ib_longmore


 * __ Was the American bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki justified? __**


 * Internal Assessment **
 * Thomas Longmore **
 * International School of Toulouse. **
 * 8/12/2013 **
 * Center Number: FR042 **
 * Candidate Number: ? **
 * Word Count: 1990 **

**“The only language (the Japanese) seem to understand is the one we have been using to bombard them. When you have to deal with a beast you have to treat him as a beast. It is most regrettable but nevertheless true.”** US President Harry S Truman, 11 August 1945. [1]
 * __ Table of Contents: __**
 * **__ Section A: Introduction __** || ** 3 **  ||
 * **__ Section B: Summary __** || ** 4 **  ||
 * **__ Section C: Analysis of Sources __** || ** 6 **  ||
 * **__ Section D: Analysis __** || ** 8 **  ||
 * **__ Section E: Conclusion __** || ** 10 **  ||
 * **__ Section F: References __** || ** 11 **  ||
 * **__ Appendices __** || ** 12 **  ||

The American bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is controversial. Particularly, it is often debated as to whether the Americans were correct to use them on the Japanese. There are various arguments on either side. I chose to look at this question because I have always have always held an instinctive view that the United States was wrong, and by choosing this question I will be able to decide with certainty after looking at the events in detail. I want to know what persuaded the Americans to use the bombs, or what failed to deter them. Have we learnt from the bombings? There hasn’t been a nuclear weapon used in war since Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I will analyze the each aspect which argues either side looking at various historians that share the view. Seeing where the arguments contradict or agree with each other will then help me decide which arguments are more accurate, and which should be ignored. I will use a range of books [2], articles [3] , internet sites [4] , and data [5] in order to strengthen and discover the points made. // Words: 181 //
 * __ Section A: Introduction __**

World War Two did not end in Germany with the death of Hitler: this simply marked the end of war in Europe. After Germany was defeated, the empire of Japan remained. Japan stood on its own against America, the other Allied powers; the Soviet Union was not at war with Japan until the very end. There was no chance of victory and many of the Japanese people knew this: even the Japanese emperor Hirohito wanted to surrender. However some leading politicians, the army and the navy opposed him. In Japan at the time Emperor Hirohito had less power than the Americans might have expected, “No one person in Japan had authority remotely resembling that of an American president” [6]. So even though Hirohito may have wanted to surrender he could not simply announce it. The generals and politicians did not necessarily believe that they were going to win the war they simply wanted to secure “honorable” terms, such as parts of Japans Empire in Manchuria, China and Korea; as well as Allied agreement to spare the country from occupation or war crimes indictments [7]. America did not want to continue fighting Japan. Many of the Japanese generals believed in the honor of battle and never to surrender. In many battles the Japanese fought to the last man. “Okinawa was smaller than Rhode Island: nevertheless, the battle that followed lasted nearly three months. More than 100,000 Japanese troops defended the island, fighting with suicidal tenacity. Waves of kamikaze planes attacked the American fleet, inflicting greater losses than the Japanese navy had managed over the past year.” [8] America called Japan to surrender with the “Postsdam Declaration” on the 26 July 1945. America warned that if they refused they would suffer “prompt and utter destruction” [9]. However Japan had already vowed to fight to the very end, the idea of surrender appeared cowardly to them. Between mid-April and mid-July 1945 the Allies received almost half the casualties taken in the three years of war in the pacific [10]. After the Japanese had ignored the calling for surrender, it was then when president Truman sent a B-26 bomber called Enola Gay with the world’s first atomic bomb (little boy) to Hiroshima on August 6 1945. The explosion killed an estimated 90 000, along with another 40 000 dying of wounds or radiation later that year, this being around 40% of Hiroshima’s population [11]. Only three days later another nuclear bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, which resulted in the death of a total of 80 000 by the end of the year. Nagasaki almost avoided destruction as the initial target was the city of Kukura, but the sky was too cloudy so the pilot flew over Nagasaki instead. [12] The papers of surrender were signed on September the 2nd 1945 [13]. In the years after Japans surrender, the bombs which destroyed Hiroshima and Nagisaki were generally known as the bombs that ended the war. “Labeled by historians as the “traditionalist” view” [14]. Although twenty years later some historians started to believe that the Americans may have had other reasons for dropping the atomic bombs and that they might have known that Japan was planning to surrender in the summer of 1945. President Truman has been criticized for not making the extent of the damage clear enough to the Japanese. // Words: 551 //
 * __ Section B: Summary __**

