The tragic atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: was it necessary, a crime of the Second World War. Hiroshima: before and after the nuclear bombings What happened to Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On the morning of August 6, 1945, the American B-29 Enola Gay bomber dropped the Little Boy atomic bomb, equivalent to 13 to 18 kilotons of TNT, on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
Those closest to the epicenter of the explosion died instantly, their bodies turned to coal. Birds flying past burned in the air, and dry flammable materials (for example, paper) ignited at a distance of up to 2 km from the epicenter. The light radiation burned the dark pattern of clothing into the skin and left silhouettes of human bodies on the walls.
The number of deaths from the direct impact of the explosion ranged from 70 to 80 thousand people. By the end of 1945, due to radioactive contamination and other delayed effects of the explosion, the total number of deaths ranged from 90 to 166 thousand people. After 5 years, the total death toll, including deaths from cancer and other long-term effects of the explosion, could reach or even exceed 200 thousand people.
The role of atomic bombings in the surrender of Japan and their ethical justification are still the subject of scientific and public debate. But what remains indisputable is that the civilians of Hiroshima suffered terribly, although they were not to blame for anything. And politicians are obliged to do everything to ensure that such a tragedy can never happen again.
A pre-war photograph of a busy shopping district in Hiroshima.
The Chamber of Industry building, near the Motoyasugawa River, Hiroshima, the remains of which were preserved after the nuclear explosion and are now called the "Atomic Bomb House" or "Peace Memorial".
Street of Temples, in pre-war Hiroshima. This area was completely destroyed.
Traditional, Japanese sailing ships against a background of wooden houses, in Hiroshima before the explosion.
An aerial view of the densely populated area of Hiroshima along the Motoyasugawa River, which bore the brunt of the nuclear attack and was completely destroyed.
Hiroshima Railway Station, between 1912 and 1945.
Port of Hiroshima.
On August 6, 1945, an American B-29 bomber dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. About 80,000 people are believed to have been killed, and another 60,000 survivors died from injuries and exposure to radiation by 1950.
Survivors of the first atomic bomb wait for emergency medical treatment in Hiroshima, Japan, August 6, 1945.
Shortly after an atomic bomb is dropped over the Japanese city of Hiroshima, survivors receive emergency treatment from military doctors. August 6, 1945.
People return to Hiroshima, a month after the nuclear explosion.
Japanese troops participating in the aftermath of a nuclear explosion rest in the Hiroshima railway station, which survived the bombing.
Some tram lines have been restored to service in devastated Hiroshima.
One of several Japanese fire engines that arrived in Hiroshima shortly after the bombing.
Hiroshima after the nuclear bombing.
A Japanese woman and her child, injured in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, lie on a blanket on the floor of a damaged bank building converted into a hospital near the city center. October 6, 1945.
Hiroshima a month after the nuclear bombing.
Traces from a nuclear explosion: from the bridge railing and from a person standing on the bridge.
Post Office, Hiroshima. Traces of a nuclear explosion on the walls.
Traces of an explosion on a gas tank.
Two Japanese men sit in a makeshift office created in a destroyed building in Hiroshima.
Nagarekawa, a Methodist church among the ruins of Hiroshima.
Ruins left after the atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima.
Photo of Hiroshima after the atomic bombing.
A Japanese soldier in the Hiroshima area, in September 1945.
How many people died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the atomic explosion?
- By the end of 1945, about 140 thousand people had died in Hiroshima. Many died from the effects of the explosion over the following decades.
On August 6, 2007, a list of 5,221 names of bombing survivors who died within the past year was enclosed in the granite pedestal of the Hiroshima memorial. As a result, the total number of victims of the bombing increased to 253 thousand.
In Nagasaki, by the end of 1945, about 74 thousand people died. The total number of victims of the Nagasaki bombing exceeds 143 thousand.
There is no exact information about the number of deaths during the explosions and shortly after them. The "Records of the Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki" states:
"Many factors contributed to this lack of information. Among them were the paralysis of administrative functions in the aftermath of the bombing and the failure of the post-war government to initiate a proper investigation. Another obstacle was the long-lasting nature of the disorganization associated with the effects of the atomic bomb... There were countless cases in which people wounded on August 9 died after fleeing "to areas outside the city and prefecture, but their deaths were not recorded as a result of the atomic bombing. At that time, due to lack of knowledge about radioactive contamination, many deaths from radiation were described as consequences of disease."
- It seems about 350 thousand!! :(
- At the time of the attack the population was about 245 thousand people. Within a few minutes, 90% of people who were at a distance of 800 meters or less from the epicenter of the explosion died. The number of deaths from the direct impact of the explosion ranged from 70 to 80 thousand people. The concept of radioactive contamination did not yet exist in those years; the population was not evacuated from contaminated areas, since no one knew about the very presence of radioactive contamination. The survivors continued to live on the territory of Hiroshima. A large number subsequently died from exposure. On August 6, 1949, the Japanese government declared Hiroshima a city of peace and decided to develop the city. Part of the funds from the state budget was transferred to restore the city. In the area of the epicenter of the explosion, the Peace Memorial Park was created, with an area of more than 12 hectares. At the beginning of the 1960s, Hiroshima was almost completely restored. The territory of the city increased due to the annexation of neighboring settlements.
- Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945, at 8:15 a.m. local time, an American B-29 Enola Gay bomber, piloted by Paul Tibbetts and bombardier Tom Ferebee, dropped the first atomic bomb, called the Baby, on Hiroshima. A significant part of the city was destroyed, 70 thousand people were killed in the explosion, another 60 thousand died from radiation sickness, burns and wounds. In the first six months after the bombing, 140 thousand people died.Nagasaki
On August 9, 1945, at 11:02 am, the second (after Hiroshima) US nuclear attack on Japan was carried out on Nagasaki: an American bomber dropped the Fat Man bomb, which led to catastrophic destruction and mass casualties.
killed - 73,884, maimed - 74,909, several hundred thousand died subsequently.
In the post-war years, the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear bombs developed in the United States was widely discussed. Disputes about this episode, which claimed thousands of innocent lives, are still raging. Let's consider the chronology of events before that fateful day and its consequences.
The history of the creation of a nuclear bomb in the USA
In the 1940s, the United States became a pioneer in the use of nuclear weapons. The impetus for accelerating development was a message that Franklin Roosevelt received:
- according to one version, the famous scientist Otto Gann wrote a message about this in 1939;
- according to another version, Albert Einstein himself reported this.
In any case, the emergence of such destructive destruction systems among the Nazi party was a serious problem for all parties to the conflict.
The new project was launched with the participation of German specialists who fled the fascist regime. Before these events, they managed to work on a bomb, the main task of which was not to release maximum energy, but to pollute the territory. For this purpose, the radiation level was assessed first.
The United States authorities allocated funds to finance the new product, and Robert Oppenheimer was appointed chief engineer. It was this specialist who is considered one of the first who managed to create an atomic bomb.
The work was carried out in the strictest secrecy, but the United States received support from the British. Since for Great Britain the fascist nuclear bomb was a threat capable of destroying all achievements at that time. It is known that they transferred their developments to the United States on their own initiative, but this immediately brought the country to the forefront of the arms race.
Manhattan Project
The project, codenamed “Manhattan” (after the location of the research building), was supervised by Leslie Groves.
Already in the summer of 1945, the first tests were carried out. In the first prototype, plutonium was used as the reaction material. The detonation was carried out at a training ground, which was built up with artificial structures to assess damaging factors.
The result of the experiment was:
- The blast wave covered one and a half kilometers;
- A mushroom-shaped column of smoke rose into the air at a distance of 12 km;
- All buildings prepared for the experiment were destroyed;
- The earth and all the animals nearby were burned to the ground.
Two weeks later, the military received the first tested sample. Already on August 6 and 9 of the same year, nuclear strikes were carried out on Hiroshima and Nagasaki - the only cases of combat use of these destructive weapons, disputes about which continue to this day.
Political conditions and prerequisites for the bombings
The prerequisites for the use of new weapons appeared a year before the bombing - in September 1944. Then an agreement was concluded between the President of the States and the Prime Minister of Great Britain providing for an atomic strike.
The first operational projects appeared immediately after the tests, the Americans were supported by the British and Canadians.
Consideration of the bombing option began after an assessment of the likely losses during the American invasion of Japan. Experts proceeded from the fact that during the capture of Okinawa, more than 12 thousand American soldiers died (39 thousand were out of action due to injuries), the Japanese lost about 110 thousand soldiers and almost the same number of civilians. The invasion of the country was supposed to lead to even greater casualties.
The raid on Hiroshima took place on August 6, and the cargo was delivered by a B-29 Enola Gay. “Baby”, equivalent to 13-18 kilotons of TNT, was delivered to the Japanese city.
Three days later, “Fat Man” was dropped on Nagasaki, with even greater power, in the region of 21 kilotons.
As a result of the first strike, between 90 and 166 thousand people died. The second took a little less - 60-80 thousand.
The formidable weapon made a tremendous impression on the Japanese ministers (Kantaro Suzuki and Togo Shigenori), which persuaded them to end the war on the part of the island state. The date of August 15 became the time of the declaration of surrender, and on September 2 the act was signed, which actually ended the Second World War.
Major economic centers
The selection of targets for the strike was made at the second meeting at Los Alamos, in the spring of 1945. Several cities that were of strategic interest had to be assessed and eliminated.
Options for bomb attacks:
- Kyoto. The city was the country's largest manufacturing center;
- Hiroshima. On the territory there were army warehouses, a port of warships, the headquarters of the General Staff of the Navy and the Second Army;
- Yokohama. The heart of the military industry;
- Kokuru. The city contained Japan's largest arsenal;
- Niigata. Mechanical Engineering Center, port of warships.
