Potsdam and the Decision to Drop the Bomb

Military USE After the battle of Okinawa, Truman sees the dropping of the bomb as a way to… 1. end the war quickly 2. save approximately 1 million US soldiers

Yalta Conference – Feb. 1945 Decisions Made for Post European War with USSR Soviet Union will help fight against Japan. Soviet Union will oversee Eastern Europe Allow Eastern Europe to have free and unfettered elections Gave much more into Stalin’s demands Churchill, FDR, and Stalin at Yalta

The Potsdam Conference July 1945 Truman, Stalin, and Churchill met to discuss Post War Europe and Japanese Surrender Tension over decisions about Post-War Eastern Europe Allies not as willing to give in to Stalin No longer needed him in Japan Could throw around their “might” Churchill, Truman, and Stalin

The Potsdam Conference July 1945 Truman stated that the US had a “powerful and destructive new weapon”, but did not say specifically that it was a nuclear bomb. Appeared Stalin did not grasp the significance of the weapon

Demand for an Unconditional Surrender

The Potsdam Declaration July 26, 1945: Japan is given an ultimatum, known as the Potsdam declaration: Japan must surrender immediately or face “prompt and utter destruction”. Implies that Emperor Hirohito would be removed from the throne. No mention of Soviet entry in the war or the atomic bomb.

Excerpt from the Potsdam Declaration: “We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces, and to provide proper and adequate assurances of their good faith in such action. The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction. “

Japan’s Response Japanese premier wanted to accept, could not convince military leaders Hint from Tokyo that government might surrender, in return that Japan could keep their emperor. US insisted on unconditional surrender, ie. No emperor, because believed these hints were coming from people who did not have power to follow through. (May have been right) Officially - Japan refuses to surrender and announces that it will “ignore” the Declaration.

Alternatives to dropping the bomb Drop the bomb or: Massive invasion of Japan, costing approximately 1 million Allied casualties Naval blockade to starve Japan and continued fire-bombing Demo of new weapon on deserted or scarcely populated island to pressure Japan to surrender Weaken Allied demands for an unconditional surrender Simply stop fighting

Consider this… "As long as America and England insist on unconditional surrender our country has no alternative but to see it through in an all-out effort for the sake of survival and the honor of the homeland." - Japanese prime minister Shigenori Togo in turning down surrender demand, July 11, 1945.

In-class notebook: Rank the options for ending the war in terms of 1 – best way to end the war to 6 – include the atomic bomb and the alternatives. (You may add a seventh option, if you see it as the best way to end the war.)

“Little boy” (uranium) “Fat man” (plutonium) “Little boy” (uranium)

Hiroshima – August 6, 1945 Chosen because of its large size, its being "an important army depot" and the potential that the bomb would cause greater destruction because the city was surrounded by hills Approximately 140,000 deaths by the end of 1945 About ½ on the day of the bombing Others died from injury or illness due to radiation The majority dead were civilians

Nagasaki – August 9, 1945 Nagasaki was one of the largest sea ports in southern Japan and was of great wartime importance because of its wide-ranging industrial activity, including the production of ordnance, ships, military equipment, and other war materials. Bombings prior to the Atomic Bomb caused concern and many civilians left for rural areas An area about 2.3 miles by 1.9 miles was destroyed Approximately 80,000 deaths by the end of 1945

In an August 1945 poll, 85% of Americans felt it was OK to use the atomic bomb. When the bombs dropped and news began to circulate that [the invasion] would not, after all, take place, that we would not be obliged to run up the beaches near Tokyo assault-firing while being mortared and shelled, for all the fake manliness of our facades we cried with relief and joy. We were going to live. We were going to grow up to adulthood after all. ~ Paul Fussell, age 21 in 1945