History Behind the Bombing

The U.S decided to drop the atomic bombs over Japan for many reasons. It was meant to end the World War and for revenge due to Japan bombing Pearl Harbor. While the war was still going on, Albert Einstein, a top scientist of the U.S. who was Jew that recently emigrated from Germany, sent a message to President Roosevelt. He stated in his message that a scientist over in Germany has successfully separated a nucleus from an atom. This made him concerned that Germany could be in the process of making nuclear weapons since they had the capability of being able to. He advised Roosevelt that the U.S. should be the first to make the atomic bomb. This motivated Roosevelt to pass the operation of the Manhattan Project, which involved gathering the top scientists of the country to team up and create the atomic bomb. He appointed J. Robert Oppenheimer as the head scientist despite the fact that he doesn't have as much experience and has never won a Nobel Prize. However, his knowledge of the practical aspects of constructing bomb earned his position. The group of scientists busied themselves with calculations that needed for the building of the bomb. This group contained many scientists who have won many Nobel Prizes and consisted of many physicists, chemists, and engineers. The location of the researching of creating the bomb was in Los Alamos National Laboratory over by Los Alamos, New Mexico, which was a total secret of the time. Once the bomb was constructed, they made two models, which were called "Little Boy" and the second one being "Fat Boy". The "Fat Boy" model was tested over in an unpopulated desert near Alamogordo, New Mexico exactly one month before bombing Japan. Sadly, President Roosevelt died before being able to see the defeat of Germany and suffered a stroke. His successor, Truman, was the one who authorized the bombing of Japan. During his term, the U.S. and other Allied troops were on the last few battle of fighting Japan. Once Okinawa was seized during the Battle of Okinawa by the U.S., it was confirmed that this was the last island, which needed to be seized before being able to invade the mainland since the island was only a few hundred miles away. However, Truman knew that if he'd send troops to invade the mainland, then it would take millions of lives. The Allies threatened Japan with "prompt and utter destruction" if the nation didn't surrender unconditionally, but they never replied. Truman ordered the military to drop the bomb. On August 6th, 1945, a B-29 bomber plane known as the Enola Gay dropped the "Little Boy" model of the bomb onto Hiroshima, which destroyed 76,000 buildings and about 120,000 people died instantly. This greatly petrified Japan. Three days later, the Soviet Union declares war on Japan and much later that day, the U.S. dropped the "Fat Boy" model of the bomb onto Nagasaki, which kills about 74,000 people. Stunned by the catastrophic destruction of the bombs and the fact that the Soviet Union joined the war, the Japanese emperor orders the Japanese to surrender. On the day of August 15th, 1945, V-J, which stood for victory in Japan day, marked the end of the World War, and America finally celebrated its victory.

History Channel Video on World War 2: 

   This is a video on the history of the World War 2 atomic bombing on Japan and some of the aftermath.

V-J Day Video: America Celebrates their Victory

   This is a video, which shows the celebration of America's victory over Japan and the official end of World War 2.

The Consequences of the Bombings on Japan: This is a video about the aftermath after Hiroshima and Nagasaki were hit by the atomic bombs. It shows how it affected people after the bomb physically and mentally.