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Why did the USA drop two
Atomic Bombs on Japan in
1945?
The Atomic Bombing of Japan
On 6th August 1945 the Americans dropped
the world’s first atomic bomb on
Hiroshima, a military base.
Three days later they dropped another bomb
on Nagasaki, the planned landing point for
the US invasion of Japan.
On 10th August 1945, the day after the
bombing of Nagasaki, Japan surrendered.
Terror Bombing
Terror bombing was used by both sides during the
Second World War.
The tactic was first perfected by the Germans who
used it as a key part of their Blitzkrieg attacks in
both Europe & Russia/.Both the RAF & USAF
bombed Germany throughout the war.
The main aim of terror bombing was to destroy
key industrial and military centres and their
workers in the hope of destroying morale.
The Fire Bombing of Tokyo
The capture of Iwo Jima and
the total destruction of the
Japanese air force meant that
the USA could now bomb
every major Japanese city.
In May 1945, the USA
decided to firebomb the
capital city Tokyo.
It was hoped that the massive
civilian casualties would
break Japanese morale and
force them to surrender.
Manhattan Project
Code name for the secret US
program to develop a nuclear bomb
during WWII
The idea came from Albert
Einstein’s 1939 letter to FDR in
which he suggested that an atomic
bomb could be built
In 1942, Enrico Fermi, a physicist,
successfully controlled the first
nuclear reaction in his reactor.
The Manhattan Project
Based in Los Alamos, New Mexico
Led by nuclear physicist Robert
Oppenheimer
By July 1945, the team had developed 3
bombs
The first was tested successfully over the
New Mexico desert on July 6, 1945
The Decision to Drop
I
Nazi Germany surrendered
unconditionally at 2:41 a.m.,
May 7, ending World War II
n Europe. At midnight May
8, the guns stopped firing.
The Pacific war with Japan,
who was Germany's ally,
continued.
U. S. President Harry S.
Truman, English Prime
Minister Winston Churchill,
and Soviet Premier Joseph
Stalin met in Potsdam,
Germany between July 17
and August 2, 1945, to
discuss strategies to end
the war in the Pacific.
Bombing of Japan
The atomic bomb
named "Little Boy" was
dropped on Hiroshima
at 8:15 the morning of
August 6, 1945.
“Fat Man” was dropped
on Nagasaki three days
later on August 9, 1945.
“My God, What Have We Done?” John
Lewis, Co-Pilot of the Enola Gay
Enola Gay B – 29 Superfortress
Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb on the Japanese
city of Hiroshima. It was flown by Paul Tibbets on the right
The A-Bombs used over Japan;
Little Boy (left) and Fat Man (right)
Hiroshima
Nagasaki
Map Showing the Damage Done to
Hiroshima
The centre of
the explosion
was hotter than
the surface of
the sun!
Photo of atomic bomb exploding over
Nagasaki (9 August 1945)
Burnt remains of the
victims of Nagasaki
Photograph of Hiroshima
After being released, it took about a minute for
Little Boy to reach the point of explosion. Little
Boy exploded at approximately 8:15 a.m. (Japan
Standard Time) when it reached an altitude of
2,000 ft above the building that is today called
the "A-Bomb Dome."
The July 24, 1995 issue of Newsweek writes:
"A bright light filled the plane," wrote Lt.
Col. Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola
Gay, the B-29 that dropped the first
atomic bomb. "We turned back to look
at Hiroshima. The city was hidden by
that awful cloud...boiling up,
mushrooming." For a moment, no one
spoke. Then everyone was talking.
"Look at that! Look at that! Look at
that!" exclaimed the co-pilot, Robert
Lewis, pounding on Tibbets's shoulder.
Lewis said he could taste atomic
fission; it tasted like lead. Then he
turned away to write in his journal. "My
God," he asked himself, "what have we
done?"
(special report, "Hiroshima: August 6, 1945")
Dropping the Bomb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF4LQ
aWJRDg
Blast
All wooden houses were destroyed within a radius
of two kilometers from the hypocenter. Even
concrete structures were crushed by the power of
the blast.
Windows were smashed at a distance of sixteen
kilometers.
