Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

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The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks during World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States of America at the order of U.S. President Harry S. Truman. After six months of intense firebombing of 67 other Japanese cities, the nuclear weapon "Little Boy" was dropped on the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, followed on August 9, 1945 by the detonation of the "Fat Man" nuclear bomb over Nagasaki. These are to date the only attacks with nuclear weapons in the history of warfare.

The bombs killed as many as 140,000 people in Hiroshima and 80,000 in Nagasaki by the end of 1945,<ref name="rerf-deaths">{{cite web

www.rerf.or.jp/general/qa_e/qa1.html//www.rerf.or.jp/general/qa_e/qa1.html
|title = Frequently Asked Questions #1
|publisher= Radiation Effects Research Foundation | accessdate = 2007-09-18 

}}</ref> roughly half on the days of the bombings. Since then, thousands more have died from injuries or illness attributed to exposure to radiation released by the bombs.<ref name="DOE-HIRO">{{cite web

www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm//www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm
| title = THE ATOMIC BOMBING OF HIROSHIMA
| first= David |last= Rezelman |coauthors= F.G. Gosling and Terrence R. Fehner
| date= |year= 2000 |month= 
www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/index.htm  The Manhattan Project: An Interactive History]//www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/index.htm  The Manhattan Project: An Interactive History]
| publisher= U.S. Department of Energy |quote= | accessdate = 2007-09-18

}} page on Hiroshima casualties.</ref> In both cities, the overwhelming majority of the dead were civilians.

Six days after the detonation over Nagasaki, on August 15, Japan announced its surrender to the Allied Powers, signing the Instrument of Surrender on September 2, officially ending the Pacific War and therefore World War II. (Germany had signed its Instrument of Surrender on May 7, 1945, ending the war in Europe.) The bombings led post-war Japan to adopt Three Non-Nuclear Principles, forbidding that nation from nuclear armament.<ref>You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}.

  Koizumi , Junichiro 
      
   

     (2005-08-06  www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm//www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/koizumispeech/2005/08/06aisatu_e.html)
   
.  
. Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet 
   

. Retrieved on 2007-11-28. </ref>

The Manhattan Project

Main article: Manhattan Project

www.ccnr.org/chronology.html |title= Canada's Role in the Atomic Bomb Programs of the United States, Britain, France and India|accessdate=2007-12-4 |last=Edwards |first=Gordon |publisher= Canadian Coalition for Nuclear//www.ccnr.org/chronology.html |title= Canada's Role in the Atomic Bomb Programs of the United States, Britain, France and India|accessdate=2007-12-4 |last=Edwards |first=Gordon |publisher= Canadian Coalition for Nuclear www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/publications/DE99001330.pdf |title= The Manhattan Project: Making the Atomic Bomb|accessdate=2007-12-4 |last= Gosling |first=F.G. |date= January 1999 |publisher=United States Department of Energy}}</ref>//www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/publications/DE99001330.pdf |title= The Manhattan Project: Making the Atomic Bomb|accessdate=2007-12-4 |last= Gosling |first=F.G. |date= January 1999 |publisher=United States Department of Energy}}</ref>

Choice of targets

www.dannen.com/decision/targets.html | accessmonthday= August 6 | accessyear= 2005 }}</ref>//www.dannen.com/decision/targets.html | accessmonthday= August 6 | accessyear= 2005 }}</ref>

www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/library/correspondence/handy-thomas/corr_handy_1945-07-25.htm|accessmonthday=April 6 |accessyear=2006}}</ref>//www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/library/correspondence/handy-thomas/corr_handy_1945-07-25.htm|accessmonthday=April 6 |accessyear=2006}}</ref>

The Potsdam ultimatum

On July 26, Truman and other allied leaders issued The Potsdam Declaration outlining terms of surrender for Japan. It was presented as an ultimatum and stated that the Allies would "strike the final blows upon Japan" but the atomic bomb was not mentioned. On July 28, Japanese papers reported that the declaration had been rejected by the Japanese government. That afternoon, Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki declared at a press conference that the Potsdam Declaration was no more than a rehash (yakinaoshi) of the Cairo Declaration and that the government intended to ignore it (mokusatsu).<ref> Modèle:Cite book The meaning of the word mokusatsu can fall anywhere in the range of "ignore" to "treat with contempt".</ref> The statement was taken by both Japanese and foreign papers as a clear rejection of the declaration. Emperor Hirohito, who was waiting for a Soviet reply to noncommittal Japanese peace feelers, made no move to change the government position.<ref> Modèle:Cite book</ref> On July 31, he made clear to Kido that the Imperial Regalia of Japan had to be defended at all costs.<ref>Kido Koichi nikki, Tokyo, Daigaku Shuppankai, 1966, p.1120-1121</ref>

