Starter Reading – Ending the War
On August 6 and 9, 1945, President Harry Truman ordered the dropping of atomic bombs
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, upon which Japan
surrendered, ending World War 2.
It remains
the only time atomic bombs have been used in
warfare.
The moral aspects of using nuclear weapons on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki has divided world
opinion ever since. Some say that the appalling
human cost could never be justified; others say
that the need to end the war as quickly as
possible, and thereby save lives, was also a moral imperative.
Here is a range of views to sort through and consider.
There were those who considered that the atomic bomb should never have been used at all. I
cannot associate myself with such ideas… I am surprised that very worthy people—but people who
in most cases had no intention of proceeding to the Japanese front themselves—should adopt a
position that rather than throw this bomb we should have sacrificed a million American and a
quarter of a million British lives...
Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister 1940 – 1945, and 1951-1955
Source: www.takeonit.com/questions
I told him [Truman] I was against [the atomic bomb] on two counts. First, the Japanese were ready
to surrender and it wasn't necessary to hit them with that awful thing. Second, I hated to see our
country be the first to use such a weapon.
Dwight Eisenhower, President of USA 1953-1961
Source: www.takeonit.com/questions
Having found the [atomic] bomb we have used it. We have used it against those who attacked us
without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed
American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned all pretence of obeying international
laws of warfare. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of
thousands and thousands of young Americans.
President Harry Truman, President of USA 1945 – 1953
Source: www.takeonit.com/questions
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. I was
not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and
children.
William Leahy, US Chief of Staff 1942 – 1949
Source: www.takeonit.com/questions
The use has been called barbarian since, besides destroying a military base and a military industrial
centre, tens of thousands of civilians were killed.
Some have claimed that the Japanese were already essentially defeated, and that use of the bombs
was unnecessary. Some have also suggested that a demonstration of an atomic bomb in an
uninhabited region should have been attempted.
Others contend that Japan had been trying to surrender for at least two months, but the US
refused by insisting on an unconditional surrender—which they did not get even after the bombing,
the bone of contention being retention of the Emperor.
In reply, defenders of the decision to use the bombs say that it is almost certain that the Japanese
would not have surrendered without their use, and that hundreds of thousands - perhaps millions would have perished in the planned U.S. invasion of Japan.
To support their argument, they point out that the Japanese agreed to surrender only after the
second bomb was dropped, when it was evident that the first was not an isolated event, and future
prospects were for a continuing rain of such bombs.
(continued)……..
Actually, the U.S. did not have another atomic bomb ready after the bombing of Nagasaki due the
difficulty of producing fissile material. Regarding the suggestion of a demonstration, they maintain
that, given the mind-set of the Japanese at the time, it is unlikely that any conceivable benign
demonstration would have induced surrender.
Source: http://world-war-2.info/atomic
The strategic fire-bombing of 37 Japanese cities had done little to break the Hirohito regime’s
resolve, and Japan continued to resolutely ignore the demand for unconditional surrender made at
Potsdam. In such circumstances, the use of the atom bomb was seen as the best means of forcing
Japan to surrender, and ending the war. The alternative, of an Allied invasion of the Japanese home
islands, was expected to cost hundreds of thousands of casualties.
Source: http://www.history.co.uk/study