The brutality of World War II had ravaged both sides of the war. In the European theater, the war was finished by a massive push to Berlin, with devastating battles that killed thousands. Afterwards, tensions between East Europe and the West escalated. The Asian theater was cut short with the use of the nuclear bombs, which forced the Japanese to surrender, and removed the need for a land invasion. President Harry Truman was justified in dropping the atomic bombs because he saved the lives on both sides of the war in the assault, shortened the length of the war, and stopped the Soviet advance. The alternatives to dropping the nuclear bomb were far more dangerous, and would have cost many more lives. The island-hopping campaign was a strategy …show more content…
During the war, a number of prisoners were taken to various POW camps. According to History on the net, one in three Americans died in Japanese camps. If the war had been prolonged, then there would have been even greater losses. The rapid end of the war and exchange of prisoners saved lives of prisoners from both parties. Additionally, there was mass starvation in Japan as it came under pressure from the allied powers. According to The Daily Chronicles, a site dedicated to the statistics of World War II, Japanese casualties from starvation were expected to top seven million by the end of 1946. According to Wikipedia, this would have tripled war casualties for Japan and far exceeded the 226,000 deaths from the atomic bombs. Furthermore, the United States' resources were needed in other places than Japan. The Marshall Plan and similar recovery programs were needed to restore devastated countries. If the war was prolonged, the benefits going to the destroyed countries would be redirected to the war effort. This would reduce American influence and cost many lives. The atomic bombs saved thousands of deaths on both sides by accelerating the war to a rapid close and saved many possible