The dropping of atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on August 6th and 9th respectively, without a doubt was the ultimate climax of a destructive, violent, and unapologetically ruthless first half of the 20th century. The atomic bomb truly proved to be the ultimate weapon for total war. As the two dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 showed, a single atom bomb could obliterate an entire city. Realizing that fact, the Japanese government offered unconditional surrender. According to “conventional wisdom,” it was necessary to drop these two bombs to end the war. The orthodox view, presented by U.S. officials after the event and generally shared by the U.S. public (even today in 2009), is that, by cutting short the war and sparing the casualties that would have occurred in the planned invasion of Japan, the atomic bomb actually saved many lives, Japanese as well as U.S. This explanation concludes that, although use of the bomb was regrettable, it was nonetheless necessary.In reality, however, such a view ignores the realities of Japan’s situation in 1945, and it stands in clear contrast to the official United States Strategic Bombing Survey report, released by the United States government itself on July 1, 1946. In this government report, several assessments and conclusions are made, including on the actual effects of the atomic bombs and Japan’s struggle to end the war. The report candidly reveals that, in reality, Japan was all but defeated and defenseless, and that the Japanese were actually negotiating an end to the war with the help of Soviet mediation as early as May 1945 (3 months before the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki). The report is a bit long (32 pages), but I would like you to read the portion of the report under the headings “The Effects of the Atomic Bombs” and “Japan’s Struggle to End the War” (you can read both of these sections by clicking here). This report certainly provides the reader with an entirely different viewpoint as to the possible reason for the use of the bomb.
After reading this utterly shocking survey, I would like for you all to reflect on and discuss the following: How does the survey sum up eyewitness accounts of the blast? What were the effects of the blasts within seconds of dropping the bombs? What were the initial symptoms of radiation exposure, and how long did it take for symptoms to emerge generally? What was the effect of the blasts on the infrastructure of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? What assessment did Rear Admiral Takagi of the Navy General Staff make of Japan’s ability to stay in the war by February of 1944, according to the government survey? By April 7, 1945, what was Japan’s new premier Suzuki likely going to do, according to the survey? By May 1945, what was Japan now in the process of doing? With who’s help? What could be implied regarding the U.S. use of the atom bomb based on this evidence? What, in fact, was the emperor himself calling for by June 1945? In what ways is this report at times contradictory to Stimson's writings? According to this U.S. government report, was the use of the atomic bomb necessary? Could victory have been attained without it? Your thoughts…
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The first flash, that was only a fraction of a second, was sufficiently intense to cause third degree burns to exposed human skin up to a distance of a mile. The bone marrow and process of blood formation were affected. Some symptoms were loss of appetite, lassitude and general discomfort. Within 12-48 hours, fevers came, going as high as 104° to 105° F., which in fatal cases continued until death. Other symptoms were loss of white blood corpuscles, loss of hair, and decrease in sperm count.
"Black or other dark-colored surfaces of combustible material absorbed the heat and immediately charred or burst into flames!" what the heck!? that's crazy!
In Hiroshima, the population of the city had been reduced from approximately 340,000-245,000 as a result of a civilian defense evacuation program. Approximately 60,000-70,000 people were killed, and 50,000 were injured in Hiroshima.
In Nagasaki, however, approximately 40,000 persons were killed or missing and a like number injured.
i think these two bombs were not needed at all. The US should be ashamed for what they did thinking that it was ok.
the nuclear weapon drops on nagasaki and hiroshima was NOT neccessary to end the war. the US thought it was, but really the japanese were going to surrender way before the drops. the soviets were already on the japanese side. when the US foundd out of the soviets "help" to the japanese they got mad because they wanted Japan all to themselves because they won the fight.the bombs on hiroshima and nagasaki were really to show the soviets not to mess with Japan because they would bomb their escalating cities. this bombing was to show rebutal against the Soviets.
The dropping of the two atomic bombs was completely unnecessary. The final attack on Japan was a vulgar display of power toward the Soviet Union, unfortunately at the expence of Japanese civilians.
