the fall of japan (wwii)

7/26/2019 The Fall of Japan (WWII)

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THE FALL OF JAPAN


2/17

THE MANHATTAN PROJECT! The Manhattan Project was a top-secret plan

to develop an atomic bomb.

! In 1938, 3 chemists in Berlin discovered that

they could spilt the atom, however they still

had many technical problems that needed to

be solved.

! Einstein upon hearing of these discoveries

feared that the Germans might succeed in

creating an atomic bomb of their own.

! Einstein wrote to Roosevelt informing him of

his concerns and thus, caused the launch ofthe Manhattan Project in December 1941.

! The lead scientist on the Manhattan Project

was J. Robert Oppenheimer. He is often called

the "father of the atomic bomb".


3/17

THE MANHATTAN PROJECT! In 1942, Canada was notified of this project.

! Canada was asked to contribute uranium, an important

component of the bomb.

! The Canadian government agreed, and as a result,

secretly bought the Eldorado mine at Great Bear Lake

in the Northwest Territories, to produce the uranium.

! By the summer of 1945, the first bomb was ready to be

tested. On July 16, 1945 scientists readied themselves

for the test. The bomb was attached to a 100-foot

tower at Trinity Site near Alamogordo, New Mexico.

! A blinding flash was visible for 200 miles as it lit up

the sky, a mushroom cloud reached 40,000 feet,

blowing out windows of civilian homes, a 100 miles

away. The bomb had created a half-mile wide crater

which metamorphosed sand into glass.

! Soon word reached President Truman in Potsdam,

Germany that the project was successful.


4/17

Had I known that the Germans

would not succeed in

developing an atomic bomb, Iwould have done nothing.

Einstein was deemed a security risk and could not be consulted for help

with the project, or contribute to it. After the dropping of the bombs, he

later regretted his decision in informing the Americans about Germanysplans on developing an atomic bomb saying:


5/17

THE BOMBING OF HIROSHIMA! The city of Hiroshima was an important military

centre, with a civilian population of 300,000. 43,000

of which were soldiers.

! On August 6th, 1945, the first ever deployed atomic

bomb nicknamed Little Boy was dropped on

Hiroshima.

! An air raid alert from earlier that morning had beencalled o!after only a solitary aircraft was seen (the

weather plane). As such, the city was alive with

activity.

! The American B-29 bomber Enola Gay piloted by

Paul Tibbets, named after his mother, flew over the

city and dropped the bomb.

! The explosion wiped out 90% of the city and

immediately killed an approximate of 80,000 people.

Ten of thousands later died from the radiation

exposure from the bomb.


6/17

THE BOMBING OF HIROSHIMA! The yield of the explosion was later estimated

at 15 kilotons, the equivalent of 15,000 tons

of TNT.

! 9 out of 10 people half a mile or less from

ground zero were killed instantly and less

than 10% of buildings in the city survived

without any damage. The blast wave shattered

glass in areas twelve miles away.

! Before the dropping of the bomb, at 11:00am

August 6th, President Truman announced to

the public informing them of the bombing. He

warned if Japan refused to surrender

unconditionally as demanded by the Potsdam

Declaration of July 26. The US would

continue to attack with equally devastating

results.


7/17

The heat was tremendous . And I felt like my body was burning all over. For my burning body the

cold water of the river was as precious as the treasure. Then I left the river, and I walked along

the railroad tracks in the direction of my home. On the way, I ran into an another friend of mine,

Tokujiro Hatta. I wondered why the soles of his feet were badly burnt. It was unthinkable to get

burned there. But it was undeniable fact the soles were peeling and red muscle was exposed.

Even I myself was terribly burnt, I could not go home ignoring him. I made him crawl using his

arms and knees. Next, I made him stand on his heels and I supported him. We walked heading

toward my home repeating the two methods. When we were resting because we were soexhausted, I found my grandfather's brother and his wife, in other words, great uncle and great

aunt, coming toward us. That was quite coincidence. As you know, we have a proverb about

meeting Buddha in Hell. My encounter with my relatives at that time was just like that. They

seem to be the Buddha to me wandering in the living hell.

