ipl-logo

John Hersey Hiroshima Bombing

819 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Thesis on atomic bombings

From hand to hand contact to weapons of mass destruction, the technology used to fight wars has evolved immensely. Today in war, nations use rockets filled with nerve gas, a toxic gas that causes victims eyes to dilate, have cold limbs, and foam come from their mouth.1 This was a game changer that killed over 1,300 people.2 Another example of military weaponry is the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan in August of 1945. These events killed more than 140,000 people3. Historians have looked deeper into these bombings and have raised a serious question: Did these bombing contribute in any way to the end of WWII? Although the answer may not be clear, through historical data and research, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, …show more content…

John Hersey,in his novel “Hiroshima”, described it as “a tremendous flash of light (that) cut across the sky.”4 George Caron, who was on the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress aircraft that dropped “Little Boy”, wrote the following about the bombing of Hiroshima:
At the base of the cloud, fires were springing up everywhere amid the turbulent mass of smoke that had the appearance of bubbling hot tar. . . . The city we had seen so clearly in the daylight a few minutes before was now an ugly smudge. It had completely disappeared under this awful blanket of smoke and fire.5
One main reason, according to Ryan Browne, that the United States decided to bomb Hiroshima, was that Japan would most likely surrender from the war.6 However the Japanese Empire believed that the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was the only one the United States had in their possession, this belief placed by Army Minister Korechika Anami.7 Until the second bombing of Nagasaki. Three days after “Little Boy” blew up over the city of Hiroshima, another atomic bomb, “Fat Man”, was dropped over the city of Nagasaki at 11:02 a.m.8 This, like the bomb three days before, killed over 70,000 people instantly, coming to a combined total of over 140,000 people killed between the two bombings.9 The Japanese knew then that the United States would keeping bombing …show more content…

The Japanese army was decreasing in numbers until August 14 when the Japanese Emperor said over radio, “We have ordered our Government to communicate to the Governments of The United States, Great Britain, China, and The Soviet Union that our Empire accepts the provisions of their joint declaration.”11 The joint declaration asked for Japan’s unreserved submission.12 However, more questions were raised. Was the main reason Japan surrendered the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Would Japan have acquiesced if the United States decided not to flaunt their military superiority? Historical data has the

Show More
Related
651 Words | 3 Pages

This paper focuses on the failure of diplomatic decisions made by Japan that is national in nature most particularly when they chose to fight in the midst of an embargo made by the American government. The attack of Japan against Pearl Harbor is a result of an erratic, egoistic and irrational behavior blinding the Japanese Military Personnel and Officials of the destructive outcome of the World War 2 and a lack of diplomatic strategies that misled the communication between USA and

Read More
791 Words | 4 Pages

The U.S. should have been patient and thought of what the effects of their actions would be and not acted on it. Document C illustrates how Japan at the time was already deciding to surrender due to the influence of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Knowing how much damage it had done they were open to giving up to not have more things happen to them. Also, Document D discussed how using different tactics could have been acted upon. Frank stated “You see what sort of weapon we had but did not use”, this explains how one can give a warning, a statement but nothing was given a chance or an explanation.

Read More
1062 Words | 5 Pages

On July 26, 1945, an ultimatum known as the Potsdam Declaration was announced at the Potsdam Conference. This offer was created by the United States, China, and Great Britain and it called “for the unconditional surrender of Japan”(Encyclopedia Britannica). The Japanese Prime Minister at the time, Kantarō Suzuki, replied with “mokusatsu.” The translation was continuously disputed so no one is exactly sure what was said. President Harry S. Truman interpreted Suzuki’s response as a refusal to the surrender, so on August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, Japan.

Read More
807 Words | 4 Pages

The United States invasion of Japan led to numerous casualties and severe damage yet Japan stood its ground, proving it would fight to the death. At times violence is the answer; Japan had no intention of surrendering, no matter the consequence. U.S. Secretary of war, Henry Stimson, confirms that “only the complete destruction of her military power could open the way to lasting peace”.(Document B) Each day brought great suffering, and the only logical solution to dealing with millions of suicidal soldiers was to kill off the problem. After the Japanese repeatedly refused to surrender the United States was forced to put its nuclear warfare to use and bomb both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, doing what they believed was their only

Read More
1127 Words | 5 Pages

To conclude, the bombs dropped saved the lives of Americans and Japanese people supporting making the necessary decision by the military to drop the atomic

Read More
199 Words | 1 Pages

There was a constant debt in Japan on whether or not to accept the Potsdam Declaration. One of the major things that the Japanese wanted was for the United States to recognize Japan’s honor and existence. If the United States continued to force unconditional surrender on the Japanese then, according to the Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo, the Japanese would fight the war until the “bitter end” (Wainstock, 81). Ambassador Naotake Sato was willing to give into unconditional surrender as long as the United States preserved the imperial house (Wainstock, 82).

