During the Second World War, the Japanese Empire conquered parts of China, Southeast Asia, and islands throughout the Pacific. Their imperial expansion seemed unstoppable to the United States, recovering from Japan's surprise attack on the U.S. naval base, Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. However, the U.S. was able to conquer the Pacific islands controlled by the Japanese. Soon, over 60 of Japan's largest industrial cities became targets of the U.S. military's firebombing campaign that scorched the island nation. Despite the mass casualties and destruction, Japan refused to surrender. U.S. military officials feared the only way to defeat Japan was a full-scale invasion, until the secret government-funded "Manhattan Project" succeeded in making the world's first nuclear weapon, the atom bomb. Once Hiroshima and Nagasaki were selected as the primary targets, history would never be the same.
The United States dropped the first of two atomic bombs on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing more than 70,000 people instantly. A second bomb followed three days later over Nagasaki and killed 40,000 more.
The most commonly expressed justification for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings has been that they brought a halt to a war that would have otherwise claimed many more American lives. It was believed that America’s only alternative to an atomic assault was an invasion of Japan, which would have almost certainly involved the loss of thousands more US soldiers.
The United States dropped the first of two atomic bombs on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing more than 70,000 people instantly. A second bomb followed three days later over Nagasaki and killed 40,000 more.
The most commonly expressed justification for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings has been that they brought a halt to a war that would have otherwise claimed many more American lives. It was believed that America’s only alternative to an atomic assault was an invasion of Japan, which would have almost certainly involved the loss of thousands more US soldiers.
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WARNING: The video below is from a Japanese anime based on the mange Barefoot Gen. The creator, Keiji Nakazawa, was living in Hiroshima at the age of 6 when the atomic bomb was dropped. The manga and film below tell his experience of the atomic bomb and its destructive power. Even though the film uses animation or cartoons to portray the event, I must remind you that this video IS NOT FUNNY. This is a serious topic and the author uses animation and art as a way to portray the horrors he experienced as a young child. NO ONE SHOULD BE LAUGHING WHILE WATCHING THIS VIDEO.
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Images of Firebombing of Japan
Images of the Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki
Survivor Testimonies
Hiroshima survivors tell their stories of the horrific aftermath of the explosion.
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Yasuaki Yamashita describes the moment an atomic bomb hit the city of Nagasaki. He was five years old at the time.
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