Hiroshima and Nagasaki explosion consequences for people. The explosions were so strong that people died in a split second, leaving behind only shadows. The most little-known facts about the tragedy in Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Next year, humanity will mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, which showed many examples of unprecedented cruelty, when entire cities disappeared from the face of the earth for several days or even hours and hundreds of thousands of people died, including civilians. by the most a prime example The above is the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the ethical justification of which is questioned by any sane person.

Japan during the final stages of World War II

As is known, Nazi Germany surrendered on the night of May 9, 1945. This meant the end of the war in Europe. And also the fact that the only enemy of the countries of the anti-fascist coalition remained Imperial Japan, which at that time officially declared war on about 6 dozen countries. Already in June 1945, as a result of bloody battles, her troops were forced to leave Indonesia and Indochina. But when on July 26 the United States, along with Great Britain and China, presented an ultimatum to the Japanese command, it was rejected. At the same time, even during the time of the USSR, he undertook to launch a large-scale offensive against Japan in August, for which, after the end of the war, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands were to be transferred to him.

Prerequisites for the use of atomic weapons

Long before these events, in the fall of 1944, at a meeting of the leaders of the United States and Great Britain, the question of the possibility of using new super-destructive bombs against Japan was considered. After that, the well-known Manhattan Project, launched a year earlier and aimed at creating nuclear weapons, began to function from new force, and work on the creation of its first samples was completed by the time the hostilities in Europe ended.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki: reasons for the bombing

Thus, by the summer of 1945, the United States became the sole owner atomic weapons in the world and decided to use this advantage in order to put pressure on their old enemy and at the same time ally in the anti-Hitler coalition - the USSR.

At the same time, despite all the defeats, the morale of Japan was not broken. As evidenced by the fact that every day hundreds of soldiers of her imperial army became kamikaze and kaiten, directing their planes and torpedoes at ships and other military targets of the American army. This meant that when conducting a ground operation on the territory of Japan itself, the Allied forces expected huge losses. It is the latter reason that is most often cited today by US officials as an argument justifying the need for such a measure as the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. At the same time, they forget that, according to Churchill, three weeks before I. Stalin told him about the Japanese attempts to establish a peaceful dialogue. Obviously, representatives of this country were going to make similar proposals to both the Americans and the British, since the massive bombing major cities brought their war industry to the brink of collapse and made surrender inevitable.

Choice of goals

After obtaining consent in principle to the use of atomic weapons against Japan, a special committee was formed. Its second meeting was held on May 10-11 and was devoted to the choice of cities that were to be bombed. The main criteria that guided the commission were:

• the obligatory presence of civilian objects around the military target;
• its importance to the Japanese not only from an economic and strategic point of view, but also from a psychological one;
• a high degree of significance of the object, the destruction of which would cause a resonance throughout the world;
• the target had to be undamaged by bombing so that the military could appreciate the true power of the new weapon.

Which cities were considered as the target

The "candidates" included:

• Kyoto, which is the largest industrial and cultural center and the ancient capital of Japan;
• Hiroshima as an important military port and a city where army depots were concentrated;
• Yokohama, which is the center of the military industry;
• Kokura is the location of the largest military arsenal.

According to the surviving memoirs of the participants in those events, although Kyoto was the most convenient target, the United States Secretary of War G. Stimson insisted on the exclusion of this city from the list, since he was personally acquainted with its sights and represented their value for world culture.

Interestingly, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not initially planned. More precisely, the city of Kokura was considered as the second goal. This is also evidenced by the fact that before August 9, an air raid was carried out on Nagasaki, which caused concern among residents and forced the majority of schoolchildren to be evacuated to the surrounding villages. A little later, as a result of long discussions, spare targets were chosen in case of unforeseen situations. They became:

• for the first bombing, if Hiroshima fails to be hit, Niigata;
• for the second (instead of Kokura) - Nagasaki.

Training

The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki required careful preparation. During the second half of May and June, the 509th Composite Aviation Group was redeployed to the base on Tinian Island, in connection with which exceptional security measures were taken. A month later, on July 26, the “Kid” atomic bomb was delivered to the island, and on the 28th, some of the components for the assembly of the “Fat Man”. On the same day, the then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, signed an order directing the nuclear bombing to be carried out at any time after August 3, when suitable weather.

First atomic strike on Japan

The date of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki cannot be named unambiguously, since nuclear strikes on these cities were carried out with a difference of 3 days.

The first blow was dealt to Hiroshima. And it happened on June 6, 1945. The "honor" to drop the "Kid" bomb went to the crew of the B-29 aircraft, nicknamed "Enola Gay", commanded by Colonel Tibbets. Moreover, before the flight, the pilots, confident that they were doing a good deed and that their “feat” would be followed by an early end to the war, visited the church and received an ampoule each in case they were captured.

Together with Enola Gay, three reconnaissance aircraft took off into the air, designed to clarify weather conditions, and 2 boards with photographic equipment and devices for studying the parameters of the explosion.

The bombing itself went off without a hitch, as the Japanese military did not notice the objects rushing towards Hiroshima, and the weather was more than favorable. What happened next can be seen by watching the tape "The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki" - a documentary film edited from newsreels made in the Pacific region at the end of World War II.

In particular, it shows which, according to Captain Robert Lewis, who was a member of the Enola Gay crew, was visible even after their plane flew 400 miles from the bomb site.

Bombing of Nagasaki

The operation to drop the Fat Man bomb, carried out on August 9, proceeded in a completely different way. In general, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, whose photos evoke associations with well-known descriptions of the Apocalypse, was prepared extremely carefully, and the only thing that could make adjustments to its implementation was the weather. This is what happened when early morning On August 9, an aircraft under the command of Major Charles Sweeney took off from the island of Tinian and with the atomic bomb “Fat Man” on board. At 8 hours 10 minutes, the board arrived at the place where it was supposed to meet with the second - B-29, but did not find it. After 40 minutes of waiting, it was decided to bomb without a partner aircraft, but it turned out that 70% cloud cover was already observed over the city of Kokura. Moreover, even before the flight, it was known about the malfunction of the fuel pump, and at the moment when the plane was over Kokura, it became obvious that the only way to drop the Fat Man was to do it during the flight over Nagasaki. Then the B-29 went to this city and made a reset, focusing on the local stadium. Thus, by chance, Kokura was saved, and the whole world learned that the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had taken place. Fortunately, if such words are at all appropriate in this case, the bomb fell far from its original target, quite far from residential areas, which somewhat reduced the number of victims.