__ Source 1: ____ Extract from ____ Hastings Max, (2008). All Hell let Lose, the world at war 1939-45. Harper (ISBN: 0007338120). –Appendix A __ Source 1 is an extract originating Max Hasting’s book “All Hell let Lose”. In which he describes the events of the Second World War all the while giving his own opinions. In the beginning of the source he points out that “every day the war continued, prisoners and slaves of the Japanese Empire in Asia continued to die in thousands”, we know this was true, examples of this would be Unit 731 and the rape of Nanking. He makes a point in favor for the bombs, yet in the next sentence he argues that the bombs may have not been necessary at all if the terms of surrender were understood, and if the Japanese were warned properly. Truman’s warning of “prompt and utter destruction” is very vague; the Japanese could have seen the warning as a bluff or received it like a challenge. Giving the Japanese a proper ultimatum leading to the bombs becoming redundant is his assumption. We can’t know if he is right or not, however it wouldn’t there would have been at least a chance, and there would have been no down side. The purpose of the source was to inform, persuade and entertain the reader. Max wrote the book in telling the story of the Seconds World War, Max Hastings is a renowned Historian. When asked by the Guardian “What would you have done?” he concluded that had the Americans have known the state of Japan economically and morally they would have only had to wait for them to crumble. He believed that the Soviets declaring war on Japan had a greater impact of Japan’s decision to surrender than the bombs [15]. The source is very valuable as the author is a historian who’s opinions are worth considering and whose facts are reliable. __ Source 2: Ernie Pyle an American soldier and Journalist, he stated before his death in the Pacific quoted in ____ Hersey John, (1946) Hiroshima. Penguin [ONLINE] Available at: __ [] __. –Appendix B __ This source’s origin is a quote from a soldier who fought in the Pacific. Although he was a journalist, while fighting I doubt he was concerned about profit, its purpose was not to entertain. His experience as a journalist was probably what drove him to let others back in America see what was happening in the Pacific. It is valuable as we can see how the American soldiers felt about the Japanese. The source does not explain why however, it is limited in facts or any justifications. The primary source allows us to see how the Americans felt. This could be seen as a justification for the bombs as perhaps the war crimes committed by the Japanese caused the American soldiers to see them as to “subhuman”. On the other hand it could have been American propaganda preparing the American people and army to not be outraged by the use of the nuclear bombs, but to welcome the use of them. [16] If the Japanese were hated because of their war crimes, then surely it should be the Japanese military who is hated and not its people in general. The source just sais “the Japanese”, if it were the acts committed by the Japanese military would it be believed that all of the Japanese people are savage and the soldiers are the only ones in position to commit war crimes? Unit 731 is a strange point to put forward when justifying the bombs. [17] [18] // Words: 539 //
 * __ Section C: Analysis of Sources __**

There are many different arguments put forward when looking at the justifications of the bombs. I will look at each one individually and then will have the whole picture. Would the use of conventional weapons have led to less people dying? We know that before Hiroshima and Nagasaki other cities were being bombed. Starting in 1943 with the bombing of Tokyo, Kobe and Nagoya. Ministers started to recommend that children should leave cities under threat of being bombed. [19] Fire bombs were extremely effective. The Americans had burned 52 cities, with an estimated 200 000 casualties, half a million burned and 8 000 000 homeless [20]. The total casualties of the incendiaries and the atomic bombs are actually very close, however there were thousands of incendiaries dropped and only two nuclear bombs. The evidence given by the Second source in Section C shows how the Americanshad little respect for the Japanese people, they had no problem using incendiaries on the Japanese why should they with Atomic bombs? Had the Americans continued with incendiaries lives would have been saved. If the Americans had continued with incendiaries would the Japanese have surrendered on the 15th of August, later or at all? Did Emperor Hirohito want to surrender, if so could he? We know that after joining the axes Hirohito was in favor of sorting disputed with the allies peacefully. It was when he saw that no longer an option that he agreed to bomb Pearl Harbor. He was confident in the war as he had ordered his people to commit suicide rather than losing territory, leading to the death of 10 000 civilians. This was in the start of the war however, in the final year of the war Japan’s economy was crashing, he was certain of Japan’s defeat. We are not sure to this day which factor was most important in his decision to surrender. Was it more so the nuclear bombs or was it the USSR invading on the 9th of August 1945? It was Hirohito who over ruled the Supreme Council for the Direction of the War and announced Japans surrender on August 15th. There was a strong resistance to surrender as many people the Japanese code of Bushido – “The way of the warrior”. Japanese soldiers were never to be captured, never break down, and never surrender. [21] He may have been leaning towards surrender but would he have put his foot down if it were not for the bombs? Tsuyoshi Hasegawa [22] is famous in this area for arguing that the Soviets joining the war had the greatest influence on Japan’s surrender. [23] Where the Americans mainly motivated to end the war, test the power of the weapons, or display their weapons to the Soviets? The belief that the Americans were not just interested in ending the war by using the bombs is called conspiracy theories by many. In Section C the first source condemns Truman for not warning the Japanese properly. Truman may have given his vague warning of “utter destruction” [24] knowing that the Japanese wouldn’t surrender and then allowing him to test out his new weapon as well as show off to the Soviets. Historian Jeff Tenuth [25] believes that the bombs were not only meant to impress the USSR but even to end the war before the Soviets joined it, fearing that the USSR would gain territory and power. [26] // Words: 559 //
 * __ Section D: Analysis __**

