Japan's Potsdam Declaration on August 6 and 9, 1945, at the end of the Pacific War There will be a big event that will make you accept.
That is the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. is.
Hiroshima and Hiroshima / Nagasaki and Nagasaki
When I hear Hiroshima, am I the only one who remembers Hiroshima Toyo Carp and Momiji Manju?
Then, [ Hiroshima ] What about when it is written?
If you've learned the history of World War II, it might come as a surprise, but "Hiroshima" written in katakana has a special meaning, which is [the place where the atomic bomb was dropped. ] Means.
[Hiroshima] and [Nagasaki] when writing about the atomic bombing to symbolize the name of the town where nuclear weapons were used for the first time in human history. Is katakana notation Has been done.
Flow of atomic bomb development
World War II was Germany / Italy / Japan [ Axis powers ] And America / UK / Soviet [ Allies ] Was in conflict. Actually, this atomic bomb was dropped by the United States on Japan, but Britain, Soviet Union, Germany, Japan Also said that it was proceeding with its development.
Among these countries, Germany was the most advanced atomic physics at that time . was. However, at that time Germany had a policy of persecution against Jews and executed innocent people.
Jewish Scientist to escape German persecution They are in exile in the United States and have a sense of crisis about Hitler's inhumane deeds. ] I was thinking.
Jewish scientists Leo Szilard and others advised President Roosevelt of the United States to study the atomic bomb. Thus, in the United States, the atomic bomb development plan [ Manhattan Project ] Has started.
As mentioned above, the development of the American atomic bomb was initially a plan with Germany in mind . was.
However, as the war progresses, [the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan] begins to be considered.
When Germany surrenders on May 8, 1945, Japan's atomic bombing will become a reality.
Why were Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Background of the decision to drop the atomic bomb
The atomic bomb will be dropped by the military personnel and scientists involved in the research, and the city where the atomic bomb will be dropped will be decided and approved by the president.
Candidates for the atomic bombing base
Since a bomb is dropped on an enemy country, it is inevitable to choose a place where the effect of destruction is greatest at that time, and the condition is [ a region where the population is concentrated and a city with a direct line area of 5 km or more . strong> ] And [ Cities that have not been hit by air raids by August ] It seems that it was.
First of all, military personnel and scientists listed [ Kyoto as a candidate site for dropping the atomic bomb. 】was.
However, President Tollman said that the candidate site for the atomic bombing was [ military facility . I strongly opposed the fact that I emphasized the presence or absence of the above, and I did not want to intentionally sacrifice many unrelated people, no matter how much the war would cost the citizens.
If the atomic bomb was dropped on Kyoto, where many ordinary citizens live, without major military facilities, it would definitely be criticized by the international community, and the image of the United States would be bad and it would be against the national interest. Also, it seems that there were many historical buildings.
The bombed areas may have been "Hiroshima" and "Kokura"
After various discussions, it is Hiroshima City, Kokura City (Fukuoka Prefecture), Nagasaki City that will drop the atomic bomb. It was decided.
In particular, Hiroshima is a wide flat land surrounded by mountains, which has a great effect and is also suitable for measuring the power of the atomic bomb, so it was decided to be the first landing site. Of course, many citizens lived in Hiroshima, but the port of Hiroshima is a supply base for military supplies . Since it was a military city, the president had no reason to oppose it.
For this reason, August 6, 1945, 8:15 am , The world's first nuclear bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in a real battle.
The U.S. military immediately prepares for the second shot, Kokura I went to.
August 9 A fighter plane loaded with an atomic bomb arrived over Kokura, but a problem occurred here. In the sky above Kokura, the smoke of a big fire in the neighboring city that was hit by the air raid the day before covered the city of Kokura, and the drop target could not be confirmed.
Therefore, I gave up dropping the atomic bomb on Kokura and headed for Nagasaki with my feet.
And August 9th, 11:02 am The second atomic bomb exploded over Nagasaki.
Impact of the atomic bombing
It is said that the dropping of the atomic bomb killed many people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki due to heat rays, blast waves, and radiation, and those near the hypocenter evaporated due to the tremendous heat. This atomic bombing has instilled fear of nuclear war not only in Japan but all over the world.
After the end of the war, did each country really need to drop the atomic bomb on the United States? I often discussed that.
Reasons for dropping the atomic bomb claimed by the United States
The United States [strong> dropped an atomic bomb to end the war early in order to avoid the mainland American decisive battle ] And many Americans also have this idea I'm out.
However, just before the atomic bombing, Japan had already lost many people due to the indiscriminate airstrikes in more than 100 cities in the United States, and Japan no longer had the power to continue the war. Some American soldiers at the time thought that Japan had surrendered without dropping the atomic bomb.
Why did Japan not surrender before the atomic bomb was dropped?
Surrender had to accept the terms offered by the Allies.
The Allies have sent Japan [ unconditional surrender ] Was requested. Japan is [ national polity protection ] In short, surrender without changing the way the country has been This unconditional surrender was a big headache because I was thinking about it.
If you accept this unconditional surrender, the emperor will be judged as a war criminal and the emperor system will be abolished And the national polity cannot be protected. That was the worst thing for Japan.
Why the United States chose to drop the atomic bomb
Those who knew the situation in Japan said, [ The war will end if the surrender conditions are modified so that the emperor system can be maintained rather than dropping the atomic bomb . It seems that some people advised the president, but President Tollman did not accept it.
There are various speculations about this.
I wanted to actually drop the atomic bomb and check its power
We couldn't finish without using the hugely expensive nuclear bomb. Since the experiment did not reveal any damage to the city or human body, it is said that he wanted to actually drop it and collect data.
To show the power of the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union
Capitalist America and Socialist Soviet Conflict in the same Allies had.
By dropping the atomic bomb, it is believed that the United States showed its power to the Soviet Union and tried to take control of the post-WWII world.
Finally ...
From the development of the atomic bomb to the dropping, various people are involved, and the reasons for the dropping and various political reasons are mixed, so I do not know which is true, but with this dropping of the atomic bomb, the world will become more nuclear. We have entered an era of development competition.