generations." Hiroshima Square should become a place of encounter, "a place where children can ask questions. A place where young people understand that peace is a choice. And where we adults ask ourselves again and again: What can we do today - for tomorrow?"

Mika Yamagata, Japanese Vice Consul and Head of the Department for Culture and Public Relations, who had traveled from Düsseldorf, also emphasized how important it is for peace, freedom and democracy to keep memories alive.

The ceremony was accompanied by a speech by Dr. Odette Klepper and the reading of an eyewitness account by Bernd Bremen, both from the Aachener Bündnis gegen Atomwaffen. The singer Nami Maruyama framed the event with traditional Japanese songs. Kristina Blömer from Pax Christi moderated the event. Around two hundred people took part in the accompanying memorial service on August 6, 2025.

On the occasion of the inauguration, Aachen's municipal authorities erected a six-metre-high gingko tree on the square on Monday. Since a ginkgo survived the atomic bombing in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, this tree species has become a strong symbol of resilience and hope.

A memorial plaque will be erected afterwards, which, according to the decision of the Mitte district council, will bear the following text: "For a future free of nuclear weapons! In memory of the hundreds of thousands of victims of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945 and as a warning to future generations."

In June 2024, the Aachen Alliance Against Nuclear Weapons submitted a proposal to the Aachen Citizens' Forum to rename a section of Großkölnstraße as Hiroshima Square.