In conclusion the use of the bombs was not necessary, as the Americans could have continued to bombs the Japanese with incendiaries and waited for the USSR to attack and for Japan’s economy to crumble. This is not answering whether or not the atomic bombs were justified however. The Americans could have done more to warn the Japanese. The Americans may have had other reasons to use the bombs apart from achieving Japan’s surrender. Is that so wrong though? Hiroshima and Nagasaki may have started the nuclear arms race between the USA and the USSR but perhaps it was what also stopped them from using their new weapons. When looking back at Truman’s decision we decide that it was a moral choice, for him was it not a military and political resolution? I still feel that the Americans where wrong, but that is just a feeling. I believe that the Americans were justified in their use of the nuclear bombs. // Words: 160 //
 * __ Section E: Conclusion __**

-Hastings Max, (2008). All Hell let Lose, the world at war 1939-45. Harper (ISBN: 0007338120) -Hersey John, (1946) Hiroshima. Penguin [ONLINE] Available at : [] -Laurence Rees, (2008).World War Two – Behind Closed Doors. BBC Books -Martin Gilbert, (1998). A History of the Twentieth Century, Volume II. Harper Collins - Ford Daniel. How many people died at Hiroshima in August 1945[ONLINE]. Available at: []. [last accessed: 13th September 2013] -Ford Daniel. Richard Frank: Why Truman Dropped the [ONLINE]. Available at: []. [last accessed: 13th September 2013] -Guyatt David. Unit 731 [ONLINE]. Available at:[]. [last accessed: 27th September 2013] -Hasegawa Tsuyoshi. The Atomic Bombs and the Soviet Invasion: What Drove Japan’s Decision to Surrender? [ONLINE]. Available at: [|www.japanfocus.org/-Tsuyoshi-Hasegawa/2501]. [last accessed: 8th October 2013] - Hastings Max. What would you have done? [ONLINE]. Available at: [] []. [last accessed: 27th September 2013] -Hoffmann Hubertus. Hiroshima: Hubertus Hoffmann meets the only U.S. Officer on both A-Missions and one of his Victims [ONLINE]. Available at []. [last accessed: 6th October 2013] -History Channel Editorial Team. The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki — History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts [ONLINE]. Available at: []. [last accessed: 13th September 2013] -Hume Mick. Hiroshima: the ‘WhiteMan’s Bomb’ revisited [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.marxsite.com/Hiroshima.html
 * __ Section F: References __**
 * __ Books: __**
 * __ Internet sites: __**
 * __ Photographs: __**

-Tenuth Jeff. Truman on Trial: Not Guilty [ONLINE]. Available at: hnn.us/article/182. [last accessed: 7th October 2013] -Philips Alan. Hiroshima: the first city destroyed by a nuclear weapon [ONLINE]. Available at: []. [last accessed: 18th September 2013] -Daniels [|Gordon]. Before Hiroshima: The Bombing of Japan 1944-45 | Published in [|History Today] [|Volume: 32 Issue: 1] [|1982] -Hamby Alonzo. Truman and the Bomb | Published in [|History Today] [|Volume: 45 Issue: 8] [|1995]
 * __ Articles: __**

**// Word Count (Total): 1990 //**

__ Appendix A __ //“Some of those who are today most critical of the use of bombs ignore the fact that every day the war continued, prisoners and slaves of the Japanese empire in Asia continued to die in thousands. Perversely, the Allies might have done more to confound Japan’s militarists by publicly announcing that they did not intend to invade the mainland, but instead to continue starving and bombing the Japanese people until they surrendered than by preparing for the Olympic// //. Truman’s greatest mistake, in protecting his own reputation, was failure to deliver an explicit ultimatum before attacking Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” // Extract from Hastings Max, (2008). All Hell let Lose, the world at war 1939-45. Harper (ISBN: 0007338120)
 * __ Appendices: __**

__ Appendix B: __ //“In Europe we felt that our enemies, horrible and deadly as they were, were still people. But out here I soon gathered that the Japanese were looked upon as something subhuman and repulsive, the way people feel about cockroaches and mice.”// Ernie Pyle an American soldier and Journalist, he stated before his death in the Pacific quoted in Hersey John, (1946) Hiroshima. Penguin [ONLINE] Available at: []

