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During World War II, on August 6, 1945, at 8:15 am, a US B-29 Enola Gay bomber dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Approximately 140,000 people died in the explosion and died over the following months. Three days later, when the United States dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki, about 80,000 people were killed. On August 15, Japan capitulated, thus ending World War II. To date, this bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remains the only case of using nuclear weapons in the history of mankind. The US government decided to drop the bombs, believing that this would hasten the end of the war and there would be no need for prolonged bloody fighting on the main island of Japan. Japan was strenuously trying to control the two islands, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, as the Allies closed in.

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

2. The flying fortress "Enola Gay" comes in for landing on August 6, 1945 at the base on the island of Tinian after the bombing of Hiroshima.

3. This photo, released in 1960 by the US government, shows the Little Boy atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The size of the bomb is 73 cm in diameter, 3.2 m in length. It weighed 4 tons, and the explosion power reached 20,000 tons of TNT.

4. In this image provided by the US Air Force, the main crew of the B-29 Enola Gay bomber, from which the Baby nuclear bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, on August 6, 1945. Pilot Colonel Paul W. Tibbets stands center. The photo was taken in the Mariana Islands. This was the first time in the history of mankind that nuclear weapons were used during military operations.

5. Smoke 20,000 feet high rises over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 after an atomic bomb was dropped on it during the hostilities.

6. This photograph, taken on August 6, 1945, from the city of Yoshiura, located on the other side of the mountains north of Hiroshima, shows smoke rising from the explosion of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. The picture was taken by an Australian engineer from Kure, Japan. The spots left on the negative by radiation almost destroyed the picture.

7. Survivors of the atomic bomb explosion, first used during hostilities 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.

8. August 6, 1945. In the photo: the surviving residents of Hiroshima are given first aid by military doctors shortly after the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, used in military operations for the first time in history.

9. After the explosion of the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945, only ruins remained in Hiroshima. Nuclear weapons were used to hasten the surrender of Japan and end World War II, for which US President Harry Truman ordered the use of nuclear weapons with a capacity of 20,000 tons of TNT. Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945.

10. August 7, 1945, the day after the explosion of the atomic bomb, smoke spreads over the ruins of Hiroshima, Japan.

11. President Harry Truman (pictured left) at his desk in the White House next to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson after returning from the Potsdam Conference. They discuss the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.

13. The survivors of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki people among the ruins, against the backdrop of a raging fire in the background, August 9, 1945.

14. Crew members of the B-29 "The Great Artiste" bomber, which dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, surrounded Major Charles W. Sweeney in North Quincy, Massachusetts. All crew members participated in the historic bombing. Left to right: Sgt. R. Gallagher, Chicago; Staff Sergeant A. M. Spitzer, Bronx, New York; Captain S. D. Albury, Miami, Florida; Captain J.F. Van Pelt Jr., Oak Hill, WV; Lt. F. J. Olivy, Chicago; staff sergeant E.K. Buckley, Lisbon, Ohio; Sgt. A. T. Degart, Plainview, Texas; and Staff Sgt. J. D. Kucharek, Columbus, Nebraska.

15. This photograph of the atomic bomb that exploded over Nagasaki, Japan during World War II was released by the Atomic Energy Commission and the US Department of Defense in Washington on December 6, 1960. The Fat Man bomb was 3.25 m long and 1.54 m in diameter, and weighed 4.6 tons. The power of the explosion reached about 20 kilotons of TNT.

16. A huge column of smoke rises into the air after the explosion of the second atomic bomb in the port city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. As a result of the explosion of a bomb dropped by a bomber air force US Army B-29 Bockscar, more than 70 thousand people died immediately, tens of thousands more died subsequently as a result of exposure.

17. A huge nuclear mushroom over Nagasaki, Japan, August 9, 1945, after a US bomber dropped an atomic bomb on the city. The nuclear explosion over Nagasaki occurred three days after the US dropped the first ever atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

18. A boy carries his burnt brother on his back on August 10, 1945 in Nagasaki, Japan. Such photos were not made public by the Japanese side, but after the end of the war they were shown to the world media by UN staff.

