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- The leadership of the commission put forward the main criterion for the objects of attack
The United States, with the consent of the United Kingdom, as provided for in the Quebec Agreement, dropped nuclear weapons on Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945... It happened during the final stage of World War II. The two bombings, which killed at least 129,000 people, remain the most brutal use of nuclear weapons for war in human history.
The war in Europe came to an end when Nazi Germany signed act of surrender 8 may 1945 of the year. The Japanese, faced with the same fate, refused to surrender unconditionally. And the war continued. Together with the United Kingdom and China, the United States called for the unconditional surrender of the Japanese armed forces in the Potsdam Declaration of July 26, 1945. The Japanese Empire ignored this ultimatum.
How it all began: prerequisites nuclear bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Back in the fall of 1944, a meeting between the leadership of the United States and the United Kingdom took place. At this meeting, the leaders discussed the possibility of using atomic weapons in the fight against Japan. The year before, the Manhattan Project was launched, which involved the development of nuclear (atomic) weapons. Now this project was working with full force. First samples nuclear weapons were presented during the end of hostilities in European territory.
Causes of the nuclear bombing of Japanese cities
In the summer of 1954, the United States became the sole owners of nuclear weapons around the world, which they inflicted catastrophic damage to the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This weapon became a kind of regulator of relations between the longtime rival of the United States of America - the Soviet Union. This was despite the fact that in the current situation in the world, both powers were allies against Nazi Germany.
Japan suffered defeat, but this did not prevent the people from being strong morally. Japanese resistance was considered by many to be fanatical. This was confirmed by the frequent cases when Japanese pilots rammed other planes, ships or other military targets. Everything led to the fact that any enemy ground troops could be attacked by kamikaze pilots. The losses from such raids were expected to be large.
To a greater extent, it was this fact that was cited as an argument for the use of nuclear weapons by the United States against the Japanese Empire. However, there was no mention of the Potsdam Conference. There, as Churchill said, Stalin negotiated with the Japanese leadership on establishing a peaceful dialogue. For the most part, such proposals would go to both the United States and the United Kingdom. Japan was in a position where the industry was in a deplorable state, corruption was becoming something inevitable.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki as targets for attack
After the decision was made to attack Japan with nuclear weapons, the question arose about the choice of target. For this, a specialized committee was organized. Immediately after the signing of Germany's surrender, at the second meeting of the committee, the agenda of the meeting was the choice of cities for the atomic bombing.
The leadership of the commission put forward the main criterion for the objects of attack:
... Civilian objects were to be located near military targets (which were to become the immediate target).
... Cities should be important sites from the point of view of the country's economy, strategic side and psychological importance.
... The hit target should cause a great resonance in the world.
... Cities damaged during the war did not approach. As a result of the atomic bombing, you need to assess the degree of the destructive power of the weapon.
As a contender for the target of nuclear weapons testing, was the city of Kyoto. It was a large industrial center and, as an ancient capital, had historical value... The next contender was the city of Hiroshima. Its value lay in the fact that it had military warehouses and a military port. The military industry was concentrated in the city of Yokagama. A large military arsenal was based in the city of Kokura. From the list of potential targets, the city of Kyoto was excluded, despite the fact that it met the requirements, Stimson was unable to destroy the city with his historical heritage... Hiroshima and Kokura were chosen. An air raid was carried out on the city of Nagasaki, which provoked the evacuation of children from the entire area. Now the facility did not quite meet the requirements of the American leadership.
Later, there was a lot of discussion about fallback targets. If for some reason the selected cities cannot be attacked. The city of Niigata was chosen as insurance for Hiroshima. Nagasaki was chosen for the city of Kokura.
Before the direct bombardment, careful preparation was carried out.
The beginning of the nuclear bombing of Japan
It is impossible to single out a definite single date for the nuclear attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Both cities were attacked three days apart. The city of Hiroshima came under the first blow. The military distinguished themselves by a peculiar sense of humor. The dropped bomb was called "Kid" and destroyed the city on June 6. The operation was commanded by Colonel Tibbets.