The idea of launching a targeted strike exclusively on military targets was rejected, since the risk of a miss was high. The absence of an urban area around the bombing site could reduce the effect to zero.
It was important to evaluate the psychological aspects of the blow. Firstly, it was necessary to intimidate the enemy as much as possible. Secondly, the first atomic strike should have had an effect on the entire world community, emphasizing its significance.
The commission calculated all aspects of the location of probable targets. For example, Kyoto looked promising due to the higher education of the population, which meant the ability to evaluate weapons more objectively. Hiroshima is surrounded by hills, which were seen as shields that could enhance the effect of the impact. Kyoto was subsequently struck down by the US Secretary of War, who praised the city as a cultural center.
Resonance in the world
Until now, the question of the ethical validity and role that the bombings played in the surrender of Japan is open. The main question that experts ask is: was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki necessary?
Supporters of the campaign highlight the following points:
- nuclear strikes are cited as the main reason for Japan's surrender, and therefore prevented the heavy losses on both sides that the invasion would have guaranteed;
- the subsequent rapid surrender excluded human losses in other Asian countries;
- Japan was fighting a total war in which there was no distinction between civilians and the army;
- The authorities of the island state categorically refused to stop the war, but atomic bombs radically changed this opinion.
Opponents of the bombing believe that the strikes only added to a large-scale campaign. It is noted that there was no need for such a strong impact and the idea itself is immoral. The campaign is being called a war crime and state terrorism.
However, at the time of the events in question there were no agreements or treaties at the international level prohibiting the use of atoms for military purposes.
Many experts view Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a demonstration of the power of the United States. Its goal was to influence the Soviet Union before it entered into a confrontation with Japan in the Far East. President Truman himself, until the end of his days, considered dropping the bombs to be the right decision, for which the United States would never apologize.
Assess the destructive power of nuclear weapons
It is difficult to overestimate the strength of the Americans' blows. Even after the complete loss of contact with military installations, the Japanese authorities did not believe the scale of the disaster. Only the arrival of an army officer on the scene made it possible to open eyes to the damage caused.
The bombs themselves had a huge effect on the infrastructure and destroyed a huge number of people, including those who had nothing to do with the war at all. The psychological aspects are also obvious; the demoralizing effect helped turn the tide of the war.
The weapon effects are as follows:
- shock wave of enormous power;
- thermal effects;
- radiation, subsequent radioactive contamination;
- fires;
- radiation sickness.
Each type of impact has its own duration. For example, if the shock wave instantly passes from the epicenter of the explosion, then the death of people from radiation sickness reaches its peak values much later.
Details about the bombing of Hiroshima
The campaign began with the transfer of a mixed American air group to the island of Tinian. This area was separated from other US Air Force units and was heavily guarded. The Baby bomb was delivered on the cruiser Indianapolis at the end of July.
The order to use new weapons was received and signed on July 28. According to the document, after August 3, the attack was to be launched on any day as soon as the weather permitted. Until August 6, conditions did not allow bombing to begin.
Hiroshima was the 7th city in Japan by population - 340 thousand people (at the time of the strike due to the evacuation of 245 thousand). It was located on a flat piece of land on 6 islands, just above sea level. During wartime, the city became one of the army's key supply bases.
Most of the buildings were low (within 32 floors); production centers were located on the periphery. The risk of fire spreading in such conditions was very high, and the situation was aggravated by outdated fire extinguishing systems.
Hiroshima became the main target of a nuclear air raid, with Nagasaki and Kokura considered alternate targets. From the departure point, the target was 2500 km away, 6 aircraft headed towards it, which were recorded by Japanese radars at 7 am. Since the number of vehicles was determined to be small, fighters were not sent to intercept, as fuel was being saved.
The bomb was dropped on the city center at 8 am, the B-29 was at an altitude of 9 km. The "Malysh" fuses went off at 43 seconds of the fall - within 400-600 meters above the roofs of houses. 16 hours later, US authorities reported the incident.
Description of bombs
The first versions of nuclear weapons were imperfect and relatively low-power. For example, “Baby” contained 64 kg of uranium, but only 700 grams were involved in the reaction. material.
"Little boy" had the following characteristics:
- weight - 4.4 tons;
- length 3 m;
- diameter 700 mm;
- power 13-18 kilotons.
The Fat Man had similar characteristics, but its power was increased to approximately 21 kilotons.
Bombers
The bomb carriers were B-29 aircraft, which acted as part of a flight that included reconnaissance aircraft. Hiroshima was attacked by a plane called the "Enola Gay" and Nagasaki was attacked by a "Bockscar". Structurally, they were practically no different from other production aircraft.
