Aim: Should the USA have used the atomic bombs to end WWII, and how did it impact the people of Japan?

Europe 1941-1943 Europe 1944-1945

War in the Pacific – began in 1942 “Island-hopping” = attack specific islands to get closer to Japan It allowed the Allies to win strategic islands without investing precious time, resources, & American lives U.S. victory at Midway (1942) gave the Allies naval supremacy

Victories at Iwo Jima & Okinawa (1945) allowed for bombings on Japan The German surrender in May 1945, allowed the U.S. to turn its full attention towards Japan Victories at Iwo Jima & Okinawa (1945) allowed for bombings on Japan

The Japanese refused to play according to the Geneva Convention “rules” of war

The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb With no definitive end it sight, how would the Allies defeat Japan? The U.S. military favored a full-scale invasion of Tokyo by 1946 The Japanese refused to surrender & were arming civilians for an Allied invasion

A few years back… Albert Einstein’s Letter to FDR (1939) In the course of the last four months it has been made probable - through the work of Joliot in France as well as Fermi and Szilard in America - that it may become possible to set up a nuclear chain reaction in a large mass of uranium, by which vast amounts of power and large quantities of new radium-like elements would be generated. Now it appears almost certain that this could be achieved in the immediate future. This new phenomenon would also lead to the construction of bombs, and it is conceivable - though much less certain - that extremely powerful bombs of a new type may thus be constructed. A single bomb of this type, carried by boat and exploded in a port, might very well destroy the whole port together with some of the surrounding territory. However, such bombs might very well prove to be too heavy for transportation by air... Yours very truly, (Albert Einstein) Einstein sent a letter to F.D.R. on August 1939 regarding the construction of an atomic bomb. The letter helped start the American atomic bomb project, but the United States did not immediately begin a crash program to build nuclear weapons. Leo Szilard was a Germany refugee physicist who discovered the nuclear chain reaction as a means of liberating atomic energy and creating an atomic bomb. Szilard worked for the Manhattan Project's Chicago laboratory. Einstein’s letter was taken seriously and America prepared itself for a top secret nuclear program. PRIMARY SOURCE FROM - http://www.theenolagay.com/study.html#DECIDING%20TO%20BUILD%20THE%20BOMB

We have a “new weapon of unusual destructive force.” – Harry Truman Potsdam Conference (July 1945) Truman tells the Soviets that we have the atomic bomb We had begun the Manhattan Project in 1942 “I was perhaps five yards away, and I was sure that he (Stalin) had no idea of the significance of what he was being told.”

America the Story of US 38:00-42:00 When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and you argue about what to do about it only after you have had your technical success. That is the way it was with the atomic bomb. The atomic bomb made the prospect of future war unendurable. It has led us up those last few steps to the mountain pass; and beyond there is a different country. - Robert Oppenheimer America the Story of US 38:00-42:00

What are the pro’s and con’s of using atomic warfare during WWII? World War II was coming to an end. In the Pacific, Japan was in retreat. It had lost most of the lands it had conquered. The fighting became harder as the Americans came closer to Japan because many Japanese soldiers would rather die fighting than surrender. The Emperor they revered told them soldiers who died in battle would have a glorious afterlife. Japanese suicide pilots called “kamikazes” sank American ships by crashing their planes into them. It looked as though the Japanese would have to be subdued by a massive invasion. It would be difficult to attack Japan, an island country. An American invasion of Japan was planned for the fall of 1945. The invasion force would consist of some six million men. It was estimated that perhaps one million would be killed or wounded in the fighting that would take at least a year. Millions more Japanese are likely to die as well.   President Harry Truman was told that a secret atomic bomb had been successfully tested. There were only two bombs ready, and those bombs were quickly shipped to the Pacific. Truman wanted to end the war as quickly as possible. He faced the decision of whether to use the atomic bombs and, if he did use them, where to drop them. What should Truman do? What are the pro’s and con’s of using atomic warfare during WWII? From your homework, “The Decision to Drop the Bomb.” Did you agree with Truman’s justification? Decision?

Triumph & Tragedy in the Pacific In August 1945, the USA forced Japan to surrender by dropping 2 atomic bombs: August 6, 1945 – Atomic bombing of Hiroshima August 9, 1945 – Atomic bombing of Nagasaki Immediate effects of the atomic bomb? Saved hundreds of thousands of American (& Japanese) lives Revenge for Pearl Harbor Showed the USSR that the USA had the ultimate weapon (began the Cold War nuclear arms race)

Impact of Atomic Bombs on Japan Watch the National Geographic special “24 Hours After - Hiroshima”. Take notes on the following: Power and impact of the bomb Affects on people and objects Personal impact on people’s lives VIDEO (10:00-13:30 “…horrors that no child should ever experience.”  People exposed to the bombs are called Hibakusha Faced lifelong physical deformities Also faced stigma and discrimination in society

Nagasaki “Fat Man” Hiroshima “Little Boy” After the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Truman said “This is the greatest thing in history” and “Nobody is more disturbed over the use of atomic bombs than I am but I was greatly disturbed over the unwarranted attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor and their murder of our prisoners of war.”

Impact of Atomic Bombs on Japan The two bombs used on Japan were the only bombs ever used in combat (though many have been tested) We have to ask ourselves – Is the use of atomic/nuclear weaponry something we can allow in the future? The only case studies we have of the use in war are the cities of Hiroshima (death toll 150,000 + and Nagasaki (death toll 75,000+).

Kim Jong-un North Korea The Washington-based Institute for Science and international Security estimated last year that North Korea had 10 to 16 nuclear weapons at the end of 2014. Revised estimates mean that the total could now have between 13 and 21. The country is also believed to have four warheads. Each of the weapons are believed to have half the explosive power of those deployed by the US against Japan in WWII.

WWII Ends in the Pacific August 15, 1945 – unconditional surrender of Japan WWII is finally OVER! Japan would remain under US occupation for several years (1945- 1952) Significant reconstruction of the political system and economy! Occupational government run by General Douglas MacArthur

WW2 Timeline (Allies, Axis, USSR)

Legacy of WWII More deaths than ANY other war EVER – 51 million people worldwide United Nations was created in 1945 Goal – preserve peace in the world ally ALL countries together Nuremberg Trials and Tokyo Trials Goal – put military and gov’t officials on trial for “war crimes” especially “crimes against humanity”

Legacy of WWII Wartime industry ended the Great Depression expanded the size of the federal government ushered in an affluent decade The USA emerged as a world superpower developed a nuclear arsenal a Cold War against the USSR was coming next…