Consequences of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

According to eyewitnesses, within a few minutes, everyone who was within a radius of 800 m from the epicenters of the explosions died. Then the fires began, and in Hiroshima they soon turned into a tornado due to the wind, the speed of which was about 50-60 km / h.

The nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki introduced mankind to such a phenomenon as radiation sickness. The doctors noticed her first. They were surprised that the condition of the survivors first improved, and then they died from an illness whose symptoms resembled diarrhea. In the first days and months after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, few could have imagined that those who survived it would suffer all their lives various diseases and even produce unhealthy children.

Subsequent events

On August 9, immediately after the news of the bombing of Nagasaki and the declaration of war by the USSR, Emperor Hirohito called for immediate surrender, subject to the preservation of his power in the country. And 5 days later, the Japanese media spread his statement on the cessation of hostilities to English language. Moreover, in the text, His Majesty mentioned that one of the reasons for his decision is that the enemy has “ terrible weapon”, the use of which is capable of leading to the destruction of the nation.

… We have done his work for the devil.

One of the founders of the American atomic bomb Robert Oppenheimer

August 9, 1945 in the history of mankind began new era. It was on this day that the Japanese city of Hiroshima was dropped nuclear bomb Little Boy ("Kid") with a capacity of 13 to 20 kilotons. Three more days later american aviation Inflicted a second atomic strike on the territory of Japan - the Fat Man bomb ("Fat Man") was dropped on Nagasaki.

As a result of two nuclear bombings, from 150 to 220 thousand people were killed (and these are only those who died immediately after the explosion), Hiroshima and Nagasaki were completely destroyed. The shock from the use of new weapons was so strong that on August 15, the Japanese government announced its unconditional surrender, which was signed on August 2, 1945. This day is considered official date end of World War II.

After that, a new era began, a period of confrontation between the two superpowers - the USA and the USSR, which historians called the Cold War. For more than fifty years, the world has teetered on the brink of a massive thermonuclear conflict that would very likely end our civilization. The atomic explosion in Hiroshima put humanity in the face of new threats that have not lost their sharpness even today.

Was the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki necessary, was it military necessity? Historians and politicians argue about this to this day.

Of course, a strike on peaceful cities and a huge number of victims among their inhabitants looks like a crime. However, do not forget that at that time there was the most bloody war in the history of mankind, one of the initiators of which was Japan.

The magnitude of the tragedy that occurred in Japanese cities clearly showed the whole world the danger of new weapons. However, this did not prevent its further spread: the club nuclear states constantly replenished with new members, which increases the likelihood of a repeat of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

"Project Manhattan": the history of the creation of the atomic bomb

The beginning of the twentieth century was a time of rapid development of nuclear physics. Every year, significant discoveries were made in this field of knowledge, people learned more and more about how matter works. The work of such brilliant scientists as Curie, Rutherford and Fermi made it possible to discover the possibility of a nuclear chain reaction under the influence of a neutron beam.

In 1934, American physicist Leo Szilard received a patent for the atomic bomb. It should be understood that all these studies took place in the context of the approaching world war and against the backdrop of the Nazis coming to power in Germany.

In August 1939, US President Franklin Roosevelt received a letter signed by a group of renowned physicists. Among the signatories was Albert Einstein. The letter warned the US leadership about the possibility of creating in Germany a fundamentally new weapon of destructive power - a nuclear bomb.

After that, the Bureau of Scientific Research and Development was created, which dealt with issues of atomic weapons, and additional funds were allocated for research in the field of uranium fission.

It must be admitted that American scientists had every reason to be afraid: in Germany they were really actively engaged in research in the field of atomic physics and had some success. In 1938, the German scientists Strassmann and Hahn split the nucleus of uranium for the first time. And next year, German scientists turned to the country's leadership, pointing out the possibility of creating a fundamentally new weapon. In 1939, the first reactor plant was launched in Germany, and the export of uranium outside the country was banned. After the start of the World War, all German studies concerning the "uranium" topic were strictly classified.

In Germany, more than twenty institutes and other research centers were involved in the project to create nuclear weapons. The giants of German industry were involved in the work, they were personally supervised by the Minister of Armaments of Germany Speer. To get enough uranium-235, a reactor was needed, in which either heavy water or graphite could be the moderator of the reaction. The Germans chose water, which created a serious problem for themselves and practically deprived themselves of the prospects for creating nuclear weapons.

Moreover, when it became clear that the German nuclear weapon unlikely to appear before the end of the war, Hitler significantly cut the funding for the project. True, the Allies had a very vague idea about all this and, in all seriousness, they feared Hitler's atomic bomb.

American work in the field of creating atomic weapons has become much more productive. In 1943, the secret Manhattan Project was launched in the United States, led by physicist Robert Oppenheimer and General Groves. Enormous resources were allocated to the creation of new weapons, dozens of world-famous physicists participated in the project. American scientists were assisted by their colleagues from the UK, Canada and Europe, which ultimately made it possible to solve the problem in a relatively short time.

By mid-1945, the United States already had three nuclear bombs, with uranium ("Kid") and plutonium ("Fat Man") fillings.

On July 16, the world's first nuclear test took place: the Trinity plutonium bomb was detonated at the Alamogordo test site (New Mexico). The tests were considered successful.

Political background of the bombings

On May 8, 1945, Nazi Germany surrendered unconditionally. In the Potsdam Declaration, the US, China, and the UK invited Japan to do the same. But the descendants of the samurai refused to capitulate, so the war in the Pacific continued. Earlier, in 1944, there was a meeting between the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Great Britain, at which, among other things, they discussed the possibility of using nuclear weapons against the Japanese.

In mid-1945, it was clear to everyone (including the leadership of Japan) that the United States and its allies were winning the war. However, the Japanese were not morally broken, which was demonstrated by the battle for Okinawa, which cost the Allies huge (from their point of view) victims.

The Americans mercilessly bombed the cities of Japan, but this did not reduce the fury of the resistance of the Japanese army. The United States thought about what losses a massive landing on Japanese islands. The use of new weapons of destructive force was supposed to undermine the morale of the Japanese, break their will to resist.