In early July, on his way to Potsdam, Truman had re-examined the decision to use the bomb. In the end, Truman made the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan. His stated intention in ordering the bombings was to bring about a quick resolution of the war by inflicting destruction, and instilling fear of further destruction, that was sufficient to cause Japan to surrender..<ref>Modèle:Cite book</ref>

Hiroshima

Hiroshima during World War II

At the time of its bombing, Hiroshima was a city of some industrial and military significance. A number of military camps were located nearby, including the headquarters of the Fifth Division and Field Marshal Shunroku Hata's 2nd General Army Headquarters, which commanded the defense of all of southern Japan. Hiroshima was a minor supply and logistics base for the Japanese military. The city was a communications center, a storage point, and an assembly area for troops. It was one of several Japanese cities left deliberately untouched by American bombing, allowing a pristine environment to measure the damage caused by the atomic bomb. Another account stresses that after General Spaatz reported that Hiroshima was the only targeted city without prisoner of war (POW) camps, Washington decided to assign it highest priority^{[citation needed]}.

The center of the city contained several reinforced concrete buildings and lighter structures. Outside the center, the area was congested by a dense collection of small wooden workshops set among Japanese houses. A few larger industrial plants lay near the outskirts of the city. The houses were of wooden construction with tile roofs, and many of the industrial buildings also were of wood frame construction. The city as a whole was highly susceptible to fire damage.

The population of Hiroshima had reached a peak of over 381,000 earlier in the war, but prior to the atomic bombing the population had steadily decreased because of a systematic evacuation ordered by the Japanese government. At the time of the attack the population was approximately 255,000. This figure is based on the registered population used by the Japanese in computing ration quantities, and the estimates of additional workers and troops who were brought into the city may be inaccurate.

The bombing

For the composition of the USAAF mission see 509th Composite Group.

Hiroshima was the primary target of the first nuclear bombing mission on August 6, with Kokura and Nagasaki being alternative targets. August 6 was chosen because there had previously been cloud cover over the target. The B-29 Enola Gay, piloted and commanded by 509th Composite Group commander Colonel Paul Tibbets, was launched from North Field airbase on Tinian in the West Pacific, about six hours flight time from Japan. The Enola Gay (named after Colonel Tibbets' mother) was accompanied by two other B29s, The Great Artiste which carried instrumentation, commanded by Major Charles W. Sweeney, and a then-nameless aircraft later called Necessary Evil (the photography aircraft) commanded by Captain George Marquardt.<ref name="SM15"> You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}.

. Children of the Manhattan Project 
 
   (www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm//web.archive.org/web/20061009095411/http://www.childrenofthemanhattanproject.org/CG/CG_09C1.htm)
     
   
 

. Retrieved on 26 July, 2006. </ref>

After leaving Tinian the aircraft made their way separately to Iwo Jima where they rendezvoused at 2440 m (8000 ft) and set course for Japan. The aircraft arrived over the target in clear visibility at 9855 m (32,000 ft). On the journey, Navy Captain William Parsons had armed the bomb, which had been left unarmed to minimize the risks during takeoff. His assistant, 2nd Lt. Morris Jeppson, removed the safety devices 30 minutes before reaching the target area.<ref name="SM15"> You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}.

. The Atomic Heritage Foundation 
 
   (www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm//www.mphpa.org/classic/HISTORY/H-07L1.htm)
     
   
 

. Retrieved on 5 May, 2007. </ref>

The release at 08:15 (Hiroshima time) was uneventful, and the gravity bomb known as "Little Boy", a gun-type fission weapon with 60 kg (130 pounds) of uranium-235, took 57 seconds to fall from the aircraft to the predetermined detonation height about 600 meters (1,900 ft) above the city. It created a blast equivalent to about 13 kilotons of TNT. (The U-235 weapon was considered very inefficient, with only 1.38% of its material fissioning.)<ref name="cotmplitboy"> You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}.

. The Atomic Heritage Foundation 
 
   (www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm//www.mphpa.org/classic/HISTORY/little_boy.htm)
     
   
 

. Retrieved on 5 May, 2007. </ref> The radius of total destruction was about 1.6 km (1 mile), with resulting fires across 11.4 km² (4.4 square miles).<ref> RADIATION DOSE RECONSTRUCTION U.S. OCCUPATION FORCES IN HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI, JAPAN, 1945-1946 (DNA 5512F)

. Retrieved on June 9, 2006. </ref> Infrastructure damage was estimated at 90 percent of Hiroshima's buildings being either damaged or completely destroyed.

About an hour before the bombing, Japanese early warning radar detected the approach of some American aircraft headed for the southern part of Japan. An alert was given and radio broadcasting stopped in many cities, among them Hiroshima. At nearly 08:00, the radar operator in Hiroshima determined that the number of planes coming in was very small—probably not more than three—and the air raid alert was lifted. To conserve fuel and aircraft, the Japanese had decided not to intercept small formations. The normal radio broadcast warning was given to the people that it might be advisable to go to air-raid shelters if B-29s were actually sighted, but no raid was expected beyond some sort of reconnaissance.