[1] -Harry Truman quoted from -Hume Mick. Hiroshima: the ‘WhiteMan’s Bomb’ revisited [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.marxsite.com/Hiroshima.html

[2] -Max Hastings, (2008). All Hell let Lose, the world at war 1939-45. Harper (ISBN: 0007338120) -Gilbert Martin, (1998). A History of the Twentieth Century, Volume II. Harper Collins -Rees Laurence, (2008)World War Two – Behind Closed Doors. BBC Books [3] -By Alonzo Hamby. Truman and the Bomb | Published in [|History Today] [|Volume: 45 Issue: 8] [|1995] -By [|Gordon Daniels]. Before Hiroshima: The Bombing of Japan 1944-45 | Published in [|History Today] [|Volume: 32 Issue: 1] [|1982] [4] -Hubertus Hoffmann. Hiroshima: Hubertus Hoffmann meets the only U.S. Officer on both A-Missions and one of his Victims [ONLINE]. Available at []. [last accessed: 6th October 2013]

-History Channel Editorial Team. The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki — History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts [ONLINE]. Available at: []. [last accessed: 13th September 2013]

[5] -Daniel Ford. How many people died at Hiroshima in August 1945[ONLINE]. Available at: []. [last accessed: 13th September 2013]

[6] Proffesor Akira Namamura of Dokkyo University quoted in Max Hastings, (2008). All Hell let Lose, the world at war 1939-45. Harper (ISBN: 0007338120) [7] Max Hastings, (2008). All Hell let Lose, the world at war 1939-45. Harper (ISBN: 0007338120) [8] Alonzo Hamby. Truman and the Bomb | Published in [|History Today] [|Volume: 45 Issue: 8] [|1995] [9] Quote of President Truman taken from-Rees Laurence, (2008)World War Two – Behind Closed Doors. BBC Books [10] -Rees Laurence, (2008)World War Two – Behind Closed Doors. BBC Books [11] -Daniel Ford. How many people died at Hiroshima in August 1945[ONLINE]. Available at: []. [last accessed: 13th September 2013]

[12] -Hoffmann Hubertus. Hiroshima: Hubertus Hoffmann meets the only U.S. Officer on both A-Missions and one of his Victims [ONLINE]. Available at []. [last accessed]: 6th October 2013] [13] -History Channel Editorial Team. The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki — History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts [ONLINE]. Available at: []. [last accessed: 13th September 2013]

[14] -Martin Gilbert, (1998). A History of the Twentieth Century, Volume II. Harper Collins

[15] - Hastings Max. What would you have done? [ONLINE]. Available at: [] []. [last accessed: 27th September 2013]

[16] -Ford Daniel. Richard Frank: Why Truman Dropped the [ONLINE]. Available at: []. [last accessed: 13th September 2013] [17] There are many terrible stories of experiments preformed. An example could be that the POWs were injected with diseases and then later a live dissection was performed so the results could be seen. There is no doubt in that what the scientists did was wrong but none of them were held on trial. The Americans exchanged the data on bio warfare they created for their freedom. [18] -Guyatt David. Unit 731 [ONLINE]. Available at:[]. [last accessed: 27th September 2013]

[19] 411 000 children had been evacuated by 1944. The Japanese saw their weakness before the Americans had. Their houses were made almost completely out of wood; Houses were destroyed in rings to stop the spread of fire in the city. 1 800 000 people had lost their homes because of the precaution. Japans had very little to protect its self from air raids, they had observation platforms and radar in order to give the alarm but were rarely able to respond with air fighters. America at first decided to use precisian bombing aiming for the factories in attempt to destroy Japan’s economy. After several attempts they had failed, it was honorable effort trying to avoid mass casualties. They resorted to using incendiaries. [20] - [|Gordon Daniels]. Before Hiroshima: The Bombing of Japan 1944-45 | Published in [|History Today] [|Volume: 32 Issue: 1] [|1982] [21] Many of the soldiers saw the idea dying preferable to that of surrender. When the Emperor announced Japan’s surrender by radio 200 Japanese military leaders committed suicide with samurai swords, literally not able to live when the war was lost. [22] Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, a Japanese historian, teaches at the University of California. [23] -Hasegawa Tsuyoshi. The Atomic Bombs and the Soviet Invasion: What Drove Japan’s Decision to Surrender? [ONLINE]. Available at: [|www.japanfocus.org/-Tsuyoshi-Hasegawa/2501]. [last accessed: 8th October 2013] [24] President Truman quoted in Laurence Rees, (2008).World War Two – Behind Closed Doors. BBC Books [25] Mr. Tenuth, Historian at the Indiana State Museum and Historic sites in Indianapolis [26] -Tenuth Jeff. Truman on Trial: Not Guilty [ONLINE]. Available at: __ hnn.us/article/182 __. [last accessed: 7th October 2013]