After the question of the use of nuclear weapons against Japan was decided positively, a special committee began to select targets for future bombardment. The list consisted of several cities, and in addition to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it also included Kyoto, Yokohama, Kokura and Niigata. The Americans did not want to use a nuclear bomb against exclusively military targets, its use was supposed to have a strong psychological effect on the Japanese and show the whole world a new instrument of US power. Therefore, a number of requirements were put forward for the purpose of the bombing:

• The cities chosen as targets for the atomic bombing must be major economic centers, significant for the military industry, and also be psychologically important for the population of Japan.
• The bombing should cause a significant resonance in the world
• The military was not satisfied with the cities that had already suffered from air raids. They wanted to better appreciate the destructive power of the new weapon.

The cities of Hiroshima and Kokura were initially chosen. Kyoto was crossed off the list by US Secretary of War Henry Stimson because, as a young man, he spent Honeymoon and was in awe of the history of this city.

For each city, an additional target was chosen, it was planned to strike at it if the main objective for any reason will not be available. Nagasaki was chosen as insurance for the city of Kokura.

Bombing of Hiroshima

On July 25, US President Truman gave the order to start bombing from August 3 and hit one of the selected targets at the first opportunity, and the second as soon as the next bomb was assembled and delivered.

In early summer, the US Air Force 509th Mixed Group arrived on Tinian Island, the location of which was separate from the rest of the units and carefully guarded.

On July 26, the cruiser Indianapolis delivered the first nuclear bomb, the Kid, to the island, and by August 2, components of the second were transported to Tinian by air. nuclear charge- "Fat Man".

Before the war, Hiroshima had a population of 340 thousand people and was the seventh largest Japanese city. According to other information, 245 thousand people lived in the city before the nuclear bombardment. Hiroshima was located on a plain, just above sea level, on six islands connected by numerous bridges.

The city was an important industrial center and a supply base for the Japanese military. Plants and factories were located on its outskirts, the residential sector mainly consisted of low-rise wooden buildings. Hiroshima was the headquarters of the Fifth Division and the Second Army, which essentially provided protection for the entire southern part of the Japanese islands.

The pilots were able to start the mission only on August 6, before that they were prevented by heavy cloud cover. At 01:45 on August 6, an American B-29 bomber from the 509th Air Regiment, as part of a group of escort aircraft, took off from the airfield of Tinian Island. The bomber was named Enola Gay in honor of the mother of the aircraft commander, Colonel Paul Tibbets.

The pilots were sure that dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima was a good mission, they wanted a speedy end to the war and victory over the enemy. Before departure, they visited the church, the pilots were given ampoules of potassium cyanide in case of danger of being captured.

Reconnaissance planes sent in advance to Kokura and Nagasaki reported that cloud cover over these cities would prevent the bombing. The pilot of the third reconnaissance aircraft reported that the sky over Hiroshima was clear and transmitted a prearranged signal.

Japanese radars detected a group of aircraft, but since their number was small, the air raid alert was canceled. The Japanese decided that they were dealing with reconnaissance aircraft.

At about eight o'clock in the morning, a B-29 bomber, having risen to a height of nine kilometers, dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The explosion occurred at an altitude of 400-600 meters, a large number of hours in the city, stopped at the time of the explosion, clearly recorded it exact time– 8 hours 15 minutes.

results

The consequences of an atomic explosion over a densely populated city were truly terrifying. The exact number of victims of the bombing of Hiroshima has not been established, it ranges from 140 to 200 thousand. Of these, 70-80 thousand people who were not far from the epicenter died immediately after the explosion, the rest were much less fortunate. The huge temperature of the explosion (up to 4 thousand degrees) literally evaporated the bodies of people or turned them into coal. Light radiation left imprinted silhouettes of passers-by on the ground and buildings (the "shadow of Hiroshima") and set fire to all combustible materials at a distance of several kilometers.

A flash of unbearably bright light was followed by a suffocating blast wave that swept away everything in its path. The fires in the city merged into one huge fiery tornado, which pumped a strong wind towards the epicenter of the explosion. Those who did not have time to get out from under the rubble were burned in this hellish flame.

Some time later, the survivors of the explosion began to suffer from an unknown disease, which was accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea. These were symptoms of radiation sickness, which at that time was unknown to medicine. However, there were other delayed consequences of the bombing in the form of cancer and severe psychological shock, which haunted the survivors for decades after the explosion.

It should be understood that in the middle of the last century people did not sufficiently understand the consequences of the use of atomic weapons. Nuclear medicine was in its infancy, the concept of "radioactive contamination" as such did not exist. Therefore, after the war, the inhabitants of Hiroshima began to rebuild their city and continued to live in their former places. The high cancer mortality and various genetic abnormalities in the children of Hiroshima were not immediately linked to the nuclear bombing.

The Japanese could not understand for a long time what happened to one of their cities. Hiroshima stopped communicating and transmitting signals on the air. The plane sent to the city found it completely destroyed. It was only after the official announcement from the US that the Japanese realized exactly what had happened in Hiroshima.

Bombing of Nagasaki

The city of Nagasaki is located in two valleys separated by a mountain range. During World War II, it was of great military importance as major port and an industrial center in which warships, guns, torpedoes, and military equipment were manufactured. The city has never been subjected to large-scale air bombardments. At the time of the nuclear attack, about 200 thousand people lived in Nagasaki.

On August 9, at 2:47 am, an American B-29 bomber, under the command of pilot Charles Sweeney, with the Fat Man atomic bomb on board, took off from the airfield on the island of Tinian. The primary target of the strike was the Japanese city of Kokura, but heavy cloud cover prevented a bomb from being dropped on it. An additional goal for the crew was the city of Nagasaki.

The bomb was dropped at 11.02 and detonated at an altitude of 500 meters. Unlike the "Kid" dropped on Hiroshima, "Fat Man" was a plutonium bomb with a yield of 21 kT. The epicenter of the explosion was located above the industrial zone of the city.

Despite the greater power of the ammunition, the damage and losses in Nagasaki were less than in Hiroshima. Several factors contributed to this. Firstly, the city was located on the hills, which took on part of the force nuclear explosion, and secondly, the bomb went off over the industrial zone of Nagasaki. If the explosion had occurred over areas with residential development, there would have been much more victims. Part of the area affected by the explosion generally fell on the water surface.