Read More
731 Words | 3 Pages

The effects on the town were very bad. The cemeteries were uprooted, the churches and houses were burned down, and even the T-bridge’s barrier was knocked away. People say they don't know why Japan doesn’t hate America for dropping the A-bomb. If I lived in Hiroshima, I would be terrified and very mad at America for dropping Little Boy. On August 15, 1945, Japan surrendered because they couldn't take it anymore.

Read More
676 Words | 3 Pages

Japan was weakening, “The food situation gradually becoming worse and worse…” Stated in source H. America had many industrial resources to use against Japan and so Japan had essentially been defeated. Japan pushed only for the sake of their countries honour as the shame of unconditional surrender goes against their code of honour. Furthermore a warning was given to Japan with America promising to drop the atomic bomb, however there was no evidence and so it could have easily been deemed a bluff. An American nuclear scientist stated, “A demonstration of the bomb best be made… Japan could then be asked to surrender.” This source seems somewhat reliable as it is from one of the American scientists and they would know the strength of the bomb.

Read More
513 Words | 3 Pages

It was a calm August morning in the year 1945, and citizens were out living their lives as normal, getting groceries, playing at the park, and walking to work, little did everyone in what was the beautiful town of Hiroshima know, there was an atomic bomb right above their heads. Boom. Simultaneously 70,000 innocent lives were lost. 30,000 more lives were taken later on due to the atomic bomb. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the two Japanese cities that the United dropped the Atomic Bomb on in 1945 to try & bring an end to World War 2.

Read More
213 Words | 1 Pages

The book Hiroshima by John Hersey recounts the events of August 6, 1945 when an American plane dropped the first atomic bomb on the residents of Hiroshima, Japan. The majority of the city was decimated and thousands of individuals had perished. Those who were spared from the explosion were scarred with crippling effects, horrible burns, radiation illness, and more. The book tells the story of six individuals who survived the bombing, and their experiences in the following days. These individuals include Dr. Fujii, a physician, Dr. Sasaki a surgeon for Red Cross, A reverend, by the name Mr. Kiyoshi Tanimoto, Father Kleinsorge, Mrs. Nakamura, and Miss Sanski.

Read More
852 Words | 4 Pages

Japan had to accept unconditional surrender; if they disagreed with that request, America would drop the bomb. What made the Japanese surrender was the retention of their emperor; anything else couldn’t have forced a Japanese surrender, including the attack of the atomic bomb. As Japan's Prime Minister Suzuki spelled out on June 9, 1945. “Should the Emperor system be abolished, they [the Japanese people] would lose all reason for existence…. [and have] no choice but to go on fighting to the last man” (Butow).

Read More
1412 Words | 6 Pages

S. President Harry Truman informed the world that an atomic weapon had been detonated on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Nicknamed Little Boy, the bomb with a power of over 20,000 tons of TNT destroyed most of Hiroshima, killing an estimated 130,000 people. Three days later in August 9, a second bomb nicknamed Fat Man was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki destroying most of Nagasaki and killing roughly between 60,000-70,000 people. Obviously, the bombs have oppose meaning to Japan.

Read More
1105 Words | 5 Pages

The blast wave resulting from the explosion caused windows within 10 miles to shatter and was felt up to 37 miles away from ground zero. The thermal pulse from the explosion ignited numerous fires in the city, incinerating all the buildings within 4.4 miles of ground zero. 30 minutes after the bomb exploded, a “black rain” containing highly radioactive particles that were sucked up into the air at the time of the explosion and during the fire started falling in areas northwest of Hiroshima, contaminating surrounding areas with radioactive particles. On August 9, 1945, at 11:02 a.m., the atomic bomb “Fat Man” was detonated above the city of Nagasaki. An implosion-type device with a core of

Read More
1840 Words | 8 Pages

If Japan agreed to the declaration, America would not drop the atomic bomb and Japan would

Read More
1038 Words | 5 Pages

Although the Japanese were in a compromised position, they refused to surrender making America take drastic

Read More

More about John Hersey Hiroshima Bombing

Related Topics

Open Document