Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb
Background Key Question Directions Materials Handouts
Image
Fat Man Nagasaki Atomic Bomb
Background
World War II was fought by millions of people in all corners of the world. There were battles and military posts in surprising places. The Caribbean and Central America, Greenland, Alaska, and the Aleutian Islands, Iraq, Syria, Burma, and the Arctic are a few of the little known places that were involved. Every major country of the time was involved in the war.
Conflict in the Pacific began well before the official start of World War II. Seeking raw materials to fuel its growing industries, Japan invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931. By 1937 Japan controlled large sections of China and accusations of war crimes against the Chinese people became commonplace. At this time, several treaties were in place to limit the size of navies in the Pacific Ocean. In 1934, Japan ended its cooperation with other major powers in the Pacific by withdrawing from the Five Power Treaty. The United States, along with other countries, criticized Japanese aggression but shied away from any economic or military punishments.
Relations between the United States and Japan worsened when Japanese forces took aim at Indochina with the goal of capturing oil rich areas of the East Indies. Responding to this threat, the United States placed an embargo on scrap metal, oil, and aviation fuel heading to Japan and froze Japanese assets in the United States. Furthermore, the United States demanded that the Japanese withdraw from conquered areas of China and Indochina. Japan, sensing conflict was inevitable, began planning for an attack on Pearl Harbor by April, 1941.
The Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, brought the United States officially into World War II. In the surprise attack, Japan sunk several ships, destroyed hundreds of planes and ended thousands of lives. The Japanese goal was to cripple the U.S. Pacific fleet, and they nearly succeeded. President Franklin Roosevelt called the attack “a day which will live in infamy,” and the American people were shocked and angered.
The ensuing war was costly. Years of fighting brought the US armed forces closer and closer to Japan as they “hopped” from one island to another. The Japanese were vicious fighters, however, and every victory cost more time, material, and, sadly, lives. The last major battle, the fight for Okinawa, lasted almost three months and took more than 100,000 Japanese and American lives.
After President Roosevelt died on April 12th, 1945, it became Harry Truman’s job to decide how to end the war. The thought of invading Japan gave Truman and his advisors pause. The war had shown that the Japanese were fighting for the Emperor who convinced them that it was better to die than surrender. Women and children had been taught how to kill with basic weapons. Japanese kamikaze pilots could turn planes into guided missiles. The cost of invasion, they knew, would be high.
Upon becoming president, Harry Truman learned of the Manhattan Project, a secret scientific effort to create an atomic bomb. After a successful test of the weapon, Truman issued the Potsdam Declaration demanding the unconditional surrender of the Japanese government, warning of “prompt and utter destruction.” Eleven days later, on August 6, 1945, having received no reply, an American bomber called the Enola Gay left the Tinian Island in route toward Japan. In the belly of the bomber was “Little Boy,” an atomic bomb. At 8:15 am Hiroshima time, “Little Boy” was dropped. The result was approximately 80,000 deaths in just the first few minutes. Thousands died later from radiation sickness. On August 9, 1945, another bomber was in route to Japan, only this time they were heading for Nagasaki with “Fat Man,” another atomic bomb. After the first minute of dropping “Fat Man,” 39,000 men, women and children were killed. 25,000 more were injured. Both cities were leveled from the bombs and this, in turn, forced Japan to surrender to the United States. The war was finally over.
Today, historians continue to debate this decision. Was there another way to end the war?
投放原子弹的决定
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背景
第二次世界大战席卷全球，数百万民众在世界各地浴血奋战。许多鲜为人知的地方也出现了战斗和军事据点。加勒比海和中美洲、格陵兰岛、阿拉斯加和阿留申群岛、伊拉克、叙利亚、缅甸以及北极地区，都是鲜为人知的参战地点。当时几乎所有主要国家都卷入了这场战争。
太平洋冲突早在第二次世界大战正式爆发之前就已经开始。为了获取原材料以推动其工业发展，日本于1931年入侵中国东北的满洲省。到1937年，日本控制了中国大片领土，对中国人民犯下战争罪行的指控也屡见不鲜。当时，一些条约限制了太平洋地区各国海军的规模。1934年，日本退出《五国同盟条约》，终止了与太平洋其他主要强国的合作。美国与其他国家一道谴责日本的侵略行径，但却避免采取任何经济或军事制裁。
当日军将目标转向印度支那，企图夺取东印度群岛的石油资源时，美日关系进一步恶化。为应对这一威胁，美国对运往日本的废金属、石油和航空燃料实施禁运，并冻结了日本在美国的资产。此外，美国还要求日军从其占领的中国和印度支那地区撤军。日本意识到冲突不可避免，于1941年4月开始策划偷袭珍珠港。
1941年12月7日，日本偷袭珍珠港，正式将美国卷入第二次世界大战。在这次突袭中，日本击沉了数艘舰船，摧毁了数百架飞机，并造成数千人丧生。日本的目标是重创美国太平洋舰队，而他们几乎成功了。富兰克林·罗斯福总统称这次袭击是“永载史册的耻辱之日”，美国民众震惊不已，义愤填膺。
随后的战争代价惨重。数年的战斗使美军在各个岛屿间辗转腾挪，不断逼近日本本土。然而，日军顽强抵抗，每一次胜利都意味着更多的时间、物资，以及令人痛心的生命损失。最后一场大规模战役——冲绳岛战役——持续了近三个月，夺去了超过十万名日美两国士兵的生命。
1945年4月12日罗斯福总统去世后，如何结束战争的重任落在了哈里·杜鲁门的肩上。入侵日本的想法令杜鲁门和他的顾问们犹豫不决。战争表明，日本人是在为天皇而战，天皇说服他们宁死不投降。妇女和儿童被教导如何使用简易武器杀人。日本神风特攻队飞行员能够将飞机变成制导导弹。他们深知，入侵的代价将十分高昂。
哈里·杜鲁门就任总统后，得知了曼哈顿计划——一项秘密研制原子弹的科学计划。在原子弹试验成功后，杜鲁门发表了《波茨坦公告》，要求日本政府无条件投降，并警告将“迅速彻底地摧毁”日本。11天后，即1945年8月6日，由于没有收到任何回复，一架名为“埃诺拉·盖伊”号的美国轰炸机从提尼安岛起飞，飞往日本。轰炸机的机腹中载着原子弹“小男孩”。广岛时间上午8点15分，“小男孩”被投下。短短几分钟内，约有8万人丧生。之后，又有数千人死于辐射病。1945年8月9日，另一架轰炸机飞往日本，这次的目标是长崎，携带的是另一颗原子弹“胖子”。 “胖子”原子弹投下后的第一分钟，就有39000名男女老幼丧生，另有25000人受伤。两座城市都被原子弹夷为平地，这迫使日本向美国投降。战争终于结束了。
如今，历史学家仍在争论这一决定。难道就没有其他结束战争的方法吗？
Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb
Background Key Question Directions Materials Handouts
Image
Fat Man Nagasaki Atomic Bomb
Background
World War II was fought by millions of people in all corners of the world. There were battles and military posts in surprising places. The Caribbean and Central America, Greenland, Alaska, and the Aleutian Islands, Iraq, Syria, Burma, and the Arctic are a few of the little known places that were involved. Every major country of the time was involved in the war.
Conflict in the Pacific began well before the official start of World War II. Seeking raw materials to fuel its growing industries, Japan invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931. By 1937 Japan controlled large sections of China and accusations of war crimes against the Chinese people became commonplace. At this time, several treaties were in place to limit the size of navies in the Pacific Ocean. In 1934, Japan ended its cooperation with other major powers in the Pacific by withdrawing from the Five Power Treaty. The United States, along with other countries, criticized Japanese aggression but shied away from any economic or military punishments.
Relations between the United States and Japan worsened when Japanese forces took aim at Indochina with the goal of capturing oil rich areas of the East Indies. Responding to this threat, the United States placed an embargo on scrap metal, oil, and aviation fuel heading to Japan and froze Japanese assets in the United States. Furthermore, the United States demanded that the Japanese withdraw from conquered areas of China and Indochina. Japan, sensing conflict was inevitable, began planning for an attack on Pearl Harbor by April, 1941.
The Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, brought the United States officially into World War II. In the surprise attack, Japan sunk several ships, destroyed hundreds of planes and ended thousands of lives. The Japanese goal was to cripple the U.S. Pacific fleet, and they nearly succeeded. President Franklin Roosevelt called the attack “a day which will live in infamy,” and the American people were shocked and angered.
The ensuing war was costly. Years of fighting brought the US armed forces closer and closer to Japan as they “hopped” from one island to another. The Japanese were vicious fighters, however, and every victory cost more time, material, and, sadly, lives. The last major battle, the fight for Okinawa, lasted almost three months and took more than 100,000 Japanese and American lives.
After President Roosevelt died on April 12th, 1945, it became Harry Truman’s job to decide how to end the war. The thought of invading Japan gave Truman and his advisors pause. The war had shown that the Japanese were fighting for the Emperor who convinced them that it was better to die than surrender. Women and children had been taught how to kill with basic weapons. Japanese kamikaze pilots could turn planes into guided missiles. The cost of invasion, they knew, would be high.
Upon becoming president, Harry Truman learned of the Manhattan Project, a secret scientific effort to create an atomic bomb. After a successful test of the weapon, Truman issued the Potsdam Declaration demanding the unconditional surrender of the Japanese government, warning of “prompt and utter destruction.” Eleven days later, on August 6, 1945, having received no reply, an American bomber called the Enola Gay left the Tinian Island in route toward Japan. In the belly of the bomber was “Little Boy,” an atomic bomb. At 8:15 am Hiroshima time, “Little Boy” was dropped. The result was approximately 80,000 deaths in just the first few minutes. Thousands died later from radiation sickness. On August 9, 1945, another bomber was in route to Japan, only this time they were heading for Nagasaki with “Fat Man,” another atomic bomb. After the first minute of dropping “Fat Man,” 39,000 men, women and children were killed. 25,000 more were injured. Both cities were leveled from the bombs and this, in turn, forced Japan to surrender to the United States. The war was finally over.
Today, historians continue to debate this decision. Was there another way to end the war?