From 60 to 80 thousand people became victims of the Nagasaki bomb (who died immediately or before the end of 1945), the number of deaths later from diseases caused by radiation is unknown. Various figures are given, the maximum of them is 140 thousand people.

In the city, 14 thousand buildings were destroyed (out of 54 thousand), more than 5 thousand buildings were significantly damaged. The fire tornado that was observed in Hiroshima was not in Nagasaki.

Initially, the Americans did not plan to stop at two nuclear strikes. The third bomb was being prepared for mid-August, three more were going to be dropped in September. The US government planned to continue the atomic bombing until the beginning of the ground operation. However, on August 10, the Japanese government transmitted offers of surrender to the Allies. The day before, the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan, and the country's situation became absolutely hopeless.

Was the bombing necessary?

The debate about whether it was necessary to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki has not subsided for many decades. Naturally, today this action looks like a monstrous and inhuman crime of the United States. Domestic patriots and fighters against American imperialism love to raise this topic. Meanwhile, the question is not unambiguous.

It should be understood that at that time there was World War characterized by an unprecedented level of cruelty and inhumanity. Japan was one of the initiators of this massacre and waged a brutal war of conquest since 1937. In Russia, it is often believed that nothing serious happened in the Pacific Ocean - but this is an erroneous point of view. Fighting in the region has resulted in the deaths of 31 million people, most of of which are civilians. The cruelty with which the Japanese pursued their policy in China surpasses even the atrocities of the Nazis.

The Americans sincerely hated Japan, with which they had been at war since 1941 and really wanted to end the war with the least losses. The atomic bomb was just a new type of weapon, they had only a theoretical idea of ​​​​its power, and they knew even less about the consequences in the form of radiation sickness. I do not think that if the USSR had an atomic bomb, anyone from the Soviet leadership would have doubted whether it was necessary to drop it on Germany. US President Truman believed for the rest of his life that he had done the right thing by ordering the bombing.

August 2018 marked the 73rd anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Japanese cities. Nagasaki and Hiroshima today are thriving metropolitan areas with little resemblance to the tragedy of 1945. However, if humanity forgets this terrible lesson, it will most likely repeat itself again. The horrors of Hiroshima showed people what Pandora's box they opened by creating nuclear weapons. It was the ashes of Hiroshima for decades cold war sobered up too hot heads, not allowing to unleash a new world massacre.

Thanks to the support of the United States and the rejection of the former militaristic policy, Japan has become what it is today - a country with one of the strongest economies in the world, a recognized leader in the automotive industry and in the field of high technology. After the end of the war, the Japanese chose new way development, which turned out to be much more successful than the previous one.

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Nuclear weapons have been used for combat purposes only twice in the history of mankind. The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 showed how dangerous it could be. Exactly real experience The use of nuclear weapons was able to keep two mighty powers (USA and USSR) from unleashing a third world war.

Bomb drop on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Millions of innocent people suffered during World War II. The leaders of the world powers put the lives of soldiers and civilians on the cards without looking, in the hope of achieving superiority in the struggle for world domination. One of the worst disasters ever world history was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as a result of which about 200 thousand people were destroyed, and the total number of people who died during and after the explosion (from radiation) reached 500 thousand.

Until now, there are only assumptions that forced the President of the United States of America to order the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Did he realize, did he know what destruction and consequences would be left after the explosion of a nuclear bomb? Or was this action intended to demonstrate military power in front of the USSR in order to completely kill any thoughts of attacks on the United States?

History has not preserved the motives that moved the 33rd US President Harry Truman when he ordered a nuclear attack on Japan, but only one thing can be said with certainty: it was the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that forced the Japanese emperor to sign the surrender.

In order to try to understand the motives of the United States, one must carefully consider the situation that arose in the political arena in those years.

Emperor of Japan Hirohito

The Japanese emperor Hirohito was distinguished by good inclinations of a leader. In order to expand his lands, in 1935 he decides to seize all of China, which at that time was a backward agrarian country. Following the example of Hitler (with whom Japan entered into a military alliance in 1941), Hirohito begins to take over China, using methods favored by the Nazis.

In order to cleanse China of indigenous people, Japanese troops used chemical weapons, which were banned. Inhuman experiments were carried out on the Chinese, which aimed to find out the limits of the viability of the human body under different situations. In total, about 25 million Chinese died during the Japanese expansion, most of whom were children and women.

It is possible that the nuclear bombing of Japanese cities could not have taken place if, after the conclusion of a military pact with Nazi Germany, the emperor of Japan would not have given the order to launch an attack on Pearl Harbor, thereby provoking the United States to enter World War II. After this event, the date of the nuclear attack begins to approach with inexorable speed.

When it became clear that the defeat of Germany was inevitable, the question of the surrender of Japan seemed to be a matter of time. However japanese emperor, the embodiment of samurai arrogance and a true God for his subjects, ordered all the inhabitants of the country to fight to the last drop of blood. Everyone, without exception, had to resist the invader, from soldiers to women and children. Knowing the mentality of the Japanese, there was no doubt that the inhabitants would fulfill the will of their emperor.

In order to force Japan to capitulate, drastic measures had to be taken. The atomic explosion that thundered first in Hiroshima, and then in Nagasaki, turned out to be exactly the impetus that convinced the emperor of the futility of resistance.

Why was a nuclear attack chosen?

Although the number of versions why a nuclear attack was chosen to intimidate Japan is quite large, the following versions should be considered the main ones:

1. Most historians (especially American ones) insist that the damage caused by dropped bombs is several times less than a bloody invasion could have brought. US troops. According to this version, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not sacrificed in vain, as it saved the lives of the remaining millions of Japanese;
2. According to the second version, the purpose of the nuclear attack was to show the USSR how perfect the US military weapons were in order to intimidate a possible adversary. In 1945, the President of the United States was informed that there had been activity Soviet troops near the border with Turkey (which was an ally of England). Perhaps this is why Truman decided to intimidate the Soviet leader;
3. The third version says that the nuclear attack on Japan was the revenge of the Americans for Pearl Harbor.

On the Potsdam conference, which took place from July 17 to August 2, the fate of Japan was decided. Three states - the USA, England and the USSR, led by their leaders, signed the declaration. It talked about the sphere of post-war influence, although the Second World War was not yet over. One of the points of this declaration spoke of the immediate surrender of Japan.