Results and consequences of the explosion
All living things located close to the epicenter outside the buildings instantly died; the bodies of people and animals turned to coal. At a distance of up to 2 km, paper caught fire, all flammable materials instantly flared up. Silhouettes of burnt bodies remained on the walls of the surviving buildings.
Near the epicenter there was a powerful flash of light, then a shock wave passed, knocking people off their feet even at a significant distance. The buildings could only be saved from light, but in the first minutes after the detonation, 90% died within a radius of 800 meters. At a distance of up to 19 km, glass was broken from windows.
The fires that started formed a fire tornado with wind speeds of up to 60 km/h. He killed most of the survivors in the first 2-3 minutes in an area of 11 km2 from the epicenter.
The first victims of radiation sickness appeared 1-2 days after the raid. The peak of mortality occurred at 3-4 weeks, the decline appeared only at 7-9 weeks. The situation was complicated by the fact that until this moment doctors had not encountered radiation sickness. Those who survived suffered the effects of the infection and the psychological aspects of their experience for the rest of their lives.
Details about the bombing of Nagasaki
"Fat Man" was brought to the island of Tinian in two parts, on July 28 and August 2, respectively. Aviation was used for this.
Nagasaki was located in two valleys, each with a river flowing through it, and the city's districts were delimited by a ridge. The chaotic building occupied 90 m2, there was a large port, developed industry working for the army. At the time of the American strike, about 200 thousand people lived in the territory.
It was decided to carry out the bombing on August 9 (originally planned on the 11th), since bad weather began later.
US aircraft were spotted in Japanese airspace at 7:50, but it was canceled at 8:30 for the same reasons as in Hiroshima. Initially, Kokura was chosen as the target, but cloud cover did not allow the attack, so the plane headed towards Nagasaki.
Consequences of the explosion
The bomb exploded at an altitude of about 500 meters above the ground. Considering the power, greater than that of the previous projectile, only an inaccurate hit and several other factors saved us from huge losses:
- the blow fell on the industrial part; factories were located literally around the epicenter;
- in Nagasaki there were hills that protected a number of areas of the city;
- of the 110 km2 affected, only 84 were partially inhabited.
Almost all living things within a kilometer radius died; up to 2 km, destruction of almost all buildings was observed. Local fires began, but without the Hiroshima whirlwind.
Was the bombing necessary?
It is difficult to answer this question unequivocally, however, it is quite realistic that the losses during the invasion could exceed the consequences of a nuclear strike. The problem is that most of the dead had nothing to do with the war at all - these were civilians, children.
The American action looks more like “flexing muscles” than a real military necessity.
Nagasaki and Hiroshima today
For Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the consequences of the explosion are still being felt.
In 2013, more than 200 thousand citizens remained in Japan who survived the American attack. This number includes children of victims who lived in the country at the time of the recount. A big problem has become the spread of cancer of various types, which was recorded in 1% of the indicated number. By that time, the total number of deaths from the bombing and its consequences exceeded 450 thousand people.
At first, no one sought protection from radiation, the population was not evacuated, and even the high mortality and illnesses could not be explained.
Now some of the city’s objects are of global importance. For example, in 1996, the building of the Hiroshima Chamber of Industry was included in the UNESCO heritage list
FILE - In this 1945 file photo, an area around the Sangyo-Shorei-Kan (Trade Promotion Hall) in Hiroshima is laid waste after an atomic bomb exploded within 100 meters of here in 1945. Hiroshima will mark the 67th anniversary of the atomic bombing on Aug. 6, 2012. Clifton Truman Daniel, a grandson of former U.S. President Harry Truman, who ordered the atomic bombings of Japan during World War II, is in Hiroshima to attend a memorial service for the victims. (AP Photo, File)
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Consequences of the explosion of atomic bombs
A tragically famous incident in world history, when there was a nuclear explosion in Hiroshima, is described in all school textbooks on modern history. Hiroshima, the date of the explosion is etched in the minds of several generations - August 6, 1945.
The first use of atomic weapons against real enemy targets occurred in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The consequences of the explosion in each of these cities are difficult to overestimate. However, these were not the worst events during World War II.
Historical reference
Hiroshima. The year of the explosion. The large port city of Japan trains military personnel, produces weapons and transport. The railway interchange allows the necessary cargo to be delivered to the port. Among other things, it is a fairly densely populated and densely built-up city. It is worth noting that at the time when the explosion occurred in Hiroshima, most of the buildings were wooden; there were several dozen reinforced concrete structures.
The population of the city, when the atomic explosion in Hiroshima thunders out of the clear sky on August 6, consists mostly of workers, women, children and the elderly. They go about their normal business. There were no bombing announcements. Although in the last few months before the nuclear explosion occurs in Hiroshima, enemy aircraft will practically wipe out 98 Japanese cities from the face of the earth, destroy them to the ground, and hundreds of thousands of people will die. But this, apparently, is not enough for the capitulation of the last ally of Nazi Germany.