The pilots believed that they were doing it all for the good. It was assumed that the end of the war would be the result of the bombing. Before taking off, the pilots visited the church. They also received ampoules with potassium cyanide. This was done to avoid the pilots being captured.
Before the bombing, reconnaissance operations were carried out in order to find out the weather conditions. The area was photographed to assess the extent of the explosion.
There were no extraneous factors involved in the bombing process. Everything went according to plan. The Japanese military did not see objects approaching the target cities, despite the fact that the weather was favorable.
After the explosion occurred, the "mushroom" was visible at a great distance. At the end of the war, newsreel footage of that region was edited and it turned out documentary about this terrible bombing.
The city that was to be attacked is the city of Kokura. On August 9, when a plane with a nuclear bomb ("Fat Man") on board circled over the target city, the weather made its own adjustments. High clouds became a hindrance. At the beginning of the ninth morning, two of the partner's planes were to meet at their destination. The second aircraft did not appear even after more than half an hour.
It was decided to bomb the city from one plane. Since time was lost, the aforementioned weather did not allow the city of Kokura to suffer. Early in the day, it was discovered that the aircraft's fuel pump was faulty. Combined with all the events (natural and technical), an aircraft with a nuclear weapon had no choice but to attack the safety city of Nagasaki. Landmark for dropping atomic bomb in the city, became a stadium. This is how the city of Kokura was saved and the city of Nagasaki was destroyed. The only "luck" of the city of Nagasaki was that the atomic bomb fell in the wrong place where it was originally planned. The place of her landing was further from residential buildings, which led to less severe destruction and less massive loss of life than in Hiroshima. People within a radius of just under a kilometer from the center of the explosion did not survive. After the explosion in the city of Hiroshima, a deadly tornado was formed. Its speed reached 60 km / h. This tornado was formed from numerous fires after the explosion. In the city of Nagasaki, the fires did not result in a blackout.
The results of a terrible tragedy and human experiment
After such a monstrous experiment, humanity has learned the terrible radiation sickness. Initially, doctors were concerned that the survivors suffered from symptoms of diarrhea, and then died, after a severe deterioration in health. In general, nuclear weapons are massive because of their destructive properties. If conventional weapons had one or two properties of destruction, then nuclear weapons have an extended range of action. It includes damage by light rays, which lead to skin burns, depending on the distance, until complete charring. The shock wave is capable of destroying concrete floors in houses, which leads to their collapse. AND horrible power, like radiation, haunts people to this day.
Even then, after the accomplished nuclear experiment in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, people could not even imagine the scale of the consequences. Those who survived directly, after the atomic explosions, began to die. And no one could handle it. Serious problems everyone who suffered, but survived, was in good health. Even years later, the echo of the American nuclear experiment echoed on the offspring of the victims. In addition to humans, animals were also affected, which subsequently gave birth to offspring with physical defects (such as two heads).
After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Soviet Union comes into conflict. The Americans have achieved their goal. Japan announced its surrender, but subject to the preservation of the current government. V Japanese media there was information about the end of hostilities. They were all on English language... The essence of the messages was that Japan's enemy possesses a terrible weapon. If hostilities continue, then such weapons can lead to the complete extermination of the nation. And they were right, it is pointless to fight with weapons of this scale, if one bombing can destroy all life within a radius of a kilometer and inflict huge losses at a greater distance from the center of the explosion.
General summary
After the horrific consequences nuclear explosion in Japan, the United States continued to develop atomic weapons and its longtime adversary, the Soviet Union, was involved in this process. It was the beginning of an era Cold war... The worst thing is that the actions of the American government were carefully thought out and planned. When developing nuclear weapons, it was clear that they bring colossal destruction and the number of deaths.
The cold-bloodedness with which american army prepared to assess the consequences of the destructive power of weapons. The obligatory presence of residential quarters, in the affected area, suggests that people in power are beginning to flirt with other people's lives, without any twinge of conscience.