This document was sent to the Japanese government, which rejected the proposal. Following the example of their emperor, the members of the government decided to continue the war to the end. After that, the fate of Japan was sealed. Since the US military command was looking for where to use the latest atomic weapons, the president approved the atomic bombing of Japanese cities.

coalition against Nazi Germany was on the verge of a break (due to the fact that one month remained before the victory), the allied countries could not agree. The different policies of the USSR and the USA eventually led these states to the Cold War.

The fact that US President Harry Truman was informed about the start of nuclear bomb tests on the eve of the meeting in Potsdam played important role in the decision of the head of state. Wanting to scare Stalin, Truman hinted to the Generalissimo that he had a new weapon ready, which could leave huge casualties after the explosion.

Stalin ignored this statement, although he soon called Kurchatov and ordered the completion of work on the development of Soviet nuclear weapons.

Having received no answer from Stalin, the American president decides to start the atomic bombing at his own peril and risk.

Why were Hiroshima and Nagasaki chosen for the nuclear attack?

In the spring of 1945, the US military had to select suitable sites for full-scale nuclear bomb tests. Even then, it was possible to notice the prerequisites for the fact that the last test of the American nuclear bomb was planned to be carried out at a civilian facility. The list of requirements for the last test of a nuclear bomb, created by scientists, looked like this:

1. The object had to be on a plain so that the blast wave was not interfered with by uneven terrain;
2. Urban development should be as wooden as possible so that fire damage is maximized;
3. The object must have a maximum building density;
4. The size of the object must exceed 3 kilometers in diameter;
5. The selected city should be located as far as possible from the enemy's military bases in order to exclude the interference of the enemy's military forces;
6. To bring the blow maximum benefit, it should be applied to a large industrial center.

These requirements mean that nuclear strike, most likely, was a matter long planned, and Germany could well have been in the place of Japan.

The intended targets were 4 Japanese cities. These are Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Kyoto and Kokura. Of these, it was only required to choose two real targets, since there were only two bombs. An American expert on Japan, Professor Reisshauer, begged to be struck off the list of the city of Kyoto, as it was of great historical value. It is unlikely that this request could affect the decision, but then the Minister of Defense intervened, who was on a honeymoon in Kyoto with his wife. The minister went to a meeting and Kyoto was saved from a nuclear attack.

The place of Kyoto in the list was taken by the city of Kokura, which was chosen as a target along with Hiroshima (although later the weather conditions made their own adjustments, and Nagasaki had to be bombed instead of Kokura). The cities had to be big, and the destruction large-scale, so that the Japanese people were horrified and stopped resisting. Of course, the main thing was to influence the position of the emperor.

Conducted research by historians various countries of the world show that the American side did not care at all about the moral side of the issue. Dozens and hundreds of potential civilian casualties were of no concern to either the government or the military.

Looking through entire volumes classified materials, historians have come to the conclusion that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were doomed in advance. There were only two bombs, and these cities had a convenient geographical location. In addition, Hiroshima was a very densely built-up city, and an attack on it could unleash the full potential of a nuclear bomb. The city of Nagasaki was the largest industrial center working for the defense industry. A large number of guns and military equipment were produced there.

Details of the bombing of Hiroshima

The combat strike on the Japanese city of Hiroshima was pre-planned and carried out in accordance with a clear plan. Each item of this plan was clearly implemented, which indicates careful preparation this operation.

On July 26, 1945, a nuclear bomb bearing the name "Baby" was delivered to the island of Tinian. By the end of the month, all preparations were completed, and the bomb was ready for combat. After consulting the meteorological indications, the date of the bombardment was set - August 6th. On this day the weather was excellent and the bomber, with a nuclear bomb on board, soared into the air. Its name (Enola Gay) was remembered for a long time not only by the victims of a nuclear attack, but throughout Japan.

Airplane in flight deathly on board, accompanied by three aircraft, whose task was to determine the direction of the wind so that the atomic bomb hit the target as accurately as possible. Behind the bomber, an aircraft was flying, which was supposed to record all the data of the explosion using sensitive equipment. A bomber was flying at a safe distance with a photographer on board. Several planes flying towards the city did not cause any concern to either the Japanese air defense forces or the civilian population.

Although Japanese radars detected the approaching enemy, they did not raise the alarm because of a small group of military aircraft. Residents were warned of a possible bombardment, but they continued to work quietly. Since a nuclear strike was not like a conventional air raid, not one japanese fighter did not take to the air to intercept. Even the artillery paid no attention to the approaching planes.

At 8:15 a.m., the Enola Gay bomber dropped a nuclear bomb. This drop was made using a parachute to allow a group of attacking aircraft to retire to a safe distance. After dropping a bomb at an altitude of 9,000 meters, the battle group turned around and withdrew.

Having flown about 8,500 meters, the bomb exploded at an altitude of 576 meters from the ground. A deafening explosion covered the city with an avalanche of fire that destroyed everything in its path. Directly at the epicenter, people simply disappeared, leaving behind only the so-called "shadows of Hiroshima." All that was left of the man was a dark silhouette imprinted on the floor or walls. At a distance from the epicenter, people burned alive, turning into black firebrands. Those who were on the outskirts of the city were a little more fortunate, many of them survived, having received only terrible burns.

This day has become a day of mourning not only in Japan, but throughout the world. About 100,000 people died that day, and the following years claimed the lives of several hundred thousand more. All of them died from radiation burns and radiation sickness. According to the official statistics of the Japanese authorities as of January 2017, the number of deaths and injuries from the American uranium bomb is 308,724 people.

Hiroshima today is largest city Chugoku region. The city has a commemorative memorial dedicated to the victims of the American atomic bombing.

What happened in Hiroshima on the day of the tragedy

First official sources Japan was told that the city of Hiroshima was attacked by new bombs that were dropped from several American aircraft. People did not yet know that the new bombs destroyed tens of thousands of lives in an instant, and the consequences of a nuclear explosion would last for decades.

It is possible that even the American scientists who created the atomic weapon did not anticipate the consequences of radiation for people. For 16 hours after the explosion, no signal was received from Hiroshima. Noticing this, the operator of the Broadcasting Station began to make attempts to contact the city, but the city remained silent.

After a short period of time, railway station, which was located near the city, incomprehensible and confused information came, of which the Japanese authorities understood only one thing, an enemy raid was made on the city. It was decided to send the aircraft for reconnaissance, since the authorities knew for sure that no serious enemy combat air groups broke through the front line.