Mr. Akihiro Takahashi was only 14 years old, when the bomb was dropped. He was standing

in line with other students of his junior high school, waiting for the morning meeting 1.4 km

away from the centre. After the attack, he was under medical treatment for about year and

half. And even today he regularly sees an ear doctor, an eye doctor, a dermatologist and asurgeon. Out of sixty of junior high school classmates, only ten are alive today. This is his

account of that day:


8/17

THE BOMBING OF NAGASAKI! The town of Kokura, was the bombs initial target

but upon reaching the town, the pilots discovered

that it was surrounded with haze and smoke. As

such, they decided to fly to the next target, the

city of Nagasaki.

! The city of Nagasaki was an industrial centre and

major port on the west coast of Kyushu.! Similarly to Hiroshima, an all-clear from an air

raid alert had long been given by the time the

B-29 had begun its bombing run.

! This time, the atomic bomb nicknamed Fat

Man was deployed by the American B-29bomber Bocks Car.

! It was the morning of August 9th, 1945, when

Nagasaki was hit. 3 days from the bombing of

Hiroshima.


9/17

THE BOMBING OF NAGASAKI! 70% of the citys industrial zone was destroyed,

with 75,000 wounded and killed.

! The yield of the explosion estimated at 22,000

tons of TNT. At least 7,000 tons, 30% more

than Little Boy.

!

Although Fat Man had a more destructiveforce than Little Boy, the citizens of Nagasaki

were lucky in the fact that, because of the

geographical landscape of Nagasaki, its

surroundings contained much of the destructive

force. With hills and mountains protecting

those on the outskirts of the city.

! The death tolls of the atomic bombs later

estimated to have exceeded 200,000 due to

deaths from the initial blasts, injuries and

radiation exposure in the long term.


10/17

JAPANS SURRENDER AND ARMISTICE! After the bombing of Nagasaki, the Japanese

realized that they could not withstand another

attack.

! As a result, on August 15th, 1945, Emperor

Hirohito announced his unconditional

surrender to the Allies. He urged his people to

accept the surrender, saying:

! Japans formal surrender took place aboard

American battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay, on

September 2nd, 1945.

Should we continue to fightit would not only

result in the ultimate collapse and obliteration of

the Japanese nation, but would also lead to the

total extinction of human civilization


11/17

JAPANS SURRENDER AND ARMISTICE! On September 2nd, more than 250 Allied warships

were anchored in Tokyo Bay. Just after 9 am, Japanese

Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signed on

behalf of the Japanese government. General Yoshijiro

Umezu then signed for the Japanese armed forces.

! Supreme Commander MacArthur signed next on

behalf of the United Nations, declaring:

! Ten more signatures were then made, by the U.S.,

China, Britain, the USSR, Australia, Canada, France,the Netherlands, and New Zealand.

! As the ceremony ended, so did WWII, after six hard

long years of fighting, with millions and thousands of

casualties and deaths on both sides.

It is my earnest hope and indeed the hope of all

mankind that from this solemn occasion a better world

shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past.


12/17

FUTURE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND AFTERMATH! The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki still

remains the only use of nuclear weapons for warfare inhistory.

! However, by 1949, the Soviets had developed their own

atomic bomb and the nuclear arms race began.

! New hostilities began to emerged between the U.S. and

the Soviet Union. Known as the Cold War, it was a

struggle for control over conquered areas of EasternEurope. Starting in the late 1940s and through to the

early 1990s.

! Both countries began building more and bigger bombs,

and in 1952, the United States tested a new and more

powerful weapon, the hydrogen bomb.

! The Soviet Union followed with its own version in 1953.

! By 1981, USA had 8,000 ICBMs (Intercontinental

ballistic missiles) and 4,000 planes capable of delivering a

nuclear bomb. While the USSR 7,000 ICBMs and 5000

planes.


13/17

WAS IT JUSTIFIED?! Over the years there have been many debates

on whether the dropping of the atomic bombs

on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justified.