Japanese realization of the bombing

www.uncp.edu/home/berrys/courses/hist102/hist102_docs_abomb.pdf|accessmonthday= April 30 |accessyear = 2007 }}</ref> About twenty minutes later the Tokyo railroad telegraph center realized that the main line telegraph had stopped working just north of Hiroshima. From some small railway stops within 16 kilometers (10 mi) of the city came unofficial and confused reports of a terrible explosion in Hiroshima. All these reports were transmitted to the headquarters of the Japanese General Staff.//www.uncp.edu/home/berrys/courses/hist102/hist102_docs_abomb.pdf|accessmonthday= April 30 |accessyear = 2007 }}</ref> About twenty minutes later the Tokyo railroad telegraph center realized that the main line telegraph had stopped working just north of Hiroshima. From some small railway stops within 16 kilometers (10 mi) of the city came unofficial and confused reports of a terrible explosion in Hiroshima. All these reports were transmitted to the headquarters of the Japanese General Staff.

Military bases repeatedly tried to call the Army Control Station in Hiroshima. The complete silence from that city puzzled the men at headquarters; they knew that no large enemy raid had occurred and that no sizable store of explosives was in Hiroshima at that time. A young officer of the Japanese General Staff was instructed to fly immediately to Hiroshima, to land, survey the damage, and return to Tokyo with reliable information for the staff. It was generally felt at headquarters that nothing serious had taken place and that it was all a rumor.

The staff officer went to the airport and took off for the southwest. After flying for about three hours, while still nearly 100 miles (160 km) from Hiroshima, he and his pilot saw a great cloud of smoke from the bomb. In the bright afternoon, the remains of Hiroshima were burning. Their plane soon reached the city, around which they circled in disbelief. A great scar on the land still burning and covered by a heavy cloud of smoke was all that was left. They landed south of the city, and the staff officer, after reporting to Tokyo, immediately began to organize relief measures.

www.atomicarchive.com/Docs/Hiroshima/PRHiroshima.shtml|accessmonthday= June 5 |accessyear= 2006 }} The press release, it should be noted, was written not by Truman but primarily by William L. Laurence, a New York Times reporter allowed access to the Manhattan Project.</ref>//www.atomicarchive.com/Docs/Hiroshima/PRHiroshima.shtml|accessmonthday= June 5 |accessyear= 2006 }} The press release, it should be noted, was written not by Truman but primarily by William L. Laurence, a New York Times reporter allowed access to the Manhattan Project.</ref>

www.fultonsun.com/articles/2005/08/07/news/146news11.txt|accessmonthday= July 8 |accessyear=2007 }}</ref>//www.fultonsun.com/articles/2005/08/07/news/146news11.txt|accessmonthday= July 8 |accessyear=2007 }}</ref>

Post-attack casualties

According to most estimates, the bombing of Hiroshima killed approximately 70,000 people due to immediate effects of the blast. Estimates of total deaths by the end of 1945 range from 90,000 to 140,000, due to burns, radiation and related disease, aggravated by lack of medical resources.<ref name="USSBS-AE">{{cite web

www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm//www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/USSBS/AtomicEffects/AtomicEffects-2.html
| title = Chapter II: The Effects of the Atomic Bombings
| year= 1946 | work= United States Strategic Bombing Survey | pages=
| publisher= Originally by U.S. G.P.O.; stored on ibiblio.org 
| accessdate = 2007-09-18

}}</ref> <ref name="rerf-deaths"/> Some estimates state up to 200,000 had died by 1950, due to cancer and other long-term effects.<ref name="DOE-HIRO"/> <ref name="bfrank"> Another review and analysis of the various death toll estimates is in: Modèle:Cite book</ref> www.rerf.or.jp/general/qa_e/qa2.html]Radiation Effects Research Foundation FAQ</ref> At least eleven known prisoners of war died from the bombing.<ref>David Rubin, 2005, "Remembering Normand Brissette" (Downloaded 28/10/06)</ref>//www.rerf.or.jp/general/qa_e/qa2.html]Radiation Effects Research Foundation FAQ</ref> At least eleven known prisoners of war died from the bombing.<ref>David Rubin, 2005, "Remembering Normand Brissette" (Downloaded 28/10/06)</ref>

Survival of some structures

www.inicom.com/hibakusha/akiko.html | accessmonthday= April 30 | accessyear= 2007 }}</ref> Since the bomb detonated in the air, the blast was more downward than sideways, which was largely responsible for the survival of the Prefectural Industrial Promotional Hall, now commonly known as the Genbaku, or A-bomb Dome designed and built by the Czech architect Jan Letzel, which was only 150 meters (490 feet) from ground zero (the hypocenter). The ruin was named Hiroshima Peace Memorial and made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996 over the objections of the U.S. and China.<ref> unesco.org