Having approached the city at a distance of about 160 kilometers, the pilot and the officer accompanying him saw a huge dusty cloud. Flying closer, they saw a terrible picture of destruction: the whole city was ablaze with fires, and smoke and dust made it difficult to see the details of the tragedy.

Landing in a safe place, the Japanese officer reported to the command that the city of Hiroshima had been destroyed by US aircraft. After that, the military began selflessly to help the wounded and shell-shocked from the bomb explosion compatriots.

This catastrophe rallied all the surviving people into one big family. Wounded, barely standing people dismantled the rubble and put out fires, trying to save as many of their compatriots as possible.

Washington made an official statement about the successful operation only 16 hours after the bombing.

Dropping the atomic bomb on Nagasaki

The city of Nagasaki, which was an industrial center, has never been subjected to massive air strikes. They tried to save it to demonstrate the enormous power of the atomic bomb. Just a few high-explosive bombs damaged weapons factories, shipyards and medical hospitals in the week before the terrible tragedy.

Now it seems incredible, but Nagasaki became the second Japanese city to be nuked by chance. The original target was the city of Kokura.

The second bomb was delivered and loaded onto the plane, according to the same plan as in the case of Hiroshima. The plane with a nuclear bomb took off and flew towards the city of Kokura. On approach to the island, three American aircraft were supposed to meet to record the explosion of the atomic bomb.

Two planes met, but they did not wait for the third. Contrary to the forecast of meteorologists, the sky over Kokura was covered with clouds, and the visual release of the bomb became impossible. After circling for 45 minutes over the island and not waiting for the third aircraft, the commander of the aircraft that carried the nuclear bomb on board noticed a malfunction in the fuel supply system. Since the weather finally deteriorated, it was decided to fly to the reserve target area - the city of Nagasaki. A group consisting of two aircraft flew to the alternate target.

On August 9, 1945, at 7:50 am, the inhabitants of Nagasaki woke up from an air raid signal and descended into shelters and bomb shelters. After 40 minutes, considering the alarm not worthy of attention, and classifying two aircraft as reconnaissance, the military canceled it. People went about their usual business, not suspecting that an atomic explosion would now thunder.

The Nagasaki attack went exactly the same way as the Hiroshima attack, only high cloud cover almost spoiled the Americans' bomb release. Literally in the last minutes, when the fuel supply was at the limit, the pilot noticed a “window” in the clouds and dropped a nuclear bomb at an altitude of 8,800 meters.

The carelessness of the Japanese forces is striking air defense, which, despite the news of a similar attack on Hiroshima, did not take any measures to neutralize the American military aircraft.

The atomic bomb, called "Fat Man", exploded at 11 hours 2 minutes, within a few seconds turned a beautiful city into a kind of hell on earth. 40,000 people died in an instant, and another 70,000 received terrible burns and injuries.

Consequences of nuclear bombings of Japanese cities

The consequences of a nuclear attack on Japanese cities were unpredictable. In addition to those who died at the time of the explosion and during the first year after it, radiation continued to kill people for another long years. As a result, the number of victims has doubled.

Thus, the nuclear attack brought the United States a long-awaited victory, and Japan had to make concessions. The consequences of the nuclear bombing shocked Emperor Hirohito so much that he unconditionally accepted the terms of the Potsdam Conference. According to the official version, the nuclear attack carried out by the US military brought exactly what the American government wanted.

In addition, the troops of the USSR, which had accumulated on the border with Turkey, were urgently transferred to Japan, on which the USSR declared war. According to members of the Soviet Politburo, after learning about the consequences caused by nuclear explosions, Stalin said that the Turks were lucky, as the Japanese sacrificed themselves for them.

Only two weeks had passed since the entry of Soviet troops into Japan, and Emperor Hirohito had already signed an act of unconditional surrender. This day (September 2, 1945) went down in history as the day the Second World War ended.

Was there an urgent need to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Even in modern Japan, there is an ongoing debate about whether it was necessary to carry out a nuclear bombing or not. Scientists from all over the world are painstakingly studying secret documents and archives from the Second World War. Most researchers agree that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were sacrificed for the sake of ending the world war.

The well-known Japanese historian Tsuyoshi Hasegawa believes that the atomic bombing was started in order to prevent the expansion of the Soviet Union into Asian countries. It also allowed the United States to assert itself as a leader militarily, which they succeeded brilliantly. After the nuclear explosion, arguing with the United States was very dangerous.

If you stick to this theory, then Hiroshima and Nagasaki were simply sacrificed to the political ambitions of the superpowers. Tens of thousands of victims were completely ignored.

One can guess what could have happened if the USSR had time to complete the development of its nuclear bomb before the United States. It is possible that the atomic bombing would not have happened then.

Modern nuclear weapons are thousands of times more powerful than the bombs dropped on Japanese cities. It is difficult even to imagine what could happen if the two largest powers in the world started a nuclear war.

The most little-known facts about the tragedy in Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Although the tragedy in Hiroshima and Nagasaki is known to the whole world, there are facts that only a few know:

1. The man who managed to survive in hell. Although everyone who was close to the epicenter of the explosion died during the explosion of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, one person who was in the basement 200 meters from the epicenter managed to survive;
   
2. War is war, and the tournament must go on. At a distance of less than 5 kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion in Hiroshima, a tournament was held in the ancient Chinese game "Go". Although the explosion destroyed the building and many of the competitors were injured, the tournament continued on the same day;
3. Able to withstand even a nuclear explosion. Although the explosion in Hiroshima destroyed most of the buildings, the safe in one of the banks was not damaged. After the end of the war, the American company that produced these safes received thank you letter from a bank manager in Hiroshima;
4. Extraordinary luck. Tsutomu Yamaguchi was the only person on earth who officially survived two atomic explosions. After the explosion in Hiroshima, he went to work in Nagasaki, where he again managed to survive;
5. "Pumpkin" bombs. Before starting the atomic bombing, the United States dropped 50 Pumpkin bombs on Japan, so named for their resemblance to a pumpkin;
6. An attempt to overthrow the emperor. The Emperor of Japan mobilized all the citizens of the country for "total war". This meant that every Japanese, including women and children, must defend their country to the last drop of blood. After the emperor, frightened by atomic explosions, accepted all the conditions of the Potsdam Conference and later capitulated, the Japanese generals tried to carry out a coup d'état, which failed;
7. Met a nuclear explosion and survived. Japanese Gingko biloba trees are remarkably resilient. After the nuclear attack on Hiroshima, 6 of these trees survived and continue to grow to this day;
   