In the city of Volgograd, there is a Hiroshima street. Despite participation in different sides military conflict, the Soviet Union helped the destroyed cities, and the name of the street testifies to humanity and mutual assistance in conditions of inhuman cruelty.
Today, young people, under the influence of propaganda and not reliable facts, have the opinion that atomic bombs were dropped by the Soviet army on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
MOSCOW, August 6 - RIA Novosti, Asuka Tokuyama, Vladimir Ardaev. When the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Sadao Yamamoto was 14 years old. He was weeding potatoes in the eastern part of the city, when all of a sudden his whole body burned like fire. The epicenter of the explosion was two and a half kilometers away. On that day, Sadao was supposed to go to school, which was located in the western part of Hiroshima, but remained at home. And if he did, then nothing could save the boy from instant death. Most likely, he would simply disappear, like thousands of other people, without a trace. The city has turned into a real hell.
"Burnt bodies of people, swollen and resembling rubber dolls, were piled up everywhere in disarray, eyes were white on the burned faces," recalls another survivor, Yoshiro Yamawaki.
"Kid" and "Fat Man"
Exactly 72 years ago, on August 6, 1945, at 8:15 am at an altitude of 576 meters above the Japanese city of Hiroshima, the American atomic bomb "Kid" with a capacity of only 13 to 18 kilotons in TNT equivalent was detonated - today even tactical nuclear weapons have more destructive force... But this "weak" (by today's standards) explosion instantly killed about 80 thousand people, including several tens of thousands simply disintegrated into molecules - only dark silhouettes on the walls and stones remained of them. The city was instantly engulfed in fire, which destroyed it.
Three days later, on August 9, at 11 hours 2 minutes, the "Fat Man" bomb with a capacity of 21 kilotons of TNT exploded at a height of half a kilometer above the city of Nagasaki. The number of casualties was about the same as in Hiroshima.
Radiation continued to kill people after the explosion - every year. Today total figure deaths and deaths from the atomic bombing of Japan in 1945 exceeded 450 thousand people.
Yoshiro Yamawaki was the same age, and he lived in Nagasaki. On August 9, Yoshiro was at home when the Fat Man bomb exploded two kilometers away. Fortunately, his mother and little brother and sister were evacuated and therefore were not injured in any way.
“My twin brother and I sat down at the table, about to have lunch, when suddenly we were blinded by a bright flash. Then a strong air wave swept through the house and literally blew it away. Just at that time, our older brother, a mobilized schoolboy, returned from the factory. they rushed to the bomb shelter and waited there for their father, but he never returned, "says Yoshiro Yamawaki.
"People died standing up"
The day after the explosion, Yoshiro and his brothers went in search of his father. They got to the factory - the bomb exploded just half a kilometer away. And the closer they got, the more terrifying pictures were revealed to them.
"On the bridge, we saw the ranks of the dead, standing at the railing on either side. They died standing. So they stood with their heads bowed, as if in prayer. And they also floated along the river. dead bodies... At the factory, we found the body of my father - it seemed that his dead face was laughing. The adults from the factory helped us cremate the body. We burned our father at the stake, but we did not dare to tell our mother about everything that we saw and experienced, "Yoshiro Yamawaki continues to recall.
“In the first post-war spring, sweet potatoes were planted in our schoolyard,” says Reiko Yamada. “But when they began to harvest, suddenly here and there screams began to be heard: along with the potatoes, human bones appeared from the ground. potatoes despite hunger. "
The day after the explosion, Sadao Yamamoto's mother asked Sadao Yamamoto to visit her younger sister, whose house was just 400 meters from the bombing site. But everything was destroyed there, and burnt bodies lay by the road.
"All Hiroshima is a big cemetery"
"To my mother's husband younger sister managed to get to the first aid station. We were all glad that my uncle had escaped wounds and burns, but, as it turned out, another, invisible trouble awaited him. Soon he began bloody vomit and we were informed that he had passed away. Seizing a huge dose of radiation, my uncle suddenly died of radiation sickness. It is radiation that is the most terrible consequence. atomic explosion, it kills a person not from the outside, but from the inside, "says Sadao Yamamoto.