. Retrieved on August 6, 2005. </ref>//www.inicom.com/hibakusha/akiko.html | accessmonthday= April 30 | accessyear= 2007 }}</ref> Since the bomb detonated in the air, the blast was more downward than sideways, which was largely responsible for the survival of the Prefectural Industrial Promotional Hall, now commonly known as the Genbaku, or A-bomb Dome designed and built by the Czech architect Jan Letzel, which was only 150 meters (490 feet) from ground zero (the hypocenter). The ruin was named Hiroshima Peace Memorial and made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996 over the objections of the U.S. and China.<ref> unesco.org

. Retrieved on August 6, 2005. </ref>

Events of August 7-9

www.cia.gov/csi/studies/vol46no3/article07.html | accessmonthday= August 6 | accessyear= 2005 }}</ref><ref> American Experience

. Retrieved on August 6, 2005. </ref>//www.cia.gov/csi/studies/vol46no3/article07.html | accessmonthday= August 6 | accessyear= 2005 }}</ref><ref> American Experience

. Retrieved on August 6, 2005. </ref>

The Japanese government still did not react to the Potsdam Declaration. Emperor Hirohito, the government and the War council were considering four conditions for surrender: the preservation of the kokutai (Imperial institution and national polity), assumption by the Imperial Headquarters of responsibility for disarmament and demobilization, no occupation and delegation to the Japanese government of the punishment of war criminals.

The Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov informed Tokyo of the Soviet Union's unilateral abrogation of the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact on April 5. At two minutes past midnight on August 9, Tokyo time, Soviet infantry, armor, and air forces launched an invasion of Manchuria. Four hours later, word reached Tokyo that the Soviet Union had declared war on Japan. The senior leadership of the Japanese Army began preparations to impose martial law on the nation, with the support of Minister of War Korechika Anami, in order to stop anyone attempting to make peace.

Responsibility for the timing of the second bombing was delegated to Colonel Tibbets as commander of the 509th Composite Group on Tinian. Scheduled for August 11 against Kokura, the raid was moved forward to avoid a five day period of bad weather forecast to begin on August 10.<ref>Modèle:Cite book</ref> Three bomb pre-assemblies had been transported to Tinian, labeled F-31, F-32, and F-33 on their exteriors. On August 8 a dress rehearsal was conducted off Tinian by Maj. Charles Sweeney using Bockscar as the drop airplane. Assembly F-33 was expended testing the components and F-31 was designated for the mission August 9.<ref> Modèle:Cite book</ref>

Nagasaki

Nagasaki during World War II

The city of Nagasaki had been one of the largest sea ports in southern Japan and was of great wartime importance because of its wide-ranging industrial activity, including the production of ordnance, ships, military equipment, and other war materials.

In contrast to many modern aspects of Hiroshima, the bulk of the residences were of old-fashioned Japanese construction, consisting of wood or wood-frame buildings, with wood walls (with or without plaster), and tile roofs. Many of the smaller industries and business establishments were also housed in buildings of wood or other materials not designed to withstand explosions. Nagasaki had been permitted to grow for many years without conforming to any definite city zoning plan; residences were erected adjacent to factory buildings and to each other almost as closely as possible throughout the entire industrial valley.

Nagasaki had never been subjected to large-scale bombing prior to the explosion of a nuclear weapon there. On August 1, 1945, however, a number of conventional high-explosive bombs were dropped on the city. A few hit in the shipyards and dock areas in the southwest portion of the city, several hit the Mitsubishi Steel and Arms Works and six bombs landed at the Nagasaki Medical School and Hospital, with three direct hits on buildings there. While the damage from these bombs was relatively small, it created considerable concern in Nagasaki and many people—principally school children—were evacuated to rural areas for safety, thus reducing the population in the city at the time of the nuclear attack.

To the north of Nagasaki there was a camp holding British Commonwealth prisoners of war, some of whom were working in the coal mines and only found out about the bombing when they came to the surface. At least eight known POWs died from the bombing.<ref>As many as 13 POWs may have died in the Nagasaki bombing: search.japantimes.co.jp/print/news/nn06-2005/nn20050625f3.htm] [1]{Note last link reference use only.} (This last reference also lists at least three other POWS who died on 9-8-1945 [2][3][4] but does not tell if these were Nagasaki casualties)//search.japantimes.co.jp/print/news/nn06-2005/nn20050625f3.htm] [5]{Note last link reference use only.} (This last reference also lists at least three other POWS who died on 9-8-1945 [6][7][8] but does not tell if these were Nagasaki casualties) search.japantimes.co.jp/print/news/nn08-2005/nn20050805a7.htm] died in the bombing.//search.japantimes.co.jp/print/news/nn08-2005/nn20050805a7.htm] died in the bombing. www.flackgenealogy.co.uk/tfnormancharlesflack1920/][9](note-last link United States Merchant Marine.org website).//www.flackgenealogy.co.uk/tfnormancharlesflack1920/][10](note-last link United States Merchant Marine.org website). </ref>

The bombing

For the composition of the USAAF mission see 509th Composite Group.