19. The arrow was installed at the site of the fall of the atomic bomb in Nagasaki on August 10, 1945. Most of the affected area is empty to this day, the trees remained charred and mutilated, and almost no reconstruction was carried out.

20. Japanese workers dismantle the rubble in the affected area in Nagasaki, an industrial city located in the southwest of Kyushu, after an atomic bomb was dropped on it on August 9. A chimney and a lone building can be seen in the background, ruins in the foreground. The picture is taken from the archives of the Japanese news agency Domei.

22. As can be seen in this photo, which was taken on September 5, 1945, several concrete and steel buildings and bridges remained intact after the US dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima during World War II.

23. A month after the first atomic bomb exploded on August 6, 1945, a journalist inspects the ruins in Hiroshima, Japan.

24. Victim of the explosion of the first atomic bomb in the department of the first military hospital in Ujina in September 1945. The thermal radiation generated by the explosion burned the pattern from the kimono fabric on the woman's back.

25. Most of the territory of Hiroshima was wiped off the face of the earth by the explosion of the atomic bomb. This is the first aerial photograph after the explosion, taken on September 1, 1945.

26. The area around the Sanyo-Shorai-Kan (Trade Promotion Center) in Hiroshima was left in ruins after the atomic bomb exploded 100 meters away in 1945.

27. A correspondent stands among the ruins in front of the skeleton of the building that was the city theater in Hiroshima on September 8, 1945, a month after the first atomic bomb was dropped by the United States to hasten the surrender of Japan.

28. The ruins and lone frame of the building after the explosion of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima. The photo was taken on September 8, 1945.

29. Very few buildings remain in the devastated Hiroshima, a Japanese city that was razed to the ground by an atomic bomb, as seen in this photograph taken on September 8, 1945. (AP Photo)

30. September 8, 1945. People walk along a cleared road among the ruins left by the first atomic bomb in Hiroshima on August 6 of the same year.

31. The Japanese found among the ruins of the wreckage of a children's tricycle in Nagasaki, September 17, 1945. The nuclear bomb dropped on the city on August 9 wiped out almost everything within a radius of 6 kilometers from the face of the earth and took the lives of thousands of civilians.

32. This photo, courtesy of the Association of the Photographers of the Atomic (Bomb) Destruction of Hiroshima, is a victim of the atomic explosion. A man is in quarantine on the island of Ninoshima in Hiroshima, Japan, 9 kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion, a day after the US dropped an atomic bomb on the city.

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

34. People pass a tram lying on the tracks at the Kamiyasho intersection in Hiroshima some time after the atomic bomb was dropped on the city.

35. In this photograph provided by the Japan Association of the Photographers of the Atomic (Bomb) Destruction of Hiroshima, victims of the atomic explosion 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, August 7, 1945. The photo was taken the day after the United States dropped the first ever atomic bomb on the city.

36. View of Hachobori Street in Hiroshima shortly after a bomb was dropped on the Japanese city.

37. The Urakami Catholic Cathedral in Nagasaki, photographed on September 13, 1945, was destroyed by an atomic bomb.

38. A Japanese soldier wanders among the ruins in search of recyclable materials in Nagasaki on September 13, 1945, just over a month after the atomic bomb exploded over the city.

39. A man with a loaded bicycle on a road cleared of ruins in Nagasaki on September 13, 1945, a month after the atomic bomb exploded.

40. September 14, 1945, the Japanese are trying to drive through a ruined street on the outskirts of the city of Nagasaki, over which a nuclear bomb exploded.

41. This area of ​​Nagasaki was once built up with industrial buildings and small residential buildings. In the background are the ruins of the Mitsubishi factory and the concrete school building at the foot of the hill.

42. The top image shows the busy city of Nagasaki before the explosion, and the bottom image shows the wasteland after the atomic bomb. The circles measure the distance from the explosion point.

43. A Japanese family eats rice in a hut built from the rubble left on the site where their house once stood in Nagasaki, September 14, 1945.

44. These huts, photographed on September 14, 1945, were built from the wreckage of buildings that were destroyed as a result of the explosion of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki.

45. In the Ginza district of Nagasaki, which was an analogue of New York's Fifth Avenue, the owners of shops destroyed by a nuclear bomb sell their goods on the sidewalks, September 30, 1945.