Hiroshima- A Survivor’s Story
Four years after arriving in Japan, only 15year-old Mitsuo and his mother still live in
Hiroshima. His eldest brother, Toshio, is in the
Japanese merchant marines.
It's a bright, clear day. Mitsuo leaves his house
around 7:30 a.m. and walks to work. He gets
there about 8 a.m. He and his friends gather
outside, waiting for their supervisor to give
today's pep talk.
Mitsuo's mother leaves for work. Every day,
she takes the same streetcar. But today she
realizes she has forgotten some papers. She
runs back into the house to get them. Mitsuo's
mother misses her usual streetcar, and has to
wait for the next one.
It's nearly 8:15 a.m. American B-29 bombers
appear overhead. The sirens wail, but Mitsuo
and his co-workers ignore them, as usual. The
planes are headed in the direction of Tokyo.
Then, for the first time ever, Mitsuo sees the
planes reappear over Hiroshima. They're in
position now. Looking in the sky, Mitsuo sees
an object. In the instant it takes for the bomb to
drop, he feels no fear, only curiosity about this
thing that glistens in the sun.
Although the bomb Little Boy was ready
for use on August 2, 1945, bad weather
delayed dropping it over Japan. At 8:15 on
the morning of August 6, 1945, a large
portion of the city of Hiroshima was
destroyed when Little Boy was dropped.
Of a population of 256,000, more than
70,000 people died immediately.
Approximately half of the city had been
levelled.
The picture above shows the devastating effect that the “Little Boy” bomb had
on just one small part of the city.
Comparing Effects of the Bomb to the 2011
Earthquake/Tsunami
In Japan
Pocket Watch
1,600m from the hypocenter
Kengo Nikawa (then 59) was
exposed to the bomb crossing the
Kan-on Bridge by bike going
from his home to his assigned
building demolition site in the
center of the city.
He suffered major burns on his
right shoulder, back, and head and
took refuge in Kochi-mura Saikigun.
He died on August 22. Kengo
was never without this precious
watch given him by his son,
Kazuo.
Survivors from Hiroshima
These victims are covered in
blisters created by radioactivity
A survivor described the damage to people:
The appearance of people was . . . well, they all
had skin blackened by burns. . . . They had no
hair because their hair was burned, and at a g
lance you couldn't tell whether you were
looking at them from in front or in back. . . . They
held their arms bent [forward] like this . . . and
their skin - not only on their hands, but on their
faces and bodies too - hung down. . . . If there had
been only one or two such people . . . perhaps I
would not have had such a strong impression. But
wherever I walked I met these people. . . . Many
of them died along the road - I can still picture t
hem in my mind -- like walking ghosts.
Toll of Death
140,000 Killed in Hiroshima
(mostly civilians)
74,000 Killed in Nagasaki
(mostly civilians)
Casualties from the US bombing
of Japanese cities in 1945
140000
120000
100000
80000
60000
40000
20000
0
Killed
Fire Bombing of
Tokyo
140000
Hiroshima
100000
Nagasaki
81000
Acute Effects
The most common acute disorders
were epilation; symptoms of
damage to mucous membranes
including diarrhea, dysentery,
melena and bleeding from gums;
and impeded blood-forming
functions.
The acute effects had largely
subsided by the end of December,
approximately five months after
the bombing.
Hair combed off of head in
3 strokes of a brush
Radiation
The defining characteristic of an
atomic bomb
that distinguishes it from any
conventional bomb is radiation.
Those exposed within about 1000
meters of the hypocenter
received life-threatening doses,
and most died within a few days.
Decades later, that radiation was
still producing harmful
aftereffects. Leukemia and other
cancers appeared over the course
of 2 to 20 years, and radiation
effects still threaten the health of
the survivors.
Black Rain
Soon after the explosion, a giant
mushroom cloud billowed upward,
carrying dirt, dust, and other debris
high into the air. After the explosion,
soot generated by the conflagration
was carried by hot air high into the
sky. This dust and soot became
radioactive, mixed with water vapor
in the air, then fell back to earth in
what came to be called “black rain.”
The black rain contained radioactive
material. Fish died and floated to the
surface in the ponds and rivers where
this rain fell. Many of the people who
drank from wells in areas where the
black rain fell suffered from diarrhea
for three months.