For Hiroshima, a bomb explosion is quite rare. She had not been subjected to massive blows before. She was being saved for a special sacrifice. There will be one, decisive explosion in Hiroshima. By decision of American President Harry Truman, the first nuclear explosion in Japan would be carried out in August 1945. The “Baby” uranium bomb was intended for a port city with a population of more than 300 thousand inhabitants. Hiroshima felt the full power of the nuclear explosion. An explosion of 13 thousand tons in TNT equivalent thundered half a kilometer above the city center over the Ayoi Bridge at the junction of the Ota and Motoyasu rivers, bringing destruction and death.
On August 9, everything happened again. This time the target of the deadly "Fat Man" with a plutonium charge is Nagasaki. A B-29 bomber flying over an industrial area dropped a bomb, triggering a nuclear explosion. In Hiroshima and Nagasaki, many thousands of people died in an instant.
The day after the second atomic explosion in Japan, Emperor Hirohito and the imperial government accept the terms of the Potsdam Declaration and agree to surrender.
Manhattan Project Research
On August 11, five days after the atomic bomb exploded in Hiroshima, Thomas Farrell, General Groves' deputy for Pacific military operations, received a secret message from his superiors.
- A team analyzing the Hiroshima nuclear explosion, the extent of destruction and side effects.
- A group analyzing the consequences in Nagasaki.
- An intelligence group studying the possibility of the Japanese developing atomic weapons.
This mission was supposed to collect the most current information about technical, medical, biological and other indications immediately after the nuclear explosion occurred. Hiroshima and Nagasaki had to be studied in the very near future for the completeness and reliability of the picture.
The first two groups working as part of the American troops received the following assignments:
- Study the extent of destruction caused by the explosion in Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
- Collect all information about the quality of destruction, including radiation contamination of the territory of cities and nearby places.
On August 15, specialists from research groups arrived on the Japanese islands. But only on September 8 and 13, research took place in the territories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The nuclear explosion and its consequences were studied by the groups for two weeks. As a result, they obtained quite extensive data. All of them are presented in the report.
Explosion on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Study Group Report
In addition to describing the consequences of the explosion (Hiroshima, Nagasaki), the report states that after the nuclear explosion occurred in Japan in Hiroshima, 16 million leaflets and 500 thousand newspapers in Japanese were sent throughout Japan calling for surrender, photographs and descriptions of an atomic explosion. Propaganda programs were broadcast on the radio every 15 minutes. They conveyed general information about the destroyed cities.
As noted in the text of the report, the nuclear explosion in Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused similar destruction. Buildings and other structures were destroyed due to the following factors:
A shock wave similar to the one that occurs when a conventional bomb explodes.
The explosions of Hiroshima and Nagasaki resulted in powerful light radiation. As a result of a sudden strong increase in ambient temperature, primary fires appeared.
Due to damage to electrical networks and overturning of heating devices during the destruction of buildings caused by the atomic explosion in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, secondary fires occurred.
The explosion in Hiroshima was complemented by fires of the first and second levels, which began to spread to neighboring buildings.
The power of the explosion in Hiroshima was so enormous that the areas of cities that were located directly under the epicenter were almost completely destroyed. Exceptions were some buildings made of reinforced concrete. But they also suffered from internal and external fires. The explosion in Hiroshima even burned the floors of houses. The degree of damage to houses at the epicenter was close to 100%.
The atomic explosion in Hiroshima plunged the city into chaos. The fire grew into a firestorm. A strong draft pulled the fire towards the center of the huge fire. The explosion in Hiroshima covered an area of 11.28 sq km from the epicenter. Glass was shattered 20 km from the center of the explosion throughout the city of Hiroshima. The atomic explosion in Nagasaki did not cause a “firestorm” because the city has an irregular shape, the report notes.
The power of the explosion in Hiroshima and Nagasaki swept away all buildings at a distance of 1.6 km from the epicenter, up to 5 km - buildings were severely damaged. Urban life in Hiroshima and Nagasaki has been destroyed, speakers say.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Consequences of the explosion. Comparison of damage quality
It is worth noting that Nagasaki, despite its military and industrial significance at the time of the explosion in Hiroshima, was a rather narrow strip of coastal areas, extremely densely built up exclusively with wooden buildings. In Nagasaki, the hilly terrain partially extinguished not only the light radiation, but also the shock wave.
Specialist observers noted in the report that in Hiroshima, from the site of the epicenter of the explosion, the entire city could be seen like a desert. In Hiroshima, the explosion melted roof tiles at a distance of 1.3 km; in Nagasaki, a similar effect was observed at a distance of 1.6 km. All flammable and dry materials that could ignite were ignited by the light radiation of the explosion at a distance of 2 km in Hiroshima, and 3 km in Nagasaki. All overhead electrical lines were completely burned out in both cities in a circle with a radius of 1.6 km, trams were destroyed within 1.7 km, and damaged within 3.2 km. Gas tanks at a distance of up to 2 km suffered extensive damage. Hills and vegetation burned in Nagasaki up to 3 km.