Japan was, at the time, signing a peace treaty with our ally, the Soviet Union. The United States dropped the first bomb in order to scare the Soviets out of Japan, we wanted to deal with things by ourselves. We then dropped the second bomb, showing Japan and the Soviet Union not to mess with us. This was this first step of the Cold War.
There was a white-blue flash which produced incredible heat, "temperatures in excess of 1,800° C.", which severely burned citizens and melted parts of structures. This document serves a purpose of removing the mythical aspects of the atomic bomb, it tells it how it really occured. Following was a blast which threw debris and severely damaged buildings. Within seconds the whole city was practically brought to the ground. Radiation victims would would feel the effects 1-4 weeks after explosion. they would get fevers, which continued to rise, until they died. The blast was very destructive and was the cause a large number of deaths as buildings collapsed on people. Takagi formed the conclusion that the war could not be won and accepted the idea of compromise in 1944. Suzuk was likely to end the war by negotiating with the Soviets as a Mediator... The U.S. didn't like that... not one bit. By May of 1945 Japan was preparing for compromise, even if it meant unconditional surrender. What?! Uncoditional surrender? The use of the atomic bomb is a reflection of the new tensions between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. in the new "polar" world. The Emperor himself called for peace at any cost in July of 1945; his plans were impeded on because of the Potsdam Conference. According to this report, the use of the atomic bombs was completely unnecessary. Victory did not depend on the use of the atomic bombs. What is even more disillusioning is that in a radio address to the American public Truman, he refers to Hiroshima as a military base. ""Sixteen hours ago an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima, an important Japanese Army base. That bomb had more power than 20,000 tons of TNT. It had more than 2,000 times the blast power of the British "Grand Slam," which is the largest bomb ever yet used in the history of warfare."
Is it correct that the use of the atomic bomb was an extension of the struggles of the Potsdam conference? Certainly the USSR entered the war because they wanted Japan to become communist, why else would they enter the war? Did the U.S. feel the entrance of Russia in the Pacific front more of a threat than help?
"Nothing was vaporized or disintegrated" certainly burning at 1800 degree C would be considered vaporizing.
Also, we read about Hirota, who was the head of the cabinet. What caused him to be replaced by Tojo. Hirota seemed very concerned with being a "stablizing force" amd implementing "the Imperial Way". Is this just because his term was up?
aghghghgghhh! I hate it I hate it I hate it. Why hate. why intolerance. why murder. why torture. why fight. why power. why greed. why revenge. love i guess... fear..
This sounds utterly horrifying to encounter. A flash of blinding light and 1,800° C temperatures, intense radiation, it's horrible. Then, most of those who didn't die immediately were poisoned by radiation and died a few weeks later. The cities were completly obliterated. What makes it even worse is that it was civillians who were bombed, not even a military base or government building, but completly innocent people, children, students, older...THOUSANDS of people with EACH bomb. TWO. TWO bombs. Wasn't the point proven with just one?? What is with all of this murder and pain in MY GRANDPARENTS' GENERATION!!! I knew there was something wrong with what they were telling me. lies. agh.
If the pilots of the bombers were in any way sane, I couldn't even imagine the guilt they must have endured for the rest of their lives. I would assume they would have committed suicide, unable to live with the guilt of single-handedly killing 100,000 people in a matter of seconds.
The two bombs were completley unnecessary on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And the fact that they were getting their surrendering papers ready.. and then we completley determinate the cities is ridiculous. What we did was terribley wrong and there is no excuse for it. Also, the attack was to scare the Soviet Union, and we used Japan citizens to do it. This was a cruel act and nothing i can see benefited from it.
Its a different story if the bombs were needed to end the war and save American lives. However if the report is true then there was no reason to drop the bombs as Japan was willing to surrender. This is disturbing enough but an even more disturbing fact is that Japanese civilians might have been just "necessary" collateral damage in a statement against the Russians.
