The Decision to Drop the Bomb

How Should We

 Remember the Dropping

 of the Atomic Bomb?

                           Authored by Laurence J. Sefren

Adapted from "Reading Like a Historian, Stanford History Educational Group," with excerpts from Three Narratives of our Humanity, by John W. Dower, 1996.

How should we remember the dropping of the atomic bomb? 

During today's Bookbuilder exercise each student will analyse  the following five primary source documents to determine if the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945 were justified.  Using the provided graphic organizer students will record their observations and analysis.  Students will determine what information the sources include, what is missing, in what historical context the source was created and do those documents justify the bombings.  At the bottom of the graphic organizer students will summerize in three to four sentences their cumulative analysis of all five documents and overall justify if the bombing were or were not justified.  Bookbuilder coaches will provide additional information, questions and resources.  Prior to this exercise students will be familiar with World War II and the Manhattan Project.

Two Historical Narratives are provided below:

The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as Victimization

"The Japanese still recall the war experience primarily in terms of their own victimization . For them, World War II calls to mind the deaths of family and acquaintances on distant battlefields, and, more vividly, the prolonged, systematic bombings of their cities. 

If it is argued that the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima was necessary to shock Japan to surrender, how does one justify the hasty bombing of Nagasaki only three days later, before the Japanese had time to investigate Hiroshima and formulate a response?"

The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as Triumph

"To most Americans, Hiroshima—the shattered, atomized , irradiated city – remains largely a symbol of triumph – marking the end of a horrendous global conflict and the effective demonstration of a weapon that has prevented another world war.

It is hard to imagine that the Japanese would have surrendered without the atomic bomb. Japanese battle plans that were in place when the bombs were dropped called for a massive, suicidal defense of the home islands, in which the imperial government would mobilize not only several million fighting men but also millions of ordinary citizens who had been trained and indoctrinated to resist to the end with primitive makeshift weapons. For Japanese to even discuss capitulation (surrender) was seditious (against the law)."

Source:  John Dower, “Three Narratives of Our Humanity,” in Edward T. Linenthal and Tom Engelhardt, eds., History Wars: The ‘Enola Gay’ and Other Battles for the American Past, (Metropolitan Books, 1996), 63-96.

Albert Einstein was one of the principle scientists involved in the Manhattan Project .  Einstein felt a major responsibility for how the atomic bomb would be used in the future as an instrument of both diplomacy and war.  This letter was written in March 1945 by Einstein to then President Roosevelt.  Five months later President Truman ordered two atomic bombs to be dropped on Japan.  Those bombs fell on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

Truman Threatens Japan With Atomic Attacks

In his radio address to the American people, on August 9, 1945, President Harry Truman speaks about the Hiroshima bombing, and reasserts his threat to use additional atomic bombs against Japan until it surrenders.

http://www.history.com/speeches/truman-threatens-japan-with-atomic-attacks

Leaflet air dropped by B-29s to Japan's citizens

One of my classmates, I think his name is Fujimoto, he muttered something and pointed outside the window,saying, "A B-29 is coming." He pointed outside with his finger. So I began to get up from my chair and asked him, "Where is it?" Looking in the direction that he was pointing towards, I got up on my feet, but I was not yet in an upright position when it happened. All I can remember was a pale lightening flash for two or three seconds. Then, I collapsed. I don’t know much time passed before I came to. It was awful, awful. The smoke was coming in from somewhere above the debris. Sandy dust was flying around. . . I crawled over the debris, trying to find someone who was still alive. Then, I found one of my classmates lying alive. I held him up in my arms. It is hard to tell, his skull was cracked open, his flesh was dangling out from his head. He had only one eye left, and it was looking right at me. . . . he told me to go away.  I began running, hands were trying to grab my ankles, they were asking me to take them along. I was only a child then. And I was horrified at so many hands trying to grab me. I was in pain, too. So all I could do was to get rid of them, it was terrible to say, but I kicked their hands away. I still feel bad about that. I went to Miyuki Bridge to get some water. At the river bank, I saw so many people collapsed there. . . I was small, so I pushed on the river along the small steps. The water was filled with dead people. I had to push the bodies aside to drink the muddy water. We didn't know anything about radioactivity that time. I stood up in the water and so many bodies were floating away along the stream. 

Source: Yoshitaka Kawamoto was thirteen years old. He was in the classroom at Zakoba-cho, 0.8 kilometers away from the hypocenter . He is now working as the director of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum , telling visitors from all over the world what the atomic bomb did to the people of Hiroshima.

Testimony of Yoshitaka Kawamoto, http://www.inicom.com/hibakusha/yoshitaka.html

The following are estimates of casualties resulting from the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagaski in August 1945.

                                   Hiroshima                      Nagasaki

Pre-raid population       255,000                        195,000

Dead                               66,000                          39,000

Injured                             69,000                          25,000

Total Casualties            135,000                          64,000

Cause of Immediate Deaths

                                       Hiroshima                 Nagasaki

Burns                                     60%                         90%

Falling debris                        30%                           5%

Other                                    10%                            5%

Source:  Statistics on the Atomic Bomb, http://www.atomicarchive.com/Docs/MED/med_chp10.shtml