! Even before the dropping of the atomic bomb,

there were already those that opposed the

idea. Admiral William Leahy, an advisor to

U.S. President Truman was one of them, he

advised Roosevelt, not to use they bomb,

saying:

It was my opinion that the use of this barbarous weapon at

Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in

our warThe Japanese were already defeated and ready tosurrenderMy own feeling was that 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


14/17


15/17

WAS IT JUSTIFIED? (PERSONAL THOUGHTS)! In my opinion, I do not think that the dropping of the atomic

bombs was necessary. Although it was no hidden fact that theJapanese committed terrible crimes against humanity as did

many during the war, and refused to surrender unconditionally

leaving the U.S. with supposedly no choice, I do not think these

alone justifies the killing of over 200,000 people. Some say that

the dropping of the atomic bombs saved the further loss of

American lives, and that could have been true, but the U.S.

could have simply found an un-inhabited area, dropped the

bomb, and shown the devastating e!ects of the bomb to the

Japanese. Similar to what they did when they first tested an

atomic bomb. And after seeing the e!ects of the bomb, if the

Japanese still refused to surrender, then they could have

threatened Japan and later attacked. On top of that, the

bombing of Nagasaki was definitely unjustified. First, unlike

Hiroshima, it was not a military centre, Nagasaki had perhaps

around 150 military personnels there at the time, and secondJapan would have likely surrendered after the first atomic bomb,

if given the time. Over 95 per cent of the combined casualties of

the two cities were civilian.

! To summarize I believe the dropping of the atomic bombs were

unjustified.


16/17

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Manhattan Project. American Museum of Natural History. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2016. .

"Nuclear Arms Race." American Musuem of Natural History. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2016. .

Chen, C. Peter. "Japan's Surrender." World War II Database. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2016. .

Cranny, Michael William, and Garvin Moles. Counterpoints: Exploring Canadian Issues. Toronto: Prentice Hall, 2001. Print.

"The Story of Hiroshima: Hibakusha Stories." Hiroshima and Nagasaki Remembered. AJ Software & Multimedia, n.d. Web. 30 Apr.2016. .

History.com Sta!. "Japan Surrenders." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 30 Apr. 2016. .

History.com Sta!. "Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 30 Apr. 2016. .

"Hiroshima 60 Years On: "I Don't Blame Them but I Hope They Mourn the Dead"" The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 24 July

2005. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.

"The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima." The Manhattan Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2016. .

"The Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki." The Manhattan Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2016. .

"The Manhattan Project." U.S. History. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2016. .


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cohen, Marsha B. Man stands amongst the destruction caused by the atomic bomb. Digital image. LobeLog: Foreign Policy. N.p., 13 Aug. 2013. Web. 4

May 2016. .Radius of "Fat Man" Digital image. Atomic Heritage Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2016. .

More than 60% of the buildings in the city were destroyed. Digital image. BBC News. N.p., 6 Aug. 2015. Web. 4 May 2016. .

Aftermath of the bombing of Nagasaki. Digital image. BBC News. N.p., 9 Aug. 2015. Web. 4 May 2016. .

The nuclear arms race between USSR and the USA depicted in the form of a cartoon. Digital image. Defense of the Realm. N.p., 16 Oct. 2014. Web. 4 May

2016. .

U.S. National Archives. A dense column of smoke rises more than 60,000 feet into the air over the Japanese port of Nagasaki, the result of an atomic bomb,

the second ever used in warfare, dropped on the industrial center August 8, 1945, from a U.S. B-29 Superfortress. Digital image. Discover. N.p., 9 Aug. 2015.

Web. 4 May 2016. .

Naval Historical Center. Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Instrument of Surrender on behalf of the Japanese Government, on board USS

Missouri (BB-63), 2 September 1945. Lieutentant General Richard K. Sutherland, U.S. Army, watches from the opposite side of the table. Foreign Ministry

representative Toshikazu Kase is assisting Mr. Shigemitsu. Digital image. The History Reader. N.p., 2 Sept. 2011. Web. 4 May 2016. .

Walia, Arjun. The mushroom cloud after the release of Little Boy on Hiroshima. Digital image. Collective Evolution. N.p., 9 May 2015. Web. 4 May 2016.

.

United States Army Signal Corps. MacArthur signing Japanese surrender aboard USS Missouri. Digital image. World War II Database. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2016.

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Trinity Test bomb. Digital image. Atomicarchive.com. AJ Software & Multimedia, n.d. Web. 4 May 2016. .

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