Eyewitnesses said they felt an instant flash of light followed by intense heat. They were exposed to multiple rays, X, gamma, UV, etc. followed by tremendous pressure. The blast traveled extremely fast (at the speed of light)and destroyed most buildings and flattened many houses. Some buildings collapsed almost instantly while others later fell due to flying debris. The initial symptoms of radiation exposure affected blood formation and led to death. Other symptoms of people from a greater distance did not show until 1 to 4 weeks after the exposure. "The first symptoms were loss of appetite, lassitude and general discomfort. Within 12 to 48 hours, fever became evident in many cases, going as high as 104° to 105° F., which in fatal cases continued until death" and there was also hair loss. Most people were overcome with 'defeatism'. Most Japanese lost all hope of any victory, yet some "(24 percent) expressed themselves as being impressed with the power and scientific skill which underlay the discovery and production of the atomic bomb." That kind of took me back. The United States just pretty much wiped out two cities from existence and some people in a way applaud them for this destruction...weird. By April 7, 1945, the new premier Suzuki "alone had the deep conviction and personal courage to stand up to the military and bring the war to an end." He was Japan's hope for victory. May 1945, Japan began to meet with the Soviet Union to find ways to end the war. As you said in class, Japanese involvement with the Soviet Union could've made the U.S. mad because Japan was their battle, not the Soviet's. This might have been the reason behind the atomic bombing of Japan; not because they weren't willing to give up, but the U.S. was sending a message to the Soviet Union. June 1945, the Emperor called for a conference to actually discuss means of ending the war. Half of the Supreme War Direction Council even decided on unconditional surrender. So all in all, the atomic bombs were completely unnecessary. The U.S. were extremely selfish and childish because they wanted to prove a point to the Soviet Union and ended up killing thousands of innocent people and destroying many industries and homes.
The bombs dropped by the US were not necessary at all. The dropping of these bombs didnt even have anything to do with the Japanese. It was all about sending a message to the Soviets warning them that the same thing would happen to them if they tried to mess with us.
The nuclear bomb was not necessary at all and the only reason why the United states did this was to send a message to the rest of the world. They wanted to show the world how powerful and dominant they really were but they did this at the cost of thousands of lives and I really do not think that it was worth it. The United States government eventually comes out and says that it was not necessary and its unfortunate they didn't realize this until after the fact.
You look at the first document and read about the bomb's affects on the people, and how it devastated so many people. And then you compare it to Stimson's writings. The first document says Japan would have surrendered even if the bombs werent drop, russia didnt come in the war, and even if no invasion had been planned. And the nex to stimson's writings that fear the two bombs would not be powerful enough.. are you serious? And then saying that a dual target was needed.. wow. Its like a kid reluctantly going to sit down in time out and then the parent just beating the crap out of it. and then shooting it in the foot. Its unnecessary damage. Why intimidate another country at the expense of an already-defeated country? God its insane.
There was a white flash that burned the citizen's skin off very quickly because of the high intensity of the heat. It was folloed by fever, loss of appetite, loss of hair, and much more harsh symptoms. These bombs were completely unnecsessary and out of charachter for a country that's always fought as "the good guys." The Japanese would have surrendered without a doubt, but it wasn't fast enough for Americans. It's a terrible thing to do to anyone, especially to do it to them twice.
I definitely don't think that the bombs dropped on the japanese was necessary at all because as u said Japan was ready to surrender. It makes me think were would we be today if things were handled differently?
The bombs dropped on Hiroshama and Nagasaki were uncalled for. They were ready to surrender. What supprises me more was the size of the nuclear bomb made in the 1960's. Its huge!
i don't think so. because the japanese were about to surrender but they attacked with a bomb. and the radiation poisoning would be horrible to go through if you made it through the atomic bomb.
The people who saw and lived to tell the tale, there was none. We created the atomic bomb to see the damage it did not only physically but economically, and morally too. It completely messed Japan up, and we tested the thing on Japan like the animal testing. The people lost its was pretty, and the people closest to the bomb were the luckier ones, the people far from it got hit a bit, but death was going to come, it was inevitable. The kill ratio, and the destruction of the city, and the all the buildings that collapsed instantly. We were afraid of Russia making Japan communist, and to think the people who survived, they were scarred for life, they see their mom and dad not even there. I bet some people died from just shock of this catastrophe. I think all the bombs we hold right now, we don't really want to use them, because we saw the damage it did. It just takes one person to set it off. You have to be a real sicko to kill of that many, no matter the reason.
the few survivors described the attack as a big flash of blue-white light. thats pretty amazing that it was heard atleast 15 miles away. i think this bomb was almost to powerful for us. once dropped, they pretty much destroyed everything within miles. cities basically turned to ashes, just like that.
in any case, i dont think these bombs were at all necessary. they could have been just a threat or an after thought if japan did not surrendor or things got worse, but they should of never been a direct "its going to happen."