Keloids
Scars left by exposure
to heat and radiation
erupted 2-3 years after
the blast.
Burn Victims
Cataracts
The patient was exposed
820m from the hypocenter
and had white cloudiness in
both eyes. The dark area in
the center of this photo is
the cloudiness caused by an
A-bomb cataract.
Cataracts occurred several
months to several years after
exposure.
Leukemia and Cancer
Leukemia is cancer of the blood. The white blood cells
multiply wildly without fully maturing. Red blood cells
and platelets are reduced, leading to anemia. The white
blood cells increase in number but lose normal
functioning, which lowers resistance to infection. The
incidence of leukemia was greatest 7 to 8 years after the
bombing. The younger the survivor was at the time of
exposure, the earlier was the onset of leukemia.
Cancers began to increase about 1960. Some cancers for
which a correspondence has been confirmed between
distance from the incidence are: myeloma, ovarian cancer,
urinary tract cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, lung
cancer, esophageal cancer, stomach cancer.
Birth Defects
Radiation harmed fetuses in various ways.
Some were stillborn.
Some children were born without obvious problems but had higher
mortality rates, even those who lived past infancy.
Development tended to be slower than that of other children.
Some were born with abnormally small heads, a condition known
as microcephaly.
Those who were exposed close to the hypocenter in early
pregnancy were likely to display microcephaly accompanied by
severe mental retardation that renders them unable to manage
everyday life without assistance.
Human Shadow Etched in Stone
A person sitting on the bank steps
waiting for it to open was exposed
to the flash from the atomic bomb
explosion. Receiving the rays
directly from the front, the victim
undoubtedly died on the spot from
massive burns. The surface of the
surrounding stone steps was
turned whitish by the intense heat
rays. The place where the person
was sitting remained dark like a
shadow.
Pictures
Relief
The atomic bomb instantaneously
destroyed the Prefectural
government offices, City Hall, the
police stations, and all
government buildings.
The next day, the Army Marine
Headquarters (commonly known
as the Akatsuki Corps), which
sustained only slight damage,
took the lead in establishing the
Hiroshima Security Regiment
Headquarters.
The military, the government, and
the people united to carry out
relief activities, often with little
understanding of the effects of
radiation.
War Orphans and Discrimination
Thousands of war orphans were created by the
bomb.
Survivors of the bomb were victims of
discrimination after the war. Known as
Hibakusha, they found it difficult to find spouses
to marry, get into good schools and colleges, and
get hired for decent jobs. Listen at
http://www.atomicarchive.com/Docs/Hibakusha_i
ndex.shtml
Jimmy Carter in Hiroshima
This memorial must be
a constant and
permanent reminder for
all people to work for
peace and better
understanding.
The Dalai Lama
As humans, we all have the duty
to eliminate, from this earth,
weapons with destructive capacity
beyond expression and
conception. Please, every one of
you, use all of your power to
accomplish this duty.
A Tibetan Shakya Bhikshu
(Signature)
March 30, 1995
Poems and Testimonials
The following verse is from "Flower of Summer" (Natsu no Hana), a
collection of short stories by Tamiki Hara (1905-1951), writer and A-bomb
survivor.
This is a human being?
Look how the atom bomb changed it.
Flesh swells fearfully.
All men and women take one shape.
The voice that trickles from swollen lips on the festering, charred-black face
whispers the thin words,
"Please help me."
This, this is a human being.
This is the face of a human being.
Sadako and the Thousand Cranes
Sadako was a young, Japanese
girl who was 2 years old when the
bomb struck Hiroshima. At 11
years old, she developed
Leukemia. In an effort to
influence the gods to help her
survive, she folded 1,000 paper
cranes. She died at 12 years old.
Sadako represents all of the
children who died in Hiroshima,
and the paper crane has become
an international symbol of peace.
Sadako’s Story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBZsYc
eH4nM
Hiroshima Today
J. Robert Oppenheimer,
Director of the Manhattan Project
“We knew the world would not
be the same. A few people
laughed, a few people cried,
most people were silent. I
remembered the line from the
Hindu scripture, the BhagavadGita. Vishnu is trying to
persuade the Prince that he
should do his duty and to
impress him takes on his multiarmed form and says, ‘Now, I
am become Death, the destroyer
of worlds.’ I suppose we all felt
that one way or another.”