On the morning of August 9, 1945, the U.S. B-29 Superfortress Bockscar, flown by the crew of 393rd Squadron commander Major Charles W. Sweeney, carried the nuclear bomb code-named "Fat Man", with Kokura as the primary target and Nagasaki the secondary target. The mission plan for the second attack was nearly identical to that of the Hiroshima mission, with two B-29's flying an hour ahead as weather scouts and two additional B-29's in Sweeney's flight for instrumentation and photographic support of the mission. Sweeney took off with his weapon already armed but with the electrical safety plugs still engaged.<ref name="SM16"> You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}.

. The Atomic Heritage Foundation 
 
   (www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm//www.mphpa.org/classic/HISTORY/H-07m1.htm)
     
   
 

. Retrieved on 5 May, 2007. </ref>

Observers aboard the weather planes reported both targets clear. When Sweeney's aircraft arrived at the assembly point for his flight off the coast of Japan, the third plane, Big Stink, flown by the group's Operations Officer, Lt. Col. James I. Hopkins, Jr. failed to make the rendezvous. Bockscar and the instrumentation plane circled for forty minutes without locating Hopkins. Already thirty minutes behind schedule, Sweeney decided to fly on without Hopkins.<ref name="SM16" />

By the time they reached Kokura a half hour later, a 7/10 cloud cover had obscured the city, prohibiting the visual attack required by orders. After three runs over the city, and with fuel running low because a transfer pump on a reserve tank had failed before take-off, they headed for their secondary target, Nagasaki.<ref name="SM16" /> Fuel consumption calculations made en route indicated that Bockscar had insufficient fuel to reach Iwo Jima and they would be forced to divert to Okinawa. After initially deciding that if Nagasaki were obscured on their arrival they would carry the bomb to Okinawa and dispose of it in the ocean if necessary, the weaponeer Navy Commander Frederick Ashworth decided that a radar approach would be used if the target was obscured.<ref name="Spitzer">You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}.

. The Atomic Heritage Foundation 
 
   (www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm//www.mphpa.org/classic/COLLECTIONS/CG-ASPI/01/Pages/CGP-ASPI-025.htm)
     
   
 

. Retrieved on 5 May, 2007. </ref>

At about 07:50 Japanese time, an air raid alert was sounded in Nagasaki, but the "all clear" signal was given at 08:30. When only two B-29 Superfortresses were sighted at 10:53, the Japanese apparently assumed that the planes were only on reconnaissance and no further alarm was given.

A few minutes later, at 11:00, The Great Artiste, the support B-29 flown by Captain Frederick C. Bock dropped instruments attached to three parachutes. These instruments also contained an unsigned letter to Professor Ryokichi Sagane, a nuclear physicist at the University of Tokyo who studied with three of the scientists responsible for the atomic bomb at the University of California, Berkeley, urging him to tell the public about the danger involved with these weapons of mass destruction. The messages were found by military authorities but not turned over to Sagane until a month later.<ref>Lillian Hoddeson, et al, Critical Assembly: A Technical History of Los Alamos During the Oppenheimer Years, 1943-1945 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993), on 295.</ref> In 1949 one of the authors of the letter, Luis Alvarez, met with Sagane and signed the document.<ref name="Stories from Riken">Modèle:Cite web www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm//www.riken.jp/r-world/info/release/riken88/text/image/pdf/no09e.pdf</ref>

At 11:01, a last minute break in the clouds over Nagasaki allowed Bockscar's bombardier, Captain Kermit Beahan, to visually sight the target as ordered. The "Fat Man" weapon, containing a core of ~6.4 kg (14.1 lbs.) of plutonium-239, was dropped over the city's industrial valley. 43 seconds later it exploded 469 meters (1,540 ft) above the ground exactly halfway between the Mitsubishi Steel and Arms Works in the south and the Mitsubishi-Urakami Ordnance Works (Torpedo Works) in the north. This was nearly 3 kilometers (2 mi) northwest of the planned hypocenter; the blast was confined to the Urakami Valley and a major portion of the city was protected by the intervening hills.<ref>Modèle:Cite book</ref> The resulting explosion had a blast yield equivalent to 21 kilotons of TNT. The explosion generated heat estimated at 7000 degrees Fahrenheit and winds that were estimated at 624 mph.