From 3 to 5 km, the plaster from the remaining walls completely crumbled, and fires consumed all the internal contents of large buildings. In Hiroshima, the explosion created a circular area of scorched earth with a radius of up to 3.5 km. In Nagasaki the picture of fires was slightly different. The wind fanned the fire until it reached the river.
According to the commission's calculations, the nuclear explosion of Hiroshima destroyed about 60 thousand out of 90 thousand buildings, which is 67%. In Nagasaki - 14 thousand out of 52, which was only 27%. According to reports from the Nagasaki municipality, 60% of the buildings remained undamaged.
Significance of Research
The commission's report describes in great detail many of the study's positions. Thanks to them, American experts calculated the possible damage that each type of bomb could cause over European cities. The conditions of radiation contamination were not so obvious at that time and were considered minor. However, the power of the explosion in Hiroshima was visible to the naked eye, and proved the effectiveness of the use of atomic weapons. A sad date, the nuclear explosion in Hiroshima, will forever remain in the history of mankind.
Nagasaki, Hiroshima. Everyone knows what year the explosion took place. But what exactly happened, what destruction and how many victims did they cause? What losses did Japan suffer? The nuclear explosion was quite destructive, but simple bombs killed many more people. The nuclear explosion on Hiroshima was one of many deadly attacks that befell the Japanese people, and the first atomic attack in the fate of mankind.
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the most horrific atrocities in human history.
“The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively) are the only two examples in the history of mankind of the combat use of nuclear weapons. Implemented by the US Armed Forces at the final stage of World War II in order to accelerate the surrender of Japan in the Pacific theater of World War II."
There are tragedies, horrifying and global scale, which will not be forgotten even after 100 years... August 1945 for small towns in Japan became the most terrible period of their existence.
Today the population of Hiroshima is a little more than a million people, Nagasaki has about half a million inhabitants, cherry blossoms bloom here in the spring, in the several decades after the events of 1945, Buddhist temples appeared in the cities, and attractions “grew up.”
People live here almost peacefully, but eyewitness accounts, photographs, memories of survivors and those still alive, facts, evidence will never erase this tragedy from the memory of the people and the land.
The photo shows the city of Nagasaki before and after the bomb explosion.
Many who learn that in cities that turned into a handful of ashes more than half a century ago people now live peacefully - a question arises: “Why is Chernobyl still an exclusion zone, in which it is dangerous to live, and Hiroshima and Nagasaki have become ordinary Japanese territories with cherry blossoms, ponds, residential buildings, parks, etc.?”
“The bomb that fell on Hiroshima, called Baby, was about three meters long, weighed about 4.5 tons and contained approximately 63 kg of uranium. As planned, the bomb exploded at an altitude of just over 600 meters above Hiroshima, the reaction began, and the result was an explosion with a yield of 16 kilotons.
Since Hiroshima is located on a plain, the Little One caused enormous damage: 70 thousand people were killed, the same number were injured, and almost 70% of the buildings in the city were destroyed. About 1,900 more people died from cancer over time.
The bomb dropped on Nagasaki, called "Fat Man", contained more than six kilograms of plutonium and exploded 500 meters above the city, creating an explosion with a yield of 21 kilotons. Since the bomb exploded in the valley, most of the city was not affected by the explosion. However, from 45 thousand to 70 thousand people died on the spot, and another 75 thousand were injured.
As a result of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, an explosion occurred and about ten tons of nuclear fuel spilled out. Accurate data on the number of people killed by the radioactive release is difficult to find.
So, in the 30-kilometer Chernobyl exclusion zone, contamination with radioactive isotopes such as cesium-137, strontium-90 and iodine-13 has appeared, which makes it unsafe for people to live here. This is not the case in Hiroshima or Nagasaki. This difference is due to two factors: in the reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant there was much more nuclear fuel, which was used much more efficiently in reactions, and in addition, the explosion occurred on the ground, not in the air” (Faktrum.ru).
In addition, the “Baby” bomb contained only 700 grams of fission products from 64 kg of uranium, and at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, during the operation of the reactor, several tons of fission products and transuranium elements were formed even before the explosion, and at the time of the accident all of this burst out. Of course, in the case of Japanese cities, the level of pollution and radioactive damage was terrifying, but in the case of Chernobyl, it was a catastrophe on a universal scale.
The main damaging factors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the shock wave, light, heat damage, and exposure to hard radiation at the time of the explosion. In the case of Chernobyl, first of all, the soil was poisoned by radiation products.
Before the bombing, Hiroshima had a population of 245 thousand people, and Nagasaki - 200 thousand people.
According to Wikipedia, “The total number of deaths by the end of 1945 (victims of explosion and radiation) ranged from 90 to 166 thousand people in Hiroshima and from 60 to 80 thousand people in Nagasaki.” After 5 years, the number of victims of the explosion in Hiroshima exceeded 200 thousand, people died from cancer and radiation exposure.