Different Interpretations
To frighten the
Russians so that they
wouldn’t confront the
West.
Eastern Europe
To test the weapon on
live human beings to
see what affect it had.
A military weapon to end
the war quickly, save lives
and keep the Russians out
of the war.
Why did the USA drop
The Atomic Bombs on
Japan?
Revenge for Pearl
Harbor and Japanese
war crimes against Allied
prisoners of war
Interpretation 1: Military Weapon
US Government
estimated that
both Japan & the USA
would each lose
250,000 soldiers during
the invasion of
Japan!
The war in the Pacific was
expensive for the USA.
For example, on Iwo Jima it
took five weeks of bitter
fighting at a cost of more than
24,000 casualties before the
USA took the island.
In taking another island,
Okinawa, the US incurred a
further 20,195 dead and 55,162
wounded.
Interpretation 1:Military Weapon
“..it was done to save
125,000 youngsters on
the American side and
125,000 on the Japanese
side from getting killed
and that is what it did. It
probably also saved a
half million youngsters
on both sides from being
maimed for life.
Harry Truman, 1963
Casualty Figures for 1945
150,000
100,000
USA
50,000
Japanese
0
Iwo Jima
Luzon
Okinawa
USA
6,800
3,793
20,162
Japanese
22,000
113,593
98,654
The Japanese government threatened to put to death 400,000
Allied prisoners of war if the USA invaded Japan!
Interpretation 2: Revenge
On 7th December 1941, 2400
American servicemen, six
battleships and ten other
ships were destroyed during
a surprise attack by the
Japanese.
Roosevelt described the
Japanese attack as a ‘day that
shall live on in infamy’
because the Japanese didn’t
declare war on the USA or
give any warning that they
were about to go to war.
Interpretation 2: Revenge POWs
The Japanese religion Bushido
believed that people who surrendered
were cowards and should be
mistreated.
Allied prisoners of war were beaten,
deliberately starved, tortured, worked
to death and even experimented on
with chemical & biological weapons
by the Japanese.
Some were even crucified on trees
and beheaded by their captors!
There was a strong feeling in both the USA & Europe that
the Japanese should be taught a lesson!
Interpretation 3: Frighten the Russians
RIP
At the Yalta Conference in March
1945, the big three agreed that
there should be early free
elections in Eastern European
countries like Poland as soon as
the war was over.
With the death of Roosevelt in
April 1945, Harry Truman
became the President of the USA.
Truman did not trust Stalin to
keep his promises.
Interpretation 3: Frighten the Russians
He is trying to spread
Communism!
We have been attacked twice
in less than 25 years!
The USA
dropped the first
atomic bomb
14 days later!
By the time the big three met
again at Potsdam on 23rd July
1945, Stalin did not trust the
Americans.
He wanted to create a buffer
between USSR (Russia) and
Western Europe to protect her
from future invasions.
He started putting his Communist
supporters into power in the
Eastern European countries that
he controlled.
Interpretation 3: Frighten the Russians
“Officially the Americans
claimed that the bombings on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki was
aimed at bringing the end of the
war nearer and avoiding
unnecessary bloodshed and
casualties. But they had
entirely different objectives.
The purpose of the bombings
was to intimidate other
countries, above all the Soviet
Union.”
Russian Historian: Vadim
Nekrasov, 1984
Interpretation 3: Frighten the Russians
The use of this barbarous weapon
was of no assistance to our war
against Japan. The Japanese were
already defeated.
By October 1944 the Japanese
had been cut off from 80% of
their oil supplies.
The US secret service had
cracked the Japanese diplomatic
codes and knew that they wanted
to surrender before they dropped
the bomb!
Admiral Leahy, 1950
Interpretation 4: To Test the Weapon
The Atomic Bomb cost $2,000
million to develop!
Many of the Scientist &
military advisors were keen to
test the atomic bomb to sell
what affect it would have on
human beings.
No one knew about the affects
of radiation from a nuclear
explosion.
Later many US & British
troops were exposed to
radiation from the testing of
nuclear weapons.