Casualty estimates for immediate deaths range from 40,000 to 75,000.<ref>Rinjiro Sodei. Were We the Enemy?: American Survivors of Hiroshima. Boulder: Westview Press, 1998, ix.</ref> <ref name="DOE-NAGA">{{cite web

www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm//www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/nagasaki.htm
| title = THE ATOMIC BOMBING OF NAGASAKI
| first= David |last= Rezelman |coauthors= F.G. Gosling and Terrence R. Fehner
| date= |year= 2000 |month= 
| work= The Manhattan Project: An Interactive History
| publisher= U.S. Department of Energy | accessdate = 2007-09-18

}}</ref> <ref name="Fox">{{cite web

www.rerf.or.jp/general/qa_e/qa1.html//www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,165148,00.html
|title = "Nagasaki's Mayor Slams U.S. for Nuke Arsenal" 
|date= August 09, 2005
|publisher= Associated Press |accessdate = 2007-09-18

www.dtra.mil/toolbox/directorates/td/programs/nuclear_personnel/docs/DNATR805512F.pdf | accessmonthday=June 9 | accessyear=2006 }}</ref> <ref name="pd"> Nagasaki marks tragic anniversary

. People's Daily 
 
 (2005-08-10)
   

. Retrieved on April 14, 2007. </ref>//www.dtra.mil/toolbox/directorates/td/programs/nuclear_personnel/docs/DNATR805512F.pdf | accessmonthday=June 9 | accessyear=2006 }}</ref> <ref name="pd"> Nagasaki marks tragic anniversary

. People's Daily 
 
 (2005-08-10)
   

. Retrieved on April 14, 2007. </ref>

www.guardian.co.uk/secondworldwar/story/0,,1535197,00.html|title='I saw both of the bombs and lived'|publisher=The Observer (reported in The Guardian)|date=2005-07-24|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=April 14}}</ref><ref name="trumbull">Modèle:Cite book</ref>//www.guardian.co.uk/secondworldwar/story/0,,1535197,00.html|title='I saw both of the bombs and lived'|publisher=The Observer (reported in The Guardian)|date=2005-07-24|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=April 14}}</ref><ref name="trumbull">Modèle:Cite book</ref>

Plans for more atomic attacks on Japan

The United States expected to have another atomic bomb ready for use in the third week of August, with three more in September and a further three in October.<ref name="Generals"> You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}.

 (pdf)
. National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 162

www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm//www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/72.pdf

. The George Washington University 
 
 (1945-08-13)
   

.</ref> On August 10, Major General Leslie Groves, military director of the Manhattan Project, sent a memorandum to General of the Army George Marshall, Chief of Staff of the United States Army, in which he wrote that "the next bomb . . should be ready for delivery on the first suitable weather after 17 or 18 August." On the same day, Marshall endorsed the memo with the comment, "It is not to be released over Japan without express authority from the President."<ref name="Generals"/> There was already discussion in the War Department about conserving the bombs in production until Operation Downfall, the projected invasion of Japan, had begun. "The problem now [13 August] is whether or not, assuming the Japanese do not capitulate, to continue dropping them every time one is made and shipped out there or whether to hold them . . . and then pour them all on in a reasonably short time. Not all in one day, but over a short period. And that also takes into consideration the target that we are after. In other words, should we not concentrate on targets that will be of the greatest assistance to an invasion rather than industry, morale, psychology, and the like? Nearer the tactical use rather than other use."<ref name="Generals"/>

The surrender of Japan and subsequent occupation

Main articles: Surrender of Japan and Occupied Japan

Up to August 9, the war council was still insisting on its four conditions for surrender. On that day Hirohito ordered Kido to "quickly control the situation" "because Soviet Union has declared war against us". He then held an Imperial conference during which he authorized minister Togo to notify the Allies that Japan would accept their terms on one condition, that the declaration "does not compromise any demand which prejudices the prerogatives of His Majesty as a Sovereign ruler".<ref>Kido Koichi nikki,Tokyo, Daigaku Shuppankai, 1966, p.1223</ref>

On August 12, the Emperor informed the imperial family of his decision to surrender. One of his uncles, Prince Asaka, then asked whether the war would be continued if the kokutai could not be preserved. Hirohito simply replied "of course".<ref>Terasaki Hidenari, Shôwa tennô dokuhakuroku, 1991, p.129</ref> As the Allied terms seemed to leave intact the principle of the preservation of the Throne, Hirohito recorded on August 14 his capitulation announcement which was broadcast to the Japanese nation the next day despite a short rebellion by fanatic militarists opposed to the surrender.

In his declaration, Hirohito referred to the atomic bombings : Modèle:Cquote

In his "Rescript to the soldiers and sailors" delivered on 17 August, he stressed the impact of the Soviet invasion and his decision to surrender, omitting any mention of the bombs.

During the year after the bombing, approximately 40,000 U.S. occupation troops were in Hiroshima. Nagasaki was occupied by 27,000 troops. More than 40,000 members of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force were also in Japan.

Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission

In the spring of 1948, the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) was established in accordance with a presidential directive from Harry S. Truman to the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council to conduct investigations of the late effects of radiation among the survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. One of the early studies conducted by the ABCC was on the outcome of pregnancies occurring in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and in a control city, Kure located 18 miles south from Hiroshima, to discern the conditions and outcomes related to radiation exposure. Some would say ABCC was not in a position to offer medical treatment to the survivors except in a research capacity. One author has claimed that the ABCC refused to provide medical treatment to the survivors for better research results.<ref>Modèle:Cite book</ref> In 1975, the Radiation Effects Research Foundation was created to assume the responsibilities of ABCC.

The Hibakusha

The surviving victims of the bombings are called Modèle:Nihongo, a Japanese word that literally translates to "explosion-affected people". The suffering of the bombing is the root of Japan's postwar pacifism^{[citation needed]}, and the nation has sought the abolition of nuclear weapons from the world ever since. As of 31 March 2007, there were 251,834 hibakusha recognized by the Japanese government; most live in Japan.<ref>{{cite web

www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1832635&Language=en//www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1832635&Language=en  
| title= "Hiroshima marks 62nd A-bomb anniversary" | date= 8/6/2007
| publisher= Kuwait News Agency | accessdate = 2007-10-02 

}}</ref> The government of Japan recognizes about 1% of these as having illnesses caused by radiation.<ref>{{cite web

www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1832635&Language=en//search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ed20070815a2.html
| title= "Relief for A-bomb victims" (editorial) | date= Aug. 15, 2007
| publisher= The Japan Times | accessdate= 2007-10-02 

}}</ref> The memorials in Hiroshima and Nagasaki contain lists of the names of the hibakusha who are known to have died since the bombings. Updated annually on the anniversaries of the bombings, as of August 2007 the memorials record the names of almost 400,000 hibakusha — 253,008<ref>{{cite web

www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1832635&Language=en//edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/08/05/hiroshima.anniversary.reut/index.html 
| title= "Japan commemorates Hiroshima dead" | date= August 6, 2007
| publisher= Reuters | accessdate= 2007-10-02 

}}</ref> in Hiroshima, and 143,124<ref>{{cite web

www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1832635&Language=en//www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8QT3S3G0&show_article=1&cat=0
| title= "Nagasaki marks 62nd anniversary of atomic bombing" | date= Aug. 9, 2007
| publisher= Reuters | accessdate= 2007-10-02 

}}</ref> in Nagasaki. News accounts often mistake these figures for the numbers of people who have died because of the bombings.^{[citation needed]}

Korean survivors

During the war Japan brought many Korean conscripts to both Hiroshima and Nagasaki to work as forced labor. According to recent estimates, about 20,000 Koreans were killed in Hiroshima and about 2,000 died in Nagasaki. It is estimated that one in seven of the Hiroshima victims was of Korean ancestry.<ref>Mikiso Hane. Modern Japan: A Historical Survey. Boulder: Westview Press, 1992.</ref> For many years Koreans had a difficult time fighting for recognition as atomic bomb victims and were denied health benefits.^{[citation needed]} Though such issues have been addressed in recent years, issues regarding recognition linger.^{[citation needed]}

Debate over bombings

Main article: Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Those who argue in favor of the decision to drop the bombs generally assert that the bombings ended the war months sooner than would otherwise have been the case, thus saving many lives. It is argued that there would have been massive casualties on both sides in the Operation Downfall invasion of Japan,<ref>Modèle:Cite book</ref> and that even if Operation Downfall were postponed, the status quo of conventional bombings and the Japanese occupations in Asia were causing tremendous loss of life.

A number of notable individuals and organizations have criticized the bombings, many of them characterizing them as war crimes or crimes against humanity and/or state terrorism. Two early critics of the bombings were Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard, who had together spurred the first bomb research in 1939 with a jointly written letter to President Roosevelt. Szilard, who had gone on to play a major role in the Manhattan Project, argued: www.peak.org/~danneng/decision/usnews.html|title=Leo Szilard, Interview: President Truman Did Not Understand.|date=15 August, 1960|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=July 09|newspaper=U.S. News and World Report|pages=68-71}} (republished at [11], reached through Leo Szilard page at [12])</ref></blockquote>//www.peak.org/~danneng/decision/usnews.html|title=Leo Szilard, Interview: President Truman Did Not Understand.|date=15 August, 1960|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=July 09|newspaper=U.S. News and World Report|pages=68-71}} (republished at [13], reached through Leo Szilard page at [14])</ref></blockquote>

See also

• Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims
• Hiroshima Peace Memorial
• Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum
• Nagasaki Peace Park
• Japanese atomic program
• Strategic bombing during World War II
• The United States and nuclear weapons

Further reading

There is an extensive body of literature concerning the bombings, the decision to use the bombs, and the surrender of Japan. The following sources provide a sampling of prominent works on this subject matter.