46. ​​Sacred Torii gate at the entrance to the completely destroyed Shinto shrine in Nagasaki in October 1945.

47. Service at the Nagarekawa Protestant Church after the atomic bomb destroyed the church in Hiroshima, 1945.

48. A young man injured after the explosion of the second atomic bomb in the city of Nagasaki.

49. Major Thomas Fereby, left, from Moscowville and Captain Kermit Beahan, right, from Houston, talking in a hotel in Washington, February 6, 1946. Ferebi is the man who dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, and his interlocutor dropped the bomb on Nagasaki.

52. Ikimi Kikkawa shows his keloid scars left after the treatment of burns received during the explosion of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima at the end of World War II. The photo was taken at the Red Cross Hospital on June 5, 1947.

53. Akira Yamaguchi shows his scars left after the treatment of burns received during the explosion of a nuclear bomb in Hiroshima.

54. On the body of Jinpe Terawama, the survivor of the explosion of the first atomic bomb in history, there were numerous burn scars, Hiroshima, June 1947.

55. Pilot Colonel Paul W. Taibbets waves from the cockpit of his bomber at a base located on the island of Tinian, August 6, 1945, before taking off, the purpose of which was to drop the first ever atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The day before, Tibbets had named the B-29 flying fortress "Enola Gay" after his mother.

Second World War remembered in history not only for catastrophic destruction, the ideas of a crazy fanatic and many deaths, but also on August 6, 1945 - the beginning of a new era in world history. The fact is that it was then that the first and on this moment last application atomic weapons for military purposes. The power of the nuclear bomb in Hiroshima has remained for centuries. In the USSR there was one that scared the population of the whole world, see the top of the most powerful nuclear bombs and and to

There are not so many people who survived this attack, as well as surviving buildings. We, in turn, decided to collect all the existing information about the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, structure the data of this effect of influence and reinforce the story with the words of eyewitnesses, officers from the headquarters.

Was an atomic bomb necessary?

Almost every person living on earth knows that America dropped nuclear bombs on Japan, although the country experienced this test alone. In view of the political situation of that time, in the States and the control center they celebrated the victory, while people died en masse on the other side of the world. This topic still resonates with pain in the hearts of tens of thousands of Japanese people, and for good reason. On the one hand, it was a necessity, because it was not possible to end the war in any other way. On the other hand, many people think that the Americans just wanted to test a new deadly "toy".

Robert Oppenheimer, a theoretical physicist for whom science has always been in the first place in his life, did not even think that his invention would cause such huge damage. Although he did not work alone, he is called the father of the nuclear bomb. Yes, in the process of creating a warhead, he knew about the possible harm, although he did not understand that it would be inflicted on civilians who had nothing to do with the war. As he later said, "We did all the work for the devil." But this phrase was uttered later. And at that time he did not differ in foresight, because he did not know what would happen tomorrow and what the Second World War would turn into.

In the American "bins" before the year 45, three full-fledged warheads were ready:

• Trinity;
• Baby;
• Fat man.

The first one was blown up during testing, and the last two went down in history. Dropping a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was predicted to end the war. After all, the Japanese government did not accept the terms of surrender. And without it, other allied countries will have neither military support nor a reserve of human resources. And so it happened. On August 15, as a consequence of the shock experienced, the government signed documents on unconditional surrender. This date is now called the official end of the war.

On whether the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was necessary, historians, politicians and simple people cannot agree to this day. What's done is done, we can't change anything. But it was precisely this anti-Japanese action that became turning point in history. The threat of new atomic bomb explosions hangs over the planet every day. Although most countries have abandoned nuclear weapons, some still retained this status. The nuclear warheads of Russia and the United States are safely hidden, but conflicts at the political level are not decreasing. And the possibility is not ruled out that sometime similar "actions" will be held.

In our native history we can meet the concept cold war”, when during the Second World War and at its end, the two superpowers - the Soviet Union and the United States could not come to an agreement. This period began just after the surrender of Japan. And everyone knew that if the countries did not find a common language, nuclear weapons would be used again, only now not in concert with each other, but mutually. This would be the beginning of the end and again would make the Earth a blank slate, unfit for existence - without people, living organisms, buildings, only with a huge level of radiation and a bunch of corpses around the world. As a famous scientist said, in the Fourth World War people will fight with sticks and stones, since only a few will survive the Third. After this small lyrical digression, let's return to historical facts and how the warhead was dropped on the city.