According to 2009 data, after the explosion and because of its consequences, more than 413 thousand people died or went missing.
“According to official Japanese data, as of March 31, 2013, there were 201,779 “hibakusha” alive (as of March 31, 2014, there were 192,719 hibakusha alive) - people who suffered from the effects of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
This number includes children born to women exposed to radiation from the explosions (mostly living in Japan at the time of the count). Of these, 1%, according to the Japanese government, had serious cancer caused by radiation exposure after the bombings. The number of deaths as of August 31, 2013 is about 450 thousand: 286,818 in Hiroshima and 162,083 in Nagasaki.”
Hibakusha people(born from mothers, fathers who, as children, were exposed to radioactive radiation and were near the epicenters of the explosion immediately after it or some time after, who experienced explosions firsthand in infancy, etc.) are avoided from being hired, they are reluctant to work with them into marriage, although the government provides financial support, this does not relieve this social category of the stigma of outcasts and damned.
The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nothing more than a demonstration of US power to speed up the surrender of Japan(and in the USA the attack is presented as a forced means of protecting American soldiers from death, because, in the opinion of the attacking side, it was necessary to stop the war, otherwise even more people, in particular Americans, would have died) and an experiment in the use of nuclear weapons.
At that time, too little was known about nuclear weapons, about radiation, people with signs of radiation damage were treated for dysentery, and not direct pathology, because doctors did not know what they were really dealing with.
As reliable sources state, “the Japanese fought for peace and initiated surrender themselves when they returned from the Potsdam Conference on August 3, 1945, three days before the American bombing of Hiroshima,” in addition, residents of Japanese cities were not warned about the nuclear attack (as mention some information channels). The target of the defeat was precisely defenseless Japanese cities with civilians, and not hidden military bases on their territory.
The USA has its own version: in order to avoid the death of millions (in particular, Americans, American soldiers) in the event of the continuation of the war and the invasion of troops into enemy territories, the growing conflict had to be stopped by “shutting up” the stupid, not humble and itself an aggressor Japan with such a blow that the latter would understand that it was better for her to agree, to surrender, than to continue throwing spears.
They say, someone had to show determination and, even at the cost of the lives of civilians, turn the tide of the war back, bypassing and preventing the death of millions and the continuation of battles that would have led to no one knows.
In fact, according to reliable information, there were no military bases, the existence and danger of which the Americans declared, in Japanese cities; the target of destruction was precisely civilians, cities (and, judging by the epicenters of the explosions, the bombs were dropped just somewhere, this means that perhaps the main criterion was intimidation, and not killing as many people as possible), besides, as reliable sources report, Japan is ready was ready to capitulate even before the bombings, and the aggressor, before the first bomb explosions, had already planned a series of subsequent bombings of Japanese cities, despite Japan’s peaceful attitude...
America is not used to losing, and the explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were truly a demonstration of force, and on unarmed and defenseless people. According to some information - among other purposes - the bombing was part of an experiment in the use of nuclear weapons in action, and the rest, all justifications for terrible events on the part of the aggressor, are only arguments in favor of the expediency of the impunity of using nuclear weapons on people for the purpose of mass destruction.
The scale of the tragedy was hidden for a long time, “The American occupation forces introduced strict censorship on photographic materials directly or indirectly affecting the scale of the disaster. Everything that “could in one way or another disturb the peace of our citizens” was seized and sent to the Pentagon archives.”
The real details and photos and video materials that began to “leak” to the masses later, several decades after the bombings, shocked people.
War is always scary, but nuclear war is monstrous...
Once, on the next anniversary of the tragedy, I read about what happened to people at the epicenter of the explosion, a peaceful woman went to a government institution (a bank or something similar), and at that moment a bomb exploded, and the woman was walking up the steps..
And all that was left of her, since she was at the epicenter of the explosion, was just a spot... she evaporated. This is reliably known thanks to evidence and people, like all living beings who were in close proximity to the epicenter of the explosion, became just vapor. Stones and steel melted; miraculously, someone managed to survive within a radius of more than 300 meters from the epicenter of the explosion, receiving massive and terrible burns and radiation.
The photo shows the steps on which the man “evaporated”
And this amazed me forever: a person with thoughts, feelings, “Cosmos in the flesh” in an instant can become just a speck on the asphalt, a puddle on the steps.. truly “life is a vapor that appears for a short time...”. If we hear about war, we most often imagine machine guns, tanks, grenades, but here is a different way of exterminating people, not at all predicted, unknown, terrible.
People didn't even have time to understand what was happening. Children were carried away by the blast wave and buried alive under the rubble of collapsed houses. People located a kilometer from the epicenter of the explosion either evaporated or turned into charred remains with boiled entrails.