• Modèle:Cite book
• Modèle:Cite book
• Modèle:Cite book
• Modèle:Cite book
• Modèle:Cite book
• Modèle:Cite book
• Modèle:Cite book
• Modèle:Cite book A history of the bombings, and the decision-making to use them.
• Modèle:Cite book
• Modèle:Cite book
• Modèle:Cite book
• Goldstein, Donald M; Dillon, Katherine V. & Wenger, J. Michael Rain of Ruin: A Photographic History of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1995, Brasseys, Washington & London) ISBN 1-57488-033-0

External links

• You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}.

. U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey
. www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm//www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/documents/index.php?documentdate=1946-06-19&documentid=65&studycollectionid=abomb&pagenumber=1 
 
 (1946)
   

. www-sdc.med.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/n50/start-E.html |title= Scientific Data of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Disaster |accessmonthday=April 28|accessyear=2007 |publisher=Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University. }}//www-sdc.med.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/n50/start-E.html |title= Scientific Data of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Disaster |accessmonthday=April 28|accessyear=2007 |publisher=Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University. }}

• You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}.

. NuclearFiles.org 
 
 (www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/library/correspondence/index.htm#decision)
   

.//www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/library/correspondence/index.htm#decision}}

• You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}.

 (www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/library/correspondence/index.htm#decision)
   

.//www.doug-long.com/debate.htm}}

• You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}.

  Dietrich , Bill 
     
 

     (1995
 www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/library/correspondence/index.htm#decision)
   
.  
. The Seattle Times 
   

.//seattletimes.nwsource.com/trinity/supplement/procon.html }}

• You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}.

. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.

• You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}.

. The Harry S. Truman Library 
 www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm//www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/index.php  
 

 

.

• You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}.

. Manhattan Project, U.S. Army
 www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/library/correspondence/index.htm#decision 
 
 (1946)
   

.//www.atomicarchive.com/Docs/MED/index.shtml }}

• You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}.

  Burr , William (Editor) 
     
 

     (2005)
   
.  
. National Security Archive
 www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm//www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/index.htm 
   

. www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/top_e.html Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum], official homepage.//www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/top_e.html Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum], official homepage. www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/top_e.html Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum], official homepage.//www1.city.nagasaki.nagasaki.jp/na-bomb/museum/museume01.html Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum], official homepage. www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/top_e.html Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum], official homepage.//www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/72.pdf The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II], A Collection of Primary Sources, National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 162. www.imdb.com/title/tt0044324/ Above and Beyond a 1952 MGM feature film with the love story behind the billion dollar secret, about Paul & Lucey Tibbets]//www.imdb.com/title/tt0044324/ Above and Beyond a 1952 MGM feature film with the love story behind the billion dollar secret, about Paul & Lucey Tibbets] www.imdb.com/title/tt0044324/ Above and Beyond a 1952 MGM feature film with the love story behind the billion dollar secret, about Paul & Lucey Tibbets]//www.imdb.com/title/tt0080689/ Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb a 1980 film for TV]

Footnotes

Modèle:World War II Modèle:Manhattan ProjectModèle:Link FA ar:الضربة النووية على هيروشيما وناجازاكي bn:হিরোশিমা ও নাগাসাকিতে পারমাণবিক বোমাবর্ষণ bs:Atomski napad na Hirošimu i Nagasaki da:Atombomberne over Hiroshima og Nagasaki de:Atombombenabwürfe auf Hiroshima und Nagasaki es:Bombardeos atómicos sobre Hiroshima y Nagasaki fa:بمب‌باران اتمی هیروشیما و ناکازاکی fr:Bombardements atomiques de Hiroshima et Nagasaki hi:हिरोशिमा और नागासाकी परमाणु बमबारी hr:Atomsko bombardiranje Hirošime i Nagasakija it:Bombardamento atomico di Hiroshima e Nagasaki ka:ჰიროსიმას და ნაგასაკის ატომური დაბომბვა ms:Pengeboman atom Hiroshima dan Nagasaki ja:1945年の広島・長崎に対する原爆投下 no:Atombombene over Hiroshima og Nagasaki nn:Atombombene over Hiroshima og Nagasaki pl:Zrzucenie bomb atomowych na Hiroszimę i Nagasaki pt:Bombardeamentos de Hiroshima e Nagasaki ro:Bombardamentele atomice de la Hiroşima şi Nagasaki ru:Атомные бомбардировки Хиросимы и Нагасаки sq:Hedhja e Bombës Atomike në Hiroshima dhe Nagasaki fi:Hiroshiman ja Nagasakin pommitukset sv:Atombomberna över Hiroshima och Nagasaki tr:Hiroşima'ya atom bombası saldırısı vi:Vụ ném bom nguyên tử xuống Hiroshima và Nagasaki zh:广岛市原子弹爆炸