Hiroshima’s fate, 70 years ago this week, must not be forgotten
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
In August 1945, during the
final stage of the Second World War, the United States dropped atomic bombs
on the Japanese cities ofHiroshima andNagasaki.
The two bombings, which killed at least 129,000 people, remain the only use of nuclear weapons
for warfare in history.
As the
war entered its sixth and final year, the Allies had
begun to prepare for what was anticipated to be a very costly invasion of the Japanese mainland. This was
preceded by an immensely destructive firebombing campaign that obliterated many Japanese cities.
The war in Europe had concluded when Nazi Germany signed its instrument of surrender on May 8, 1945, but
with the Japanese refusal to accept the Allies' demands for unconditional
surrender, the Pacific War dragged on. Together with the United
Kingdom and China, the United States called for the unconditional
surrender of the Japanese armed forces in the Potsdam Declaration on July 26, 1945;
this was buttressed with the threat of "prompt and utter
destruction".
By
August 1945, the Allied Manhattan
Project had
successfully detonated an atomic device in the New Mexico desert and subsequently produced
atomic weapons based on two alternate designs. The 509th Composite Group of the U.S. Army Air Forces was equipped with the specialized Silverplate version of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, that could
deliver them fromTinian in the Mariana Islands.
A
uranium gun-type atomic
bomb (Little Boy)
was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945,
followed by a plutonium implosion-type bomb (Fat Man)
on the city of Nagasaki on August 9.Little Boy exploded 2,000 feet above Hiroshima in
a blast equal to 12-15,000 tons of TNT, destroying five square miles of the
city. Within the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects of
the atomic bombings killed 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 39,000–80,000
in Nagasaki; roughly half of the deaths in each city occurred on the first day.
During the following months, large numbers died from the effect of burns, radiation sickness, and other injuries,
compounded by illness and malnutrition. In both cities, most of the dead were
civilians, although Hiroshima had a sizable military garrison.
On August 15, just days after the bombing of Nagasaki
and the Soviet Union's declaration of war, Japan announced its surrender to
the Allies. On September 2, it signed
the instrument of surrender, effectively
ending World War II. The bombings' role in Japan's surrender and their ethical
justification are still debated.
The mushroom cloud formed by the atomic bombing
of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Photograph: SuperStock/Corbis
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