This tragedy occurred in August 1945. The terrible consequences of a nuclear explosion in Hiroshima and Nagasaki are not known to everyone. This decision will forever remain a bloody stain on the conscience of the Americans who made it.
Although former US President Barack Obama even once stood up for Harry Truman in an interview, explaining that leaders often have to make difficult decisions. But this was not just a difficult decision - thousands of innocent people died only because the authorities of both states fought. How it was? And what are the consequences of the explosion in Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Today we will examine this topic in more detail and explain what reasons made Truman make such a decision.
Power conflict
It should be noted that the Japanese "started first." In 1941, they dealt an unexpected blow to a US military base, which is located on the island of Oahu. The base was called Pearl Harbor. As a result of a military attack, 1,177 of 1,400 soldiers died.
In 1945, Japan remained the only US adversary in World War II, which also soon had to surrender. However, the emperor stubbornly refused to capitulate and did not accept the proposed conditions.
It was at this point that the US government decided to show its military power and, probably, to avenge Pearl Harbor. On August 6 and 9, they dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, after which Harry Truman gave a speech in which he asked God to tell him how to use such a powerful weapon. In response, the emperor of Japan noted that he did not want more victims and was ready to accept unbearable conditions.
America explained its decision to drop nuclear bombs on Japan is quite simple. "The Americans said that in the summer of 1945 it was necessary to start a war with Japan on the territory of the metropolis itself. The Japanese, by resisting, could cause numerous losses to the American people. The authorities claimed that the atomic attack saved many lives. If they didn’t, there would be much more victims, "one expert claims. That is, simply put, the bombs were dropped for only one purpose: to show their own military power not only to Japan, but to the whole world. First of all, the American government sought to demonstrate its capabilities of the USSR.
It is noteworthy that Barack Obama became the first president to visit Hiroshima. Alas, Nagasaki was not in his program, which greatly upset the residents of the city, especially the relatives of the victims of the explosion. The Japanese apologized over the 74 years that have passed since the bombing of the cities have not heard from any US president. However, no one apologized for Pearl Harbor either.
Scary decision
Initially, the government planned to make the target of bombing only military installations. However, they soon decided that the defeat of these objects will not give the desired psychological effect. Moreover, the government sought to test the destructive effect of a new toy - a nuclear bomb - in action. It was not in vain that they spent about $ 25 million on the manufacture of a single bomb.
In May 1945, Harry Truman received a list of victim cities and had to approve it. It included Kyoto (the main center of Japanese industry), Hiroshima (due to the country's largest warehouse with ammunition), Yokohama (due to the numerous defense plants located in the city) and Kokura (it was considered the country's largest military arsenal). As you can see, the long-suffering Nagasaki was not on the list. According to the Americans, the nuclear bombing was supposed to have not so much a military as a psychological effect. After it, the Japanese government was obliged to abandon further military struggle.
Kyoto saved the miracle. This city was also a cultural and scientific-technical center. Its destruction would throw Japan in a civilizational sense decades ago. However, Kyoto was saved due to the sentimentality of US Secretary of War Henry Stimson. He spent a honeymoon there in his youth, he has fond memories of him. As a result, Kyoto was replaced by Nagasaki. And Yokohama was deleted from the list, cynically considering that she had already suffered from military bombing. This did not allow us to fully assess the damage caused by nuclear weapons.
But why did only Nagasaki and Hiroshima suffer as a result? The fact is that Kokura was hidden by fog when American pilots got to him. And they decided to fly to Nagasaki, which was flagged as a fallback.
How it was?
A bomb codenamed “Baby” was dropped on Hiroshima, and “Fat Man” on Nagasaki. It is noteworthy that the “Kid” should have done less damage, but the city is located on a plain, which entailed the destruction of a huge scale. Nagasaki suffered less because it is located in the valleys that divide the city in half. The explosion in Hiroshima killed 135,000 people, and 50,000 in Nagasaki.
It is noteworthy that most Japanese profess Shintoism, however, in these cities the number of Christians is the largest. Moreover, in Hiroshima, a nuclear bomb was dropped over the church.
Nagasaki and Hiroshima after the explosion
People who were in the center of the explosion died instantly - their bodies turned to ash. Survivors described a blinding flash of light, followed by incredible heat. And behind it - a blasting wave knocking down, which destroyed the people in the buildings. Within a few minutes, 90% of people who were at a distance of up to 800 meters from the epicenter of the explosion died. It is noteworthy that almost a quarter of all those killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were actually Koreans mobilized to participate in the war.
The photo below captures Hiroshima after the explosion.
Soon, fires occurring in different parts of the cities turned into a fiery tornado. He captured over 11 square kilometers of territory, killing everyone who did not manage to get out after the explosion from Hiroshima. The survivors of the explosion were rewarded with terrible scars, as the burned skin simply fell off the body.
The explosion incinerated the bodies of many victims in seconds. From the people who were close to the buildings, there were only black shadows. The epicenter of the explosion fell on the Aioy Bridge, on which remained the shadows of dozens of victims. Photo of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the explosion, you can see in this article.
Memories of the victims
In memory of this monstrous action, photos of Hiroshima after the nuclear explosion remained.
In numerous interviews, residents shared their eerie stories. People in Hiroshima after the explosion did not understand what happened. They saw a bright flash of light that seemed brighter than the sun. A flash blinded them, and then a shock wave of terrible force followed, which cast victims 5-10 meters away. So, Shigeko, who survived a nuclear explosion, says that on her hand there was a memory of that terrible tragedy - traces of radiation burns. The woman recalls that after the explosion she saw bloodied people in torn clothes. Stunned by the explosion, they rose, but walked very slowly, forming lines. It was like a procession of zombies. They flocked to the river, some simply died in the water.
