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Amanda Edwards
Sophomore Honors English, Period 1B
March 11, 2015
Hiroshima – Justified or Not?
On August 16, 1945, the United States of America dropped the world’s first atomic bomb
on Hiroshima (Staff). This ended World War II, but also caused about 130,000 casualties
(“Counting the Dead”). Prior to the atomic bomb, however, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor,
bringing the U.S. into World War II. Both attacks had a severe impact on each country. In
Hiroshima, people’s lives were ruined; they died from radiation disease, and most lived in
poverty. These survivors were called Hibakusha. The attack on Pearl Harbor harmed U.S. naval
and air strength in the Pacific (Anderson). Many people are now questioning whether or not the
U.S. should have dropped the atomic bomb. However, the U.S. was justified in dropping the
bomb because it prevented future nuclear wars, provided a military advantage to the U.S., and
prevented Germany from developing nuclear weapons first.
Diseases resulting from radiation caused many problems later in the Hibakusha’s lives.
The cancer rate among the Hibakusha was much higher than that of the general population
(Hida). In fact, 58 percent of deaths among the Hibakusha were caused by cancer. Many of them
also began to suffer from A-bomb Bura-bura disease (Hida). This disease made it harder for the
Hibakusha to work because of the fatigue and pain that it caused. It was also extremely hard for
the doctors to treat. Even a common cold took a long time to recover from, and many times the
Hibakusha would get other harmful diseases from the radiation (Hida). Thus, A-bomb Bura-bura
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disease decreased the Hibakusha’s already poor living conditions. However, deaths caused by the
radiation constituted a small percentage of Japan’s total casualties. There were about 130,000
deaths and injuries resulting from the bombing of Hiroshima, which is about seven percent of
Japan’s total casualties in World War II (“Counting the Dead”), (“Fatalities”). These casualties
include the people injured as well as those who died as of November 1954. Also, Hiroshima has
a significantly lower population than the island of Japan (Dietrich), if the U.S. had bombed Japan
instead of Hiroshima, it would have been much more devastating.
Use of the atomic bomb prevented future nuclear warfare. When the atomic bomb was
used and all countries saw the effects, other countries were more concerned with the prevention
of nuclear weapons than personal use of them (Oppenheimer). At the time that the U.S. bombed
Hiroshima, no other countries had fully developed an atomic bomb, so the threat of a nuclear war
didn’t exist. Since that time, more countries have developed nuclear weapons, so the threat of a
nuclear war is much more prominent (Dietrich). Nine nations currently have a total of 16,300
nuclear weapons (“Nuclear Forces Reduced”). The devastating effects of the bomb in Hiroshima
discouraged nuclear countries from using their banks. Even if they had waited just a few years to
test the bomb, other countries could have fought back, resulting in a nuclear war. Now, however,
if there were a nuclear war, the world would be destroyed.
The International rules of Warfare prohibit the use of specific weapons to inflict
unnecessary suffering (Hague). Many people would argue that the atomic bomb falls into this
category, which is true. However, the International Rules of war also state that aerial
bombardment is justified if directed at a military base and provides a military advantage to the
belligerent (Hague). Hiroshima was a military base, and the U.S. did gain a military advantage in
the use of the atomic bomb. Among these advantages is the prevention of future nuclear wars,
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and the premature ending of World War II. Both of which have saved many more lives than were
lost in the bombing of Hiroshima.
Many scientists later regretted their involvement in helping to develop the atomic bomb.
Robert Oppenheimer was among the scientists asked to help develop the bomb. Afterwards he
said, “Now, I am Death, the destroyer of worlds” (Bos). This is in reference to Vishnu in the
Baghavad-Gita. After winning a battle, he looked around and saw all of the destruction that he
had caused. This motivated him to establish reform laws and dedicate his service to good causes.
When Oppenheimer saw the damage that the atomic bomb had caused, he assumed that everyone
felt that in some way or another. Albert Einstein also had a hand in the development of the
atomic bomb. On August 2, 1939, he wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, advising
him to begin the development of an atomic bomb (“Albert Einstein and the Atomic Bomb”). He
later said, “I made one great mistake in my life… when I signed the letter to President Roosevelt
recommending that atom bombs be made; but there was some justification – the danger that the
Germans would make them” (Elert). Right before this letter was sent, Germany started working
on the Nazi Germany Nuclear Energy product (Mayo). In fact, this is what drove Einstein to
write the letter. He had seen how merciless Germany was against their Jewish population; they
would have destroyed the world had they developed nuclear weapons first.
During World War II, six million Jews were taken from their homes to live in
concentration camps (“The Killing Machine”). However, they did not merely live in these camps
they were tortured and even killed. This is because the Germans believed the Jews to be inferior
to them. However, the Jews were not the only group that was persecuted during the Holocaust.
Other groups include the Roma (gypsies), people who were mentally or physically disabled,
Slavic population, Communists, Socialists, as well as many others (U.S. Holocaust Memorial
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Museum). All of this was done in the pursuit of a pure race. During World War II, Germany was
extremely xenophobic (“Xenophobia”). They believed they were the one pure race. No one
knows what the Germans would have done to other countries had they developed nuclear
weapons sooner.
The United States bombed Hiroshima in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Although this resulted in only 2,403 U.S. casualties, the attack also harmed the U.S. naval and air
strength in the Pacific (Anderson). The U.S. lost more than 180 aircraft, and at least eight
battleships, the most significant of which is the USS Arizona (Anderson). The USS Arizona sank
and 1,100 men went down with it (Anderson). The International Laws and Customs of War state,
“The Commander of an attacking force, before commencing a bombardment…should do all he
can to warn the authorities” (Hague). The only indication that the U.S. received was in a decoded
Japanese message saying, “U.S. relations were to be severed” (Anderson). This was not even a
direct message to the U.S. They did not know what the message meant, and if it meant an attack,
they did not know when or where. It is evident that the Japanese did not do “all that they could”
to warn the U.S. of the attack.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. into World War II. So even though
Japan directly caused 2,403 casualties, they indirectly caused 318,274 (“Battle and Non-Battle
Deaths”). This is 100% of the U.S. casualties in World War II. The bombing of Hiroshima
caused only 7% of Japan’s casualties in World War II (“Counting the Dead”), (“Fatalities”). In
the few months before the bombing of Hiroshima, the U.S. suffered around 17,000 military
deaths a month (“Battle and Non-Battle Deaths”). This was when the U.S. was deciding whether
to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. As a result the decision was influenced by the fact that
the Japanese had caused these deaths, albeit indirectly.
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Japan and the United States are now allies, and provide significant economic benefits to
each other (“U.S. Relations With Japan”). Considering the damage that the U.S. did to Japan,
they have amazingly friendly attitudes towards the U.S. (Tackett). Although the damage was
considerable, the U.S. was justified in dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The casualties
resulting from this decision were a small percentage of Japan’s total casualties in World War II.
The bomb also prevented future nuclear wars when more countries had access to nuclear
weapons. If Germany had developed the atomic bomb first, there is little doubt they would have
had no problem with destroying the world. Especially after what they did to their own people in
their quest to develop a “pure race”, no group of people or country was off limits. Although the
atomic bomb had a devastating reaction, it was necessary in order to end World War II.
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