I cant even imagine how the survivors feel. watching 60k-70k people die in a matter of seconds is beyond belief. From a personal experience, i almost died in a car crash, i remember that "what the hell just happened" feeling and cannot imagine how those people felt. There feelings and emotion define disillusionment.
It was not necessary at all. This was simply a "We're number 1" to Russia.
The eyewitness account of the bombings are horrindous. An incredibly bight light was seen briefly and right after came the heat. It was followed by a wave of tremendous pressure and a loud explosion. The symptomes of radiation for people that were closer to the hypocenter were two or three days although it was one to four weeks for people farther away. Most of the houses were instantly charred or burst into flames because of the intense heat.
I remember seeing Hiroshima after the atomic bomb, and then seeing the atomic bomb in comparison to the other bombs and I can't imagine what it would look like.
It was a white-blue flash in a fraction of a second. buildings were crashed, black roof of houses absorbed the 1200C heat and conflageration started. People immediately died. The radiation given off by the bomb affected one's bone marrow there for affecting the immune system. If one did not die immediately, it took from 3,4 days to few weeks for the sympoms to emerge. Infrastructures collapsed and the debris hit people. BY 1944, Takagi accepted that they are going to lose the war. As said by everyone, the use of Nuclear Weapon WAS NOT NECESSARY AT ALL!!! the thirst for world power (not even world domination) is not worth 2 cities and its population. The radiation made people suffer to death, people lost homes, family, hope, and life. Japanese CIVILIANS did not do anything. 1800c? radiation? conflageration? ITs just not worth it.
Since when is a bomb that comes off in a white, blue flash and is about 1800 degrees celcius EVER necessary? The two bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not needed in order to end the war because Japan was already getting ready to announce complete surrender and was already defeated. Why waste time, money, and energy into making something that won't make a difference in getting a country to surrender? The US was basically just covering their own behind by showing off to the USSR that they better watch out and get to knowing who owns who, but that had nothing to do with ending the war as much as it did starting a new one.
Some people think that the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was necessary becuase it allowed the U.S. to avoid high amounts of American daeths in Japan...but i COMPLETELY disagree. WWII could have been ended...maybe not peacefully...but in an alternate method wihtout resorting to using atomic bombs. Within second after the bomb hit, one hundred thousand people were dead and over 50 percent of the bulidings int he cities were destroyed. The radiation spread at the speed of light and effected poeple within a mile, abruptly. However, some of the radiation did not show until 1 to 4 weeks after the bombing causing fevers and death. Both cities were almost completely destroyed wiht collapsed buildings anf fires.
Okay, who in their right mind thoguht this was a good idea? Sure, it shut the war down pretty darn quick, but an image I saw depicted a woman with burn marks in the exact pattern of the kimono she wore, while the kimono itself was disinegrated. What has the human race come to, thinking this was a good idea?
to answer the title of the document... of course it wasnt necessary! we dont think that we are the bad guys but i bet that in other classes around the world the students are learning about this and are thinkin about how cruel the US is to kill all of those civilians whenever it wasnt even necassary cuz they were going to surrender soon
what is necessary to end war ? is not by bombing others to scare the rival away but to think in this case the U.S. of all the damage done all ready but to crate a end by different means not by killing more innocent people who never asked to going in to war. When it came time for the u.s to stop and shine as a great country and sent peace messages to world.
i think it's sickening how today so many americans can be so nonchalant about what happened with comments like "well it ended the war" or "well they attacked first." it's completely ridiculous. on top of the deaths there were so many other effects. there was the radiation that caused illness, which often were causing deaths, like the fevers and cancer. i couldn't help but think of how if something happens in the u.s. that isn't as bad as this people react more passionately because it's in the u.s., not thinking that the event isn't as bad as what happened in japan.
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