8. People who dreamed of salvation. After the explosion in Hiroshima, hundreds of survivors fled to Nagasaki. Of these, 164 people managed to survive, although only Tsutomu Yamaguchi is considered the official survivor;
9. Not a single policeman died in the atomic explosion in Nagasaki. The surviving law enforcement officers from Hiroshima were sent to Nagasaki in order to teach colleagues the basics of behavior after a nuclear explosion. As a result of these actions, not a single policeman was killed in the Nagasaki bombing;
10. 25 percent of those who died in Japan were Koreans. Although it is believed that all of those who died in the atomic explosions were Japanese, in fact a quarter of them were Koreans, who were mobilized by the Japanese government to participate in the war;
11. Radiation is a fairy tale for children. After the atomic explosion, the American government for a long time hid the fact of the presence of radioactive contamination;
12. "Meetinghouse". Few people know that the US authorities did not limit themselves to nuclear bombing of two Japanese cities. Before that, using the tactics of carpet bombing, they destroyed several Japanese cities. During Operation Meetinghouse, the city of Tokyo was virtually destroyed, and 300,000 of its inhabitants died;
13. They didn't know what they were doing. The crew of the plane that dropped the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima was 12 people. Of these, only three knew what a nuclear bomb was;
14. On one of the anniversaries of the tragedy (in 1964), an eternal flame was lit in Hiroshima, which should burn as long as at least one nuclear warhead remains in the world;
    
15. Lost connection. After the destruction of Hiroshima, communication with the city was completely lost. Only three hours later did the capital learn that Hiroshima had been destroyed;
16. Deadly poison. The crew of the Enola Gay were given ampoules of potassium cyanide, which they were supposed to take in case of failure to complete the task;
17. radioactive mutants. The famous Japanese monster "Godzilla" was invented as a mutation for radioactive contamination after a nuclear bombing;
18. Shadows of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The explosions of nuclear bombs had such tremendous power that people literally evaporated, leaving only dark prints on the walls and floor as a memory of themselves;
19. Hiroshima symbol. The first plant to bloom after the Hiroshima nuclear attack was the oleander. It is he who is now the official symbol of the city of Hiroshima;
20. Warning before a nuclear attack. Before the nuclear attack began, US aircraft dropped millions of leaflets on 33 Japanese cities warning of an impending bombardment;
21. Radio signals. An American radio station in Saipan broadcast warnings of a nuclear attack throughout Japan until the very last moment. The signals were repeated every 15 minutes.

The tragedy in Hiroshima and Nagasaki happened 72 years ago, but it still serves as a reminder that humanity should not thoughtlessly destroy its own kind.

Everyone knows that on August 6 and 9, 1945, nuclear weapons were dropped on two Japanese cities. About 150 thousand civilians died in Hiroshima, up to 80 thousand in Nagasaki.

These dates have become mourning for life in the minds of millions of Japanese. Everything opens up every year. more secrets about these terrible events, which will be discussed in our article.

1. If anyone survived after a nuclear explosion, tens of thousands of people began to suffer from radiation sickness.

Over the course of decades, the Radiation Research Foundation studied 94,000 people to develop a cure for the disease that afflicted them.

2. Oleander is the official symbol of Hiroshima. Do you know why? This is the first plant to bloom in the city after the nuclear explosion.

3. According to the latest scientific studies, those who survived after the atomic bombing received an average dose of radiation equal to 210 milliseconds. For comparison: computed tomography of the head irradiates in 2 milliseconds, and here - 210 (!).

4. On that terrible day, before the explosion, according to the census, the number of inhabitants of Nagasaki was 260 thousand people. Today it is home to almost half a million Japanese. By the way, by Japanese standards, this is still a wilderness.

5. 6 ginkgo trees, located just 2 km from the epicenter of events, managed to survive.

A year after the tragic events, they bloomed. Today, each of them is officially registered as "Hibako Yumoku", which means "survivor tree". Ginkgo is considered a symbol of hope in Japan.

6. After the bombing in Hiroshima, many unsuspecting survivors were evacuated to Nagasaki...

Of those who survived the bombings in both cities, only 165 are known to have survived.

7. In 1955, a park was opened at the site of the bombing in Nagasaki.

The main thing here was a 30-ton sculpture of a man. It is said that the raised hand is reminiscent of the threat of a nuclear explosion, and the outstretched left symbolizes peace.

8. The survivors of these terrible events became known as "hibakusha", which translates as "people affected by the explosion." Surviving children and adults were further subjected to severe discrimination.

Many believed that they could be infected radiation sickness. It was difficult for the hibakushas to settle down in life, to meet someone, to find a job. In the decades following the bombings, it was not uncommon for the parents of a boy or girl to hire detectives to find out if their child's other half was a hibakusha.

9. Every year, on August 6, a memorial ceremony is held in the Hiroshima Memorial Park and at exactly 8:15 (time of the attack) a minute of silence begins.

10. To the surprise of many scientists, scientific studies have shown that the average life expectancy of modern residents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, compared to those who were not exposed to radiation in 1945, was reduced by only a couple of months.

11. Hiroshima is on the list of cities that advocate the abolition of nuclear weapons.

12. Only in 1958, the population of Hiroshima grew to 410 thousand people, which exceeded the pre-war figure. Today, 1.2 million people live in the city.

13. Among those who died from the bombing, about 10% were Koreans, mobilized by the military.

14. Contrary to popular belief, among children born to women who survived a nuclear attack, there were no various developmental abnormalities or mutations.

15. In Hiroshima, in the Memorial Park, there is a miraculously surviving UNESCO world heritage - the Genbaku dome, located 160 meters from the center of events.

In the building at the time of the explosion, the walls collapsed, everything inside burned down, and the people inside died. Now near the "Atomic Cathedral", as it is commonly called, a memorial stone has been erected. Near it you can always see a symbolic bottle of water, which reminds of those who survived the moment of the explosion, but died of thirst in nuclear hell.

