A-Bomb Didn’t End WWII

Nagasaki Remembered

Rewriting history after WWII, Nagasaki has been all but forgotten, while the atomic bombing of civilian Japanese cities, are credited for ending the war. The bombing were unnecessary.

Following the surrender of Nazi Germany and the Soviet declaration of war against Japan, Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki had already acknowledged, “the game is up.”

“The bombing of Nagasaki occurred in the late morning of August 9, after the Supreme Council had already begun meeting to discuss surrender, and word of the bombing only reached Japan’s leaders in the early afternoon — after the meeting of the Supreme Council had been adjourned in deadlock and the full cabinet had been called to take up the discussion.” — Foreign Policy

President Truman and his advisors were well aware of Japan’s intentions to surrender. Instead, fearing Soviet influence in East Asia, American leaders used the civilians of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a barbaric display of American military power and willingness to destroy entire populations.

“The leaders of that era chose to kill hundreds of thousands, instead.” — Quartz

It is important that America remember history accurately — that we cite the atrocities of our leaders, commemorate the innocent lives lost and recall the tragic stories of survivors.

Cited:

  1. The Bomb Didn’t Beat Japan… Stalin Did, Foreign Policy
  2. A Guide to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Attacks, Jacobin
  3. It’s clear the US should not have bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Quartz