Chorus of Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors sang about peaceIn the Peace Park of the city of Nagasaki, the choir "Himawari" ("Sunflower") traditionally sang the song "Never again" at the Statue of Peace, depicting a 10-meter giant, who points with his hand to the sky from where he came terrible tragedy 1945 of the year.“I would very much like all people - both children and adults - to know what was happening in the courtyard of my school on that terrible day. Together with our comrades, we collected money and in 2010 installed commemorative stele... The whole of Hiroshima is a large cemetery. I moved to Tokyo a long time ago, but until now, when I come to Hiroshima, I cannot calmly walk on its land, thinking: is there another dead unburied body lying here, under my foot? "- says Reiko Yamada.
"It is very important to free the world from nuclear weapons. Please do it! On July 7, the UN approved the first multilateral treaty banning nuclear weapons, but the largest nuclear powers - the United States and Russia - did not vote. Japan, which is located in under the US nuclear umbrella. We, the victims of the atomic bombing, are very saddened by this and want to call on the nuclear powers to lead the liberation of the world from these terrible weapons, "says Sadao Yamamoto.
The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is the only case in history when nuclear weapons were used for military purposes. He terrified humanity. This tragedy is one of the most terrible pages in the history of not only Japan, but the entire civilization. Almost half a million people were sacrificed to political goals: to force the USSR to enter the war with Japan, to force Japan to surrender in World War II and at the same time to frighten the Soviet Union and the whole world, demonstrating the power of a fundamentally new weapon, which will soon appear in the USSR as well.
On the final stage During World War II, on August 6 and 9, 1945, the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombarded with nuclear bombs dropped by the US military in an effort to hasten Japan's surrender. Since then, there have been many nuclear threats posed by various countries around the world, but nevertheless, only these two cities remain the only victims of a nuclear attack. Here are a few interesting facts about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which you may have never heard of.
10 PHOTOS
1. Oleander is the official flower of the city of Hiroshima, as it is the first plant to bloom after nuclear strike.
2. Six ginkgo trees growing about 1.6 km from the site of the bombing in Nagasaki were severely damaged in the explosion. Surprisingly, they all survived, and soon new buds appeared from the burnt tree trunks. Now the ginkgo tree is a symbol of hope in Japan. 
3. In Japanese there is a word hibakusha, which translates as "people exposed to the explosion." This is the name given to those who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 
4. Every year on August 6, a memorial ceremony is held at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, and at exactly 8:15 am (the time of the explosion), a minute of silence occurs. 
5. Hiroshima continues to advocate the abolition of all nuclear weapons, and the city's mayor is president of the movement for peace and the elimination of nuclear arsenal by 2020. 
6. In 1958 alone, the population of Hiroshima reached 410,000 and finally surpassed the pre-war population. Today, 1.2 million people live in the city. 
7. According to some estimates, about 10% of the victims of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings were Korean. Most of them were forced laborers producing weapons and ammunition for the Japanese military. Both cities still have large Korean communities today. 
8. Among the children born to those who were in Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the time of the explosion, no mutations or serious health problems have been identified. 
9. Despite this, the survivors of the bombing and their children were severely discriminated against, largely due to the prevailing public ignorance of the consequences of radiation sickness. Many of them found it difficult to find work or get married, as most people believed that radiation sickness was contagious and inherited. 
10. The famous Japanese giant monster Godzilla was originally coined as a metaphor for the explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
One bomb killed about 100,000 people
American military bomber B-19 dropped the atomic bomb "Kid" on the center of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The explosion occurred at 8.15 am at an altitude of 600 meters above the ground. A single explosion claimed the lives of about 100 thousand people.
Burning light radiation
The first thing that the residents of Hiroshima felt when hit by the bomb was a monstrous light emission: a blinding flash of light and a wave of suffocating heat. The heat was so intense that those who were closer to the epicenter of the explosion instantly turned to ash. The radiation destroyed people, leaving only dark silhouettes. human bodies on the walls, a dark pattern burned into the skin on clothes, the birds instantly burned in the air, and the paper ignited at a distance of 2 km from the epicenter of a nuclear strike.