The shadows of those walking along the street left imprints on the walls, dark patterns of clothing “eaten” into the skin like burns, birds burned in flight, trees became coals or black stumps. Those who survived either died over the next days, weeks, years, or gave birth to children with abnormalities.
From testimonies of miraculously surviving eyewitnesses and fragments of articles with data about the victims:
“A blinding flash and a terrible roar of explosion - after which the entire city was covered with huge clouds of smoke. Among the smoke, dust and debris, wooden houses burst into flames one after another, and until the end of the day the city was engulfed in smoke and flames. And when the flames finally subsided, the whole city was nothing but ruins.
It was a terrible sight that history has never seen before. Charred and scorched corpses were piled up everywhere, many of them frozen in the position in which the explosion had caught them.. The tram, of which only one skeleton remained, was filled with corpses holding on to their belts. Many of those who survived groaned from the burns that covered their entire bodies. Everywhere one could encounter a spectacle reminiscent of scenes from the life of hell.
The photo shows the Hibakusha people
This one bomb destroyed 60 percent of the city of Hiroshima in an instant. Of the 306,545 residents of Hiroshima, 176,987 people were affected by the explosion. 92,133 people were killed or missing, 9,428 people were seriously injured and 27,997 people were slightly injured. This information was published in February 1946 by the headquarters of the American occupation army in Japan. In an effort to reduce their responsibility, the Americans underestimated the number of victims as much as possible."
“Three colors for me characterize the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima: black, red and brown. Black because the explosion cut off the sunlight and plunged the world into darkness. Red was the color of blood flowing from wounded and broken people. It was also the color of the fires that burned everything in the city. Brown was the color of burnt skin falling off the body, exposed to the light radiation from the explosion.”
A wristwatch, a wall clock, later found at the epicenter of the explosion and not far from it, stopped at 8.15, it was at that moment that the morning bustle of the ordinary Japanese city of Hiroshima was interrupted and deafened by the blast wave of an exploding atomic bomb.
« On August 6, at about 8 o'clock in the morning, two B-29 bombers appeared over Hiroshima. The alarm signal was given, but, seeing that there were few planes, everyone thought that this was not a major raid, but reconnaissance. About an hour earlier, Japanese early warning radars had detected several American aircraft approaching southern Japan.
A warning was issued and the radiogram was received in many cities, including Hiroshima. The planes were approaching the coast at a very high altitude. At approximately 8:00 a.m., the radar operator in Hiroshima determined that the number of incoming aircraft was very small—probably no more than three—and the air raid alert was canceled.
A warning was sounded over regular radio for men to go to shelters if the B-29s did appear, but no raid was expected after the reconnaissance. People continued to work without entering the shelter and looked at enemy planes.
When the bombers reached the city center, one of them dropped a small parachute, after which the planes flew away. Immediately after this, at 8:15 a.m., there was a deafening explosion, which seemed to tear heaven and earth apart in an instant.
The bomb exploded with a blinding flash in the sky, a huge rushing gust of air and a deafening roar that spread many miles from the city; the first destruction was accompanied by the sounds of collapsing houses, growing fires, a gigantic cloud of dust and smoke cast a shadow over the city.” .
An atomic bomb filled with uranium exploded at an altitude of 580 meters above the city of Hiroshima, the temperature within a radius of several hundred meters was more than 10,000 degrees Celsius above the earth's surface (the melting point of some metals is 3-5 thousand degrees Celsius).
“Fire waves and radiation spread instantly in every direction, creating a blast wave of super-compressed air, bringing death and destruction. In a matter of seconds, the 400-year-old city was literally reduced to ashes. People, animals, plants and any other organic bodies were vaporized. Sidewalks and asphalt melted, buildings collapsed, and dilapidated structures were demolished by the blast wave.”
People who evaporated without a trace from the face of the earth, trams filled with charred corpses still holding on to the handrails, buildings and structures leveled to the ground, black stumps of trees that instantly became the ashes of the city - all this really resembled real scenes of hell, the apocalypse , the scariest horror films...
And although those who are trying to downplay the scale and horror of the tragedy say that Hiroshima and Nagasaki are a drop in the ocean, they say that more than 66 million people die every year, how many genocides happen unnoticed and with a large number of victims, that the bombings were a necessary measure to end the war - people, this must not be forgotten.
Several tens of thousands of people became vapors in an instant... and, judging by the innovations and achievements of recent years, the future lies with new types of weapons, including nuclear weapons. Does anyone have a guarantee that we will all avoid the fate of becoming just an invisible puddle in a certain scenario ? And for others it will be just reports, boring facts, information that the media is filled with, because a huge number of people actually die.
The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are one of the most inhumane tragedies of the 20th century.
“Hiroshima has become a symbol of the fight against weapons of mass destruction: as a constant reminder of the terrible tragedy, a piece of land with ruins left after the explosion was left untouched in the city center.”
Pictured is the city of Hiroshima today
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