“The Hiroshima Myth”
In the essay, “The Hiroshima Myth” by John Denson, Denson challenges the commonly
believed narrative that the bombing of Japan at the conclusion of the Second World War was
justified. To begin with, the orthodox narrative was that the deaths of hundreds of thousands of
Japanese civilians due to the bombings led to saving millions of American lives and
accomplished the goal of ending the war. Denson explains that this is a myth as those were not
the true reasons the bombs were dropped, just the reasons that Americans were led to believe.
The alternative narrative presented in the essay was that the bombs were dropped because of
political considerations. This narrative is supported by the fact that Japan was willing to
surrender in May of 1945 as long as the emperor could remain in place and not be charged with
any crimes. Truman was aware of this but still didn’t change the unconditional surrender policy
and proceeded with the Potsdam Proclamation, which forced Japan to either surrender
unconditionally or face destruction. Even after the war, the emperor was not charged with crimes
and held his position. The USA could have accepted the surrender with those conditions and
prevented the slaughter of thousands of civilians. Additionally, this narrative reveals that other
reasons Truman went ahead with the bombings is because Congress required an explanation to
the huge expenditure of the secret Manhattan Project, show dominance over Russia, and prove
the United States to have the most powerful military in the world. Further, the common narrative
contrasts from the alternative one as it doesn’t really consider the moral implications. It is
commonly believed that the sacrifice of the Japanese was for the greater good, but this narrative
shows that the refusal to accept a surrender that could have saved many innocent lives was
unwarranted. These two narratives influence our perspective of these events, however in the
future where we hold destructive nuclear weapons, hopefully we value morals over all else.