The accepted wisdom in the United States for the last 75 years has been that dropping the bombs on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and on Nagasaki three days later was the only way to end the World War II.
Not only did the bombs end the war, the logic goes, they did so in the most...
Not only did the bombs end the war, the logic goes, they did so in the most...
...humane way possible.
However, the overwhelming historical evidence from American and Japanese archives indicates that Japan would have surrendered that August, even if atomic bombs had not been used — and documents prove that President Truman and his closest advisors knew it.
However, the overwhelming historical evidence from American and Japanese archives indicates that Japan would have surrendered that August, even if atomic bombs had not been used — and documents prove that President Truman and his closest advisors knew it.
The quarter million slained at Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not killed to hasten the end of the war against Japan and thereby "save lives", as the subsequent myth has been spread.
The Japanese government was already seeking to surrender before the bomb was dropped.
The Japanese government was already seeking to surrender before the bomb was dropped.
The minutes of the Japanese Imperial Cabinet have revealed that the decision to surrender was reached before knowledge of the dropping of the atom bomb had reached them, and was based on the grounds that the entry of the Soviet Union into the war had brought such forces against..
...them that rendered it impossible for them to continue the war.
The Soviet Union’s entry into the war changed everything for Japan’s leaders, who privately acknowledged the need to surrender promptly.
Allied intelligence had been reporting for months that the....
The Soviet Union’s entry into the war changed everything for Japan’s leaders, who privately acknowledged the need to surrender promptly.
Allied intelligence had been reporting for months that the....
...Soviet entry would force the Japanese to capitulate because it would fundamentally alter the strategic situation.
As early as April 11,1945, the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Joint Intelligence Staff had predicted: "If at any time the USSR should enter the war, all Japanese....
As early as April 11,1945, the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Joint Intelligence Staff had predicted: "If at any time the USSR should enter the war, all Japanese....
...will realize that absolute defeat is inevitable.”
Adding another great power to the war created innumerable military problems for Japan’s leaders.
It would've been possible to fight against one great power attacking from one direction, but anyone could see that Japan...
Adding another great power to the war created innumerable military problems for Japan’s leaders.
It would've been possible to fight against one great power attacking from one direction, but anyone could see that Japan...
...couldn't defend against two great powers attacking from two different directions at once.
Allied intelligence had been reporting for months that Soviet entry would force the Japanese to capitulate.
And Truman knew that the Japanese were searching for a way to end the war.
Allied intelligence had been reporting for months that Soviet entry would force the Japanese to capitulate.
And Truman knew that the Japanese were searching for a way to end the war.
William D.Leahy, Truman’s chief of staff wrote in his memoir:
“that the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender … In being the first to use it we....
“that the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender … In being the first to use it we....
...had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages."
Thus, the dropping of the atom bomb was hastened and dated by the American command, not in order to make the Japanese government surrender, but precisely because the Japanese government was already...
Thus, the dropping of the atom bomb was hastened and dated by the American command, not in order to make the Japanese government surrender, but precisely because the Japanese government was already...
...making approaches to surrender.
It was hastened to make a demonstration of the American atomic military power, because the ending of the war would have rendered such a demonstration impossible and was a calculated effort on the part of Truman to....
It was hastened to make a demonstration of the American atomic military power, because the ending of the war would have rendered such a demonstration impossible and was a calculated effort on the part of Truman to....
...intimidate the Soviet Union, limiting its influence in post-war Asia.
The United States deployed the plutonium bomb on Nagasaki to make clear the strength of its nuclear arsenal, ensuring the nation's supremacy in the global power hierarchy.
The United States deployed the plutonium bomb on Nagasaki to make clear the strength of its nuclear arsenal, ensuring the nation's supremacy in the global power hierarchy.
Thus, the dropping of the atom bomb at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not the last act in war against fascism but the opening salvo in the Cold War.
The fateful decision to inaugurate the nuclear age fundamentally changed the course of modern history, and it continues to threaten...
The fateful decision to inaugurate the nuclear age fundamentally changed the course of modern history, and it continues to threaten...
...our survival.
In 1945, shortly after the United States used the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, writer George Orwell used the term in an essay that explored what the atom bomb meant for international relations.
In 1945, shortly after the United States used the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, writer George Orwell used the term in an essay that explored what the atom bomb meant for international relations.
The bomb was such a threat that it would likely end large-scale wars, Orwell wrote, creating “a state which was at once unconquerable and in a permanent state of ‘Cold War’ with its neighbours.
The discovery of the atomic bomb, so far from reversing history, will simply....
The discovery of the atomic bomb, so far from reversing history, will simply....
.....intensify the trends which have been apparent for a dozen years at least."
Orwell’s prediction of a “peace that is no peace” came true within months.
Reference:
1. Problems of Contemporary History by R.Palme Dutt
2. The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb by Gar Alperovitz
Orwell’s prediction of a “peace that is no peace” came true within months.
Reference:
1. Problems of Contemporary History by R.Palme Dutt
2. The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb by Gar Alperovitz
3. You and the Atom Bomb by George Orwell
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