16. The explosions were so strong that people died in a split second, leaving behind only shadows.

These prints were due to the heat released during the explosion, which changed the color of the surfaces - hence the contours of bodies and objects that absorbed part of the blast wave. Some of these shadows can still be seen at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

17. The famous Japanese giant monster Godzilla was originally coined as a metaphor for the explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

18. Despite the fact that the power of the atomic explosion in Nagasaki was greater than in Hiroshima, the destructive effect was less. This was facilitated by the hilly terrain, as well as the fact that the center of the explosion was over an industrial area.

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August 6 at 8:15 am 69 years ago Armed forces The United States, on the personal orders of US President Harry Truman, dropped the atomic bomb "Kid" (Little Boy) on the Japanese city of Hiroshima with the equivalent of 13 to 18 kilotons of TNT. Babr prepared the story of this terrible event through the eyes of one of the participants in the bombing

On July 28, 2014, a week before the 69th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the last member of the crew of the Enola Gay aircraft that dropped the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima died. Theodore Van Kirk, nicknamed "Dutch" (Dutch), died in a nursing home in Georgia at the age of 93.

Van Kirk served in the US military during World War II. He has dozens of missions to Europe and North Africa. Nevertheless, he will be remembered as a participant in one of the most horrific acts of human history.

In December 2013, Theodore Van Kirk was interviewed by British director Leslie Woodhead for his documentary film to the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 2015. Here is what Kirk recalled about that day:

“I remember well what it was like on August 6, 1945. Enola Gay taking off from the South Pacific from Tinian Island at 2:45 am. After a sleepless night. I have never seen such a thing in my life beautiful dawn. The weather was beautiful. While flying at an altitude of 10,000 feet, I saw the wide expanses of the Pacific Ocean. It was a peaceful scene, but we had a tense atmosphere on the plane because the crew didn't know if the bomb would go off. After six hours of flight Enola Gay approached Hiroshima.

“When the bomb fell, the first thought was: “God, how glad I am that it worked ...”

Nuclear mushroom over Hiroshima (left) and Nagasaki (right)

“We made a 180-degree turn and flew away from the shock waves. Then they turned around to see the damage. We saw nothing but a bright flash. Then they saw a white mushroom cloud that hung over the city. Under the cloud, the city was completely engulfed in smoke and resembled a cauldron of black boiling tar. And fire was visible on the outskirts of the cities. When the bomb fell, the first thought was: "God, how glad I am that it worked ... the second thought:" It's good that this war will end.

"I am a supporter of peace..."

Model of the "Kid" bomb dropped on Hiroshima

Van Kirk gave many interviews in his life. In conversations with young people, he often urged them not to get involved in another war and even called himself a "supporter of peace." Once, the "Dutchman" told reporters that the sight of what one atomic bomb had done made him unwilling to see it again. But at the same time, the navigator did not feel much remorse and advocated the use of the atomic bomb against the Japanese, calling it a lesser evil compared to the continued air bombardment of Japan and a possible American invasion.

"I have never apologized for what we did in Hiroshima and I never will..."

Japanese boy, injured from explosion

On the frequently asked question“Does he feel remorse for taking part in the bombing that claimed the lives of about 150,000 Japanese?” he replied:

“I never apologized for what we did in Hiroshima and never will,” he said in an interview. - Our mission was to put an end to the Second World War, that's all. If we had not dropped this bomb, it would not have been possible to force the Japanese to capitulate ... "

"This bomb saved lives despite the huge number of victims in Hiroshima..."

Hiroshima after the atomic explosion

“This bomb did save lives, despite the huge number of victims in Hiroshima, because otherwise the scale of casualties in Japan and the United States would have been horrendous,” Van Kirk once said.

According to him, it was not about dropping a bomb on the city and killing people: “Military installations in the city of Hiroshima were destroyed,” the American justified, “the most important of which was the army headquarters responsible for the defense of Japan in case of invasion. She had to be destroyed."

Three days after the bombing of Hiroshima - on August 9, 1945 - the Americans dropped another atomic bomb "Fat Man", with a capacity of up to 21 kilotons of TNT, on another Japanese city - Nagasaki. Between 60,000 and 80,000 people died there.

The officially declared purpose of the bombing was to hasten the surrender of Japan in the Pacific theater of World War II. But the role of the atomic bombings in the surrender of Japan and the ethical justification of the bombings themselves are still hotly debated.

"The use of atomic weapons was necessary"

The crew of the Enola Gay

Late in his life, Theodore Van Kirk once visited the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, where Enola Gay is on display. a museum worker asked Van Kirk if he would like to sit on the plane, to which the latter refused. "I have too many memories of the guys I flew with" he explained his refusal.

Most of the pilots who bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki did not show public activity, but at the same time they did not express regrets about their deeds. In 2005, on the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, the three remaining members of the Enola Gay crew - Tibbets, Van Kirk and Jeppson - said they did not regret what had happened. "The use of atomic weapons was necessary", they said.

Van Kirk's funeral was held in his hometown Northumberland in Pennsylvania on August 5 - the day before the 69th anniversary of the American nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, where he was buried next to his wife, who died in 1975.

Several historical photographs about the tragic events of August 6 and 9, 1945:

These wrist watch, found among the ruins, stopped at 8.15 am on August 6, 1945 -
during the atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima.

The shadow of a man who was sitting on the steps of the stairs in front of the bank entrance at the time of the explosion, 250 meters from the epicenter

A victim of an atomic explosion

The Japanese found among the ruins the wreckage of a children's tricycle
bicycle in Nagasaki, September 17, 1945.

Very few buildings remain in the devastated Hiroshima, a Japanese city that was razed to the ground
as a result of the explosion of the atomic bomb, as seen in this photograph taken on September 8, 1945.

Victims of the atomic explosion, who are in the tent care center of the 2nd military hospital of Hiroshima,
located on the banks of the Ota River, 1150 meters from the epicenter of the explosion, on August 7, 1945.

A tram (top center) and its dead passengers after the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9.
The photo was taken on September 1, 1945.

Akira Yamaguchi shows off his scars burn treatment,
receivedduring a nuclear explosionbombs in Hiroshima.

20,000 feet of smoke rises over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 after
how an atomic bomb was dropped on it during the hostilities.

Survivors of the atomic bomb, first used in combat on August 6, 1945, await medical attention in Hiroshima, Japan. As a result of the explosion, 60,000 people died at the same moment, tens of thousands died later due to exposure.