Interpretation 4: To Test the Weapon
A demonstration of the bomb
might best be made on the desert
or on a barren island. Japan
could then be asked to surrender.
Robert Oppenheimer, June 1945
Interpretation 4: To Test the Weapon
A demonstration in an
uninhabited area was not
regarded as likely to make
Japan surrender. There was
the danger of the test being
a dud. Also we had no
bombs to waste
Henry Stimson, American Secretary for War, 1945
Conclusion: Now You Decide!
To frighten the
Russians so that they
wouldn’t confront the
West.
Eastern Europe
To test the weapon on
live human beings to
see what affect it had.
A military weapon to end
the war quickly, save lives
and keep the Russians out
of the war.
Why did the USA drop
The Atomic Bombs on
Japan?
Revenge for Pearl
Harbor and Japanese
war crimes against Allied
prisoners of war
Arguments for Dropping the Bomb
Save (1,000,000?) American and Japanese lives. Japanese resisted US forces by use of
Kamikaze pilots in Okinawa and fighting without surrender at Iwo Jima and other
battles. They didn’t surrender after the fire bombing of major cities.
No worse than fire bombing those cities.
End the war quickly. The US was tired after 4 years of war. Germany had already
surrendered in May, 1945. Japan resisted an unconditional surrender.
End the war before the Soviets join the Pacific war. The USSR had promised to join the
war in August 1945.
Demonstrate US power to the world. Convince the world that these weapons should be
abolished.
Racism. US policy makers expressed racist attitudes toward Japanese
Revenge. Truman suggested after the war that he wanted to exact revenge for Pearl
Harbor.
Large resources went into the development of the atomic bomb, and there was a desire
to use it and test it.
As an unelected President, Truman was controlled by his close advisors who favored
using the bomb.
Scientists and policy makers didn’t fully appreciate effects of the bomb.
With only 2 bombs, it would have been wasteful to detonate one as a demonstration. It
might even be embarrassing if it didn’t go off.
Arguments Against Dropping the Bomb
Moral failure for being the only country to use an atomic bomb in war. The
attack struck mainly civilians who outnumbered military personnel 6:1. When
Truman announced the attack, he falsely claimed that Hiroshima was “a
military base.”
Japan was ready to surrender anyway. It was blockaded. Its navy and air
force was destroyed. It’s overseas possessions were confiscated.
The US needlessly insisted upon an unconditional surrender, since Japan was
willing to surrender if it could retain the Emperor.
A demonstration of US power would have been sufficient
US moral authority, nationally and internationally, was weakened.
Contributed to mistrust held by the USSR and prompted a dangerous arms
race.
There was no need for the second bomb on Nagasaki.
There were many prominent military personnel against dropping the bomb,
like Eisenhower, under-Secretary of the Navy, Ralph Bard, Army Chief of
Staff General George C. Marshall, and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz,
Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet.
Websites and Sources
http://www.colorado.edu/AmStudies/lewis/2010/atomic.htm
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/bomb.htm ;
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/small/small.htm Primary documents from the
Truman Library http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/peacesite/indexE.html Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum:
http://www1.city.nagasaki.nagasaki.jp/na-bomb/museum/museume01.html Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum:
http://hnn.us/articles/190.html The trial of Harry Truman
http://www.dannen.com/decision/index.html Full text documents on the dropping of the atomic bomb
http://www.vw.cc.va.us/vwhansd/HIS122/Hiroshima.html Article by David Hansen on the decision to drop the bomb
http://sun.menloschool.org/~sportman/ethics/project/topics/hiroshima/index.html Student website that outlines the pro
and con of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
http://wgordon.web.wesleyan.edu/papers/hiroshim.htm Argument against the dropping of the bomb by Bill Gordon, a
masters student at Wesleyan University
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557001_4/Harry_Truman.html Encarta entry on Harry Truman
http://www.csi.ad.jp/ABOMB/index.html The A-Bomb www museum
http://www.grolier.com/wwii/wwii_mainpage.html Links to WWII sites
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2125.html Links to A-Bomb sites
http://www.nuclearfiles.org/ Documents and sites from The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.
http://www.doug-long.com/marshall.htm General George Marshall's argument for dropping the bomb