United States Drops Atomic Bomb On Hiroshima In History Today, August 6, 1945

Atomic bomb explosion (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - On August 6, 1945, the city of Hiroshima in Japan was completely paralyzed. When World War II raged, United States troops dropped atomic bombs on the city. At least 80,000 people died as a direct result of the explosion and another 35,000 were injured. While another 60,000 died at the end of the year as a result of the bomb explosion.

Citing History, the atomic bomb explosion damaged vital things in the city such as hospitals, fire departments, police stations, and government agencies. The situation became full of confusion and uncertainty. Finally, the great fire that blazed from the explosions in every city completely devoured the victims.

The US is the only country that has ever used an atomic bomb in war. The US wanted Japan to surrender immediately and end World War II. US President Harry S. Truman at that time authorized the attack on Hiroshima. The US B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, dropped the nuclear bomb, codenamed 'Little Boy'.

Charles Maier, a professor of history at Harvard University, said that while Truman might have made other decisions, it would be difficult to justify to the American public why he was prolonging the war when these nuclear weapons were available.

"It seems (Truman) offers a potentially magical solution that will save you a lot of pain," Maier said, citing CNN.

Just 16 hours after Enola Gay carried out the bombing of Hiroshima City, the White House stated President Harry S. Truman.

He introduced the world to the secret atomic research program formerly known as the Manhattan Project, Truman doubling the threat of nuclear weapons against Japan, the US's only remaining enemy in the war. If the Japanese did not accept the terms of unconditional surrender drafted by Allied leaders in the Potsdam Declaration, Truman wrote, "they might expect a rain of destruction from the air, which has never been seen on this earth".

Atomic Bomb Explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Truman had been warned by several of his advisers that any attempt to attack Japan would result in horrific casualties, not only the Japanese but the Americans who were in Japan. But Truman ignored him, he continued to order that the development of nuclear weapons continue and be used quickly. But three days later, on August 9, 1945, the US again launched an atomic bomb at Japan, this time to another city, Nagasaki. However, Nagasaki was not really their goal.

Earlier, B-29 bombers took off from Tinian Island in the western Pacific Ocean, carrying the nearly 10,000-pound plutonium-based bomb known as the 'Fat Man.' The plane was bound for Kokura, home to Japanese weapons. But as Kokura was covered by the clouds, the B-29 crew finally headed for their secondary target, Nagasaki.

The atomic bomb on Nagasaki killed about half the population and was 40 percent more powerful than the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. A third of the city was destroyed by the bomb blast.

"This second demonstration of the power of the atomic bomb apparently sent Tokyo into a panic, because the next morning brought the first indications that the Japanese Empire was ready to surrender," Truman wrote later in his memoir. On August 15, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's unconditional surrender, ending World War II.

The USA and the atomic bomb

Although the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan marked the end of World War II, many historians argue that it also sparked the Cold War. US officials pushed for the development of atomic weapons and an "arms race" began. The Soviet Union and the US continued to develop atomic bombs, and the US made even more destructive bombs, namely the hydrogen bomb.

The US has been developing atomic weapons since 1940, after being warned that Nazi Germany was researching nuclear weapons. Albert Einstein wrote to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt about the research. Einstein warned of the threat of Germany's nuclear weapons program and urged the US to accelerate its own efforts.

"A single bomb of this type, carried on a ship and exploded in a port, might destroy the entire port and some of the area around it", Albert Einstein told US President Roosevelt in the letter, citing the CTBTO's official website.

The United States became the first country to use an atomic bomb, and the United States was also the first country to sign the Treaty on the Complete Prohibition of Nuclear Testing (CTBT). The CTBT was signed on September 24, 1996.

*Read other information about TODAY's HISTORY or read other interesting articles from Putri Ainur Islam

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