Prerequisites for the attack on Japan

Dropping a nuclear bomb on Japan was conceived long before the explosion. The 20th century is generally distinguished by the rapid development of nuclear physics. Significant discoveries in this industry were made almost daily. World scientists realized that the chain nuclear reaction will make a warhead. Here is how they behaved in the opponent countries:

1. Germany. In 1938, German nuclear physicists were able to split the nucleus of uranium. Then they turned to the government and talked about the possibility of creating a fundamentally new weapon. Then they launched the world's first rocket launcher. Perhaps this spurred Hitler to start the war. Although the studies were classified, some of them are now known. AT scientific centers built a reactor to generate enough uranium. But scientists had to choose between substances that could slow down the reaction. It could be water or graphite. By choosing water, they, without knowing it, deprived themselves of the possibility of creating atomic weapons. It became clear to Hitler that he would not be released until the end of the war, and he cut funding for the project. But the rest of the world did not know about it. That is why German studies were feared, especially with such brilliant initial results.
2. USA. The first patent for a nuclear weapon was obtained in 1939. All such studies took place in fierce competition with Germany. The process was spurred on by a letter to the President of the United States from the most progressive scientists of that time that a bomb could be created in Europe earlier. And, if not in time, then the consequences will be unpredictable. Starting from 1943, Canadian, European and English scientists helped America in development. The project was called "Manhattan". The weapon was first tested on July 16 at a test site in New Mexico and the result was considered successful.

In 1944, the heads of the United States and Britain decided that if the war did not end, they would have to use a warhead. Already at the beginning of 1945, when Germany capitulated, the Japanese government decided not to admit defeat. The Japanese continued to repel attacks on pacific ocean and attack. It was clear then that the war was lost. But the morale of the "samurai" was not broken. A striking example of this was the battle for Okinawa. The Americans suffered huge losses in it, but they are incomparable with the invasion of Japan itself. Although the US bombed Japanese cities, the fury of the resistance of the army did not subside. Therefore, the question of the use of nuclear weapons was raised again. The targets for the attack were chosen by a specially created committee.

Why Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The target selection committee met twice. The first time the Hiroshima Nagasaki nuclear bomb was approved was the release date. For the second time, specific weapons targets were chosen against the Japanese. It happened on May 10, 1945. They wanted to drop the bomb on:

• Kyoto;
• Hiroshima;
• Yokohama;
• Niigata;
• Kokuru.

Kyoto was the country's largest industrial center, Hiroshima had a huge military port and army depots, Yokohama was the center of the military industry, Kokuru was the repository of a large arsenal of weapons, and Niigata was the center of the building. military equipment, as well as the port. It was decided not to use the bomb on military installations. Indeed, it was possible not to hit small targets without an urban area around and there was a chance to miss. Kyoto was rejected outright. The population in this city was distinguished by a high level of education. They could assess the significance of the bomb and influence the surrender of the country. Some requirements were put forward for other objects. They should be large and significant economic centers, and the very process of dropping the bomb should cause a resonance in the world. Objects affected by air raids were not suitable. After all, the assessment of the consequences after the explosion of an atomic warhead with general staff had to be accurate.

Two cities were chosen as the main ones - Hiroshima and Kokura. For each of them, a so-called safety net was determined. Nagasaki became one of them. Hiroshima attracted with its location and size. The strength of the bomb should be increased by nearby hills and mountains. Significance was also attached to psychological factors that could have a special impact on the population of the country and its leadership. And yet, the effectiveness of the bomb must be significant in order to be recognized throughout the world.

History of the bombing

The nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima was supposed to explode on August 3rd. She had already been delivered by cruiser to the island of Tinian and assembled. It was separated by only 2500 km from Hiroshima. But bad weather pushed back the terrible date by 3 days. Therefore, the event of August 6, 1945 took place. Despite the fact that not far from Hiroshima there were fighting and the city was often bombed, no one was afraid anymore. In some schