History of the Bombing The atomic bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki occurred in August 1945 when the Second World War was at its final stage. An American B-29 bomber dropped the first atomic bomb on August 6, 1945 over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion practically killed 80,000 people wiping out 90% of the Hiroshima city. Many other people died later as a result of the radiation exposure. A second United States B-29 bomber dropped another A-bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki which killed an estimation of 40,000 people. The two bombings have remained as the only use of nuclear weapons in war in the world’s history.
Later on, on August 15, 1945, Japan’s Emperor Hirohito made an announcement in a radio address that his country had unconditionally surrendered in the World War II. He cited the reason for the surrender as a result of the “Devastating power of a new and most cruel bomb” (History. com Staff, 2009). This essay aims at describing the history of the nuclear bombing in Japan in the end of the second World War, the politics in Japan, United States and other nations that contributed to the bombing and the medical effects that the bombing caused to the people.
Hiroshima was a city of military and industrial significance at the time the bombing occurred. It was a supply and logistics base from the military of Japan though very minor. It still had large stockpiles of military supplies and also acted as the communication canter. It was also an assembly area for the war troops as well as a port for shipping. It was due to the fact that Hiroshima was the second largest city in Japan after Kyoto that its bombing greatly affected the city if Japan leading to its surrender in the World War II.
This is because a large area had been destroyed and over 129,000 people killed while others died later to the impact of the bombing. Nagasaki on the other hand had been among the largest seaports in the south of Japan. It was greatly important during wartime due to the fact that it had wide-ranging industrial activity which included the production of ships, Ordnance, important military equipment as well as other war Materials. Such materials could be significant during war and thus the city played a key role during war.
Many of the buildings in the Nagasaki city were old-fashioned consisting of Japanese construction which majorly consists of wood or even woodframe buildings with walls of wood and tile roofs. Many of the smaller businesses and industries established in the city were also situated in woods buildings or different materials which could not withstand explosions. President Harry S. Truman, August 9, 1945 stated that: “I realize the tragic significance of the atomic bomb … It is an awful responsibility which has come to us … We thank God that it has come to us, instead of to our enemies; and we pray that He may guide us to use it in His ways and for His purposes.
“Yamamura (2012)stated that: “Because of the hilly topology of Nagasaki and thefact that the bomb missed its target, the damage in Nagasaki wasless than that in Hiroshima. ” World War II Politics A group of American scientists which consists of refugees from fascist regimes mostly in Europe were concerned with the nuclear weapons even before the outbreak of the war in the year 1939.
Research on the nuclear weapons was conducted in Nazi Germany. The United States on the other hand begun funding a development program ofits own atomic weapons though it worked jointly with the Office of Scientific Research and Development as well as the War Department after United States had entered in the World War II. As the time for the trinity test continued, the Allied powers had already defeated Germany in Europe. It was then that Japan vowed to fight even if to a bitter end in the pacific even though they knew they had a very little chance of winning.
When President Harry Truman took office between mid-April 1945 and mid-July, the Japanese forces inflicted the Allied casualties and thus proved that Japan was now deadly in facing defeat. Later in July, the Japan’s military government rejected the demand that was allied for surrender that was displayed in the Potsdam declaration. It threatened Japanese with prompt as well as utter destruction if they ever considered refusing (History. com Staff, 2009).
