Hiroshima & Nagasaki

Postdam Declaration July 26, 1945 – “We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the unconstitutional surrender of all Japanese armed forces…the alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction.”

Little Boy & the Enola Gay Little Boy – uranium bomb Weighs 9,700 pounds 10 feet tall Equal to 200,000 regular bombs Enola Gay – B-29 bomber Piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets, Jr. & 11 crew Bomb was activated after it was released & took 45 seconds to explode 1900 feet above Hiroshima “I knew we did the right thing… I thought, yes, we’re going to kill a lot of people, but by God we’re going to save lives.”

Hiroshima – August 6, 1945 Industrial City Bomb – ball of fire spread 3 miles, temperature over 5,000F – Everything within one mile vaporized Winds – shock wave went 7 miles in 30 seconds Damage over 25 miles

Fat Man & Nagasaki August 9, 1945 – industrial ship building city for Japanese navy Fat Boy – plutonium A-bomb – much bigger Exploded at 1,800 ft Mountains helped to limit destruction

Aftermath More than 90% of buildings in Hiroshima destroyed After the initial blast – nuclear fallout- radioactive particles are carried for miles 45,000 killed by immediate blast in Hiroshima & 22,000 in Nagasaki – thousands more die of other injuries Black Rain – 30 mins after the bomb, black, sticky rain fell and spread radioactive material to more people Radiation released enters the cells of a body and can kill days, weeks, months, or years after the bombing

Survivors - Hibakusha Suffered from radiation burns, people’s bones melted inside their bodies, radiation poisoning, disfigured No medical attention Radiation Sickness – hair loss, bleeding in the gums & under skin, weight loss, diarrhea – start dying within 10 days Cancer – leukemia… “Red spots appeared on my body, my throat hurt, I couldn’t eat, I had a temperature, my gums bled, and my hair fell out. For twenty days I remained in bed, on the verge of death.” – Mikiso Iwasa, Hiroshima survivor

Japanese Surrender August 15, 1945 V-J Day “The United States has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives.” – Emperor Hirohito to Japanese people Sept. 15th, signing of surrender aboard the U.S.S. Missouri

Rebuilding U.S. aid workers & soldiers went to help rebuild afterwards Peace Memorial Park Hibakusha – survivors faced discrimination due to disfigured Hiroshima Maidens – 25 Hiroshima survivors were brought to NYC to have 127 operations to help improve the disfigurement “Because of my disfigured face, people often threw stones at me and mocked me, saying, ‘A monster is coming!” – Yamaoka Michiko

Resources Books: Hiroshima by Stewart Ross The Manhattan Project by Dan Elish Why did Hiroshima Happen? by R.G. Grant HBO Documentary: White Light, Black Rain Websites: www.city.nagasaki.lg.jp/peace/english/kids/higai.html www.ducksters.com/history/world_war_ii/ww2_atomic_bomb.php http://atomicbombmuseum.org