Shortly after the explosion, black rain began. The force of the explosion caused a short radioactive shower that hit the ground with sticky black water.
Experts say that people affected by radiation can’t think sensibly. They have a tendency to follow the man in front. Victims claim that they heard nothing and felt nothing. They seemed to be in a cocoon. Photo of Hiroshima after the explosion - not for the faint of heart. This guy in the picture was lucky - most of his body was saved by clothes and a cap.
Moreover, people after the explosion in Hiroshima and Nagasaki slowly died for several days, because there was no place to wait for help. The fact is that the Japanese government did not immediately respond to what had happened, since fragments of very confusing messages reached them. They were sent before the explosion by frightened residents of the city. As a result, many victims were delirious for several days, without water, food, or medical care. After all, hospitals, like most of their employees, were destroyed by the explosion. Those whom the bomb did not kill immediately died in agony of infections, bleeding and burns. Perhaps they suffered more than those whose bodies the explosion turned to ashes.
Keiko Ogura in August 1945 was only 8 years old, but she did not forget how she saw people whose intestines tumbled out of the abdominal cavity, and they walked, holding the insides with their hands. Others, like ghosts, wandered, holding their hands forward with charred shreds of skin, as it was painful for them to lower them.
Eyewitnesses say that all the wounded were thirsty. They prayed for water, but it was not there. The survivors afterwards told that they felt guilty: it seemed to many that they could help at least someone, save at least one life. But they wanted to live so much that they ignored the pleas of the victims littered with debris.
This is a recollection of the Japanese military: “A kindergarten was located near the military barracks. The kindergarten was engulfed in fire, and I saw seven or eight children running here and there in search of help. But I had a military mission. I left that place without rendering help children. And now I ask myself, how could I not help these kids? "
Another eyewitness recalled that not far from the epicenter of the explosion was a charred tram. From the distance it seemed that there were people inside. However, when approaching, one could notice: they are dead. The bomb ray hit the transport along with the blast wave. Those who held on to the straps hung in them.
High mortality rate
Many people suffered from radiation sickness after the Hiroshima explosion (pictured here). Alas, then people still did not know how to treat radiation administration. Hiroshima and Nagasaki after a nuclear explosion resembled a desert with a few surviving buildings.
Survivors mostly died of radiation sickness symptoms. However, doctors considered vomiting and diarrhea a sign of dysentery. The first officially recognized victim of radiation was actress Midori Naka, who, having survived the explosion in Hiroshima, died on August 24 of that year. This became an incentive for doctors who began to look for ways to treat radiation sickness. After the explosion in Hiroshima, nearly 2,000 people died from oncology, but in the first days after the tragedy, tens of thousands died from severe exposure. Many survivors suffered from severe psychological trauma, because most of them saw with their own eyes the deaths of people, among whom were often their relatives.
In addition, then there was no such thing as radioactive contamination. Surviving people again rebuilt their homes in the same places in which they lived before. This explains the numerous diseases of residents of both cities and genetic mutations in children born a little later. Although French scientists who have analyzed medical research data claim that everything is not so bad.
Exposure to radiation
The results showed that radioactive radiation does indeed increase the risk of cancer. At the same time, no statistically significant cases of health damage in children who survived the blow were noted, the French say.
Most survivors have been observed by doctors throughout their lives. In total, about 100,000 survivors took part in the studies. No matter how cynical it may sound, the information received was very useful, as it allowed us to evaluate the effects of radiation and even calculate the dose received by each depending on the distance from the epicenter of the explosion.
In patients who received medium doses of radiation, cancer developed in 10% of cases. In those who were nearby, the risk of oncological tumors increased by 44%. A high dose of radiation reduced life expectancy by an average of 1.3 years.
The most famous survivor of the bombing
The conclusion of scientists is confirmed by the stories of people who survived the tragedy. So, the young engineer Tsutomu Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on the very day when the atomic bomb was thrown at her. With severe burns, the young man with great difficulty returned home - to Nagasaki. However, this city was exposed to radioactive effects. However, Tsutomu survived the second explosion. Together with him, two more explosions survived 164 people.
Two days later, Tsutomu received another large dose of radiation, when he almost came close to the center of the explosion, not knowing about the danger. Of course, these events could not but affect his health. He was treated for many years, but continued to work and support his family. Some of his children died from oncology. Tsutomu himself died of a tumor at the age of 93.
Hibakusha - who are they?
This is the name of the people who survived the nuclear bombing. Hibakusha is translated from Japanese as "people exposed to the explosion." This word to some extent characterizes the outcasts, which today number about 193,000.
Their long years after the explosion in Hiroshima and Nagasaki escaped other members of society. Hibakusha often had to hide his past, as they were afraid to take them for work, fearing that radiation was contagious. Moreover, often the parents of young people who wanted to marry, forbade the union of lovers, if the chosen one or the chosen one was a person who survived the atomic bombing. They believed that what had happened could adversely affect the genes of these people.
Hibakusha receive little financial assistance from the state, like their children, but it is not able to compensate for the attitude of society. Fortunately, today the Japanese are massively changing their minds about the victims of the atomic bombing. Many of them support the rejection of the use of nuclear energy.
Conclusion
Do you know why the oleander is the official symbol of Hiroshima? This is the first plant that bloomed after a terrible tragedy. 6 ginkgo biloba trees also survived, which are still alive. This suggests that, no matter how people strive to destroy each other and spoil the climate, nature is still stronger than human cruelty.