Destructive shock wave
Following the light wave, which killed those who did not have time to hide in the shelter, the shock wave from the explosion hit the inhabitants of Hiroshima. Her power knocked people off their feet, throwing them across the street. Windows in buildings were shattered within a radius of 19 km from the explosion, glass turned into deadly crumbs. Almost all but the most durable buildings collapsed from the bombing in the city. Everyone who was less than 800 m from the epicenter was killed by the blast within a few minutes.
Fire tornado
The light radiation and the shock wave have caused numerous fires in the city. A few minutes after the explosion, a fire tornado swept over Hiroshima, which captured 11 square kilometers cities and moved to the epicenter of the explosion at a speed of 50-60 km per hour, sweeping away everything in its path.
Radiation sickness
Those who managed to escape from light emission, a shock wave and fires, a new unknown test awaited - radiation sickness. And a week after the nuclear strike, the number of deaths among the residents of Hiroshima began to grow again: the peak of the unexplored disease fell 3-4 weeks after the explosion, the "epidemic" began to recede after 7-8 weeks.
But for many decades, victims of the Hiroshima bombing continued to die from cancer, and women who were exposed to radiation from the explosion gave birth to children with genetic deviations.
Radioactive contamination
Residents of Hiroshima continued to become victims of radiation and long after the explosions. The population of the city was not evacuated from the areas contaminated with radiation, since in those years there was no concept of radioactive contamination... People continued to live and rebuild destroyed houses at the site of the nuclear explosion. And the high mortality rate among the townspeople in those years was not initially associated with exposure to radiation.
Hibakusha
In addition to the severe first shock after the bomb was hit, many Hiroshima residents experienced long-term psychological consequences nuclear explosion Hibakusha - this is how the Japanese call those who survived the atomic bombings and their descendants. V last years in the Land of the Rising Sun there are about 200 thousand of them. The Japanese government financially supports the victims of nuclear weapons. But among ordinary Japanese, hibakusha are considered outcasts. They are not hired, it is not customary to create families with them, believing that the consequences of radiation sickness can be inherited or even contagious.
Their only adversary in World War II was Japan, which was also soon to surrender. It was at this moment that the United States decided to show its military power... On August 6 and 9, they dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, after which Japan finally surrendered. AiF.ru recalls the stories of people who managed to survive this nightmare.
According to various sources, from the explosion itself and in the first weeks after it, from 90 to 166 thousand people died in Hiroshima, and from 60 to 80 thousand in Nagasaki. However, there were those who managed to stay alive.
In Japan, such people are called hibakusha or hibakusha. This category includes not only the survivors themselves, but also the second generation - children born to women who suffered from the explosions.
In March 2012, there were 210 thousand people officially recognized by the government as hibakusha, and more than 400 thousand did not survive until that moment.
Most of the remaining Hibakusha live in Japan. They receive some state support, but in Japanese society there is a prejudice against them, bordering on discrimination. For example, they and their children may not be hired, so sometimes they deliberately hide their status.
Miraculous salvation
An extraordinary story happened to the Japanese Tsutomu Yamaguchi, who survived both bombings. In the summer of 1945 young engineer Tsutomu Yamaguchi, who worked for Mitsubishi, went on a business trip to Hiroshima. When the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on the city, it was only 3 kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion.
The blast wave of Tsutomu Yamaguchi knocked out the eardrums, incredibly bright White light blinded him for a while. He received severe burns, but still survived. Yamaguchi reached the station, found his wounded colleagues and went home with them to Nagasaki, where he fell victim to the second bombing.
In an evil twist of fate, Tsutomu Yamaguchi was once again 3 kilometers from the epicenter. When he told his boss in the company office about what had happened to him in Hiroshima, the same white light suddenly flooded the room. Tsutomu Yamaguchi survived this explosion as well.
Two days later, he received another large dose of radiation, when he almost came close to the epicenter of the explosion, not knowing about the danger.
This was followed by years of rehabilitation, suffering and health problems. Tsutomu Yamaguchi's wife also suffered from the bombing - she fell under the black radioactive rain. Their children did not escape the consequences of radiation sickness, some of them died of cancer. Despite all this, Tsutomu Yamaguchi again got a job after the war, lived like everyone else and supported his family. Until old age, he tried not to attract special attention to himself.
In 2010, Tsutomu Yamaguchi passed away from cancer at the age of 93. He became the only person who was officially recognized by the Japanese government as a victim of the bombings in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Life is like a struggle
When the bomb fell on Nagasaki, a 16-year-old Sumiteru Taniguchi delivered mail on a bicycle. According to him own words, he saw something that looked like a rainbow, then the blast wave threw him off his bike to the ground and destroyed the nearby houses.
After the explosion, the teenager survived, but was seriously injured. The ripped skin hung in tatters from his arms, and there was none on his back. At the same time, according to Sumiteru Taniguchi, he did not feel pain, but his strength left him.
With difficulty he found other victims, but most of them died the next night after the explosion. Three days later, Sumiteru Taniguchi was rescued and taken to the hospital.
In 1946, an American photographer took the famous photograph of Sumiteru Taniguchi with horrific burns on his back. Body young man was disfigured for life
For several years after the war, Sumiteru Taniguchi could only lie on his stomach. He was discharged from the hospital in 1949, but his wounds were not properly treated until 1960. Sumiteru Taniguchi underwent 10 operations in total.
The recovery was aggravated by the fact that then people first encountered radiation sickness and did not yet know how to treat it.
This tragedy had a huge impact on Sumiteru Taniguchi. He devoted his entire life to the fight against the proliferation of nuclear weapons, became a renowned activist and chairman of the Council of victims of the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki.
Today, 84-year-old Sumiteru Taniguchi lectures around the world about the dire consequences of the use of nuclear weapons and why they must be abandoned.
Round orphan
For 16 year old Mikoso Iwasa August 6th was an ordinary hot summer day. He was in the courtyard of his house when the neighboring children suddenly saw a plane in the sky. Then an explosion followed. Despite the fact that the teenager was less than one and a half kilometers from the epicenter, the wall of the house protected him from the heat and the blast wave.
However, the relatives of Mikoso Iwasa were not so lucky. The boy's mother was at that time in the house, she was covered with debris, and she could not get out. He lost his father even before the explosion, but his sister was never found. So Mikoso Iwasa became an orphan.
And although Mikoso Iwasa miraculously escaped severe burns, he still received a huge dose of radiation. Due to radiation sickness, he lost his hair, his body was covered with a rash, his nose and gums began to bleed. He was diagnosed with cancer three times.
His life, like the lives of many other Hibakusha, turned into suffering. He was forced to live with this pain, with this invisible disease, for which there is no cure and which is slowly killing a person.
Among the Hibakusha, it is customary to remain silent about this, but Mikoso Iwasa did not remain silent. Instead, he took up the fight against the proliferation of nuclear weapons and helped other Hibakusha.
Today, Mikiso Iwasa is one of the three chairmen of the Japan Confederation of Atomic and Hydrogen Bomb Victims' Organizations.
Was it necessary to bomb Japan at all?
The debate about the expediency and ethical side of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki continues to this day.
Initially, the American authorities insisted that they were necessary to force Japan to surrender as soon as possible and thereby prevent losses among its own soldiers, which would have been possible during a US invasion of the Japanese islands.
However, according to many historians, the surrender of Japan even before the bombing was a decided matter. It was only a matter of time.
The decision to drop bombs on Japanese cities turned out to be rather political - the United States wanted to scare the Japanese and demonstrate its military power to the whole world.
It is also important to mention that not all American officials and high-ranking military personnel supported this decision. Among those who considered the bombing unnecessary were General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower, who later became the President of the United States.
Hibakusha's attitude to explosions is unequivocal. They believe that the tragedy they experienced should never be repeated in the history of mankind. And that is why some of them have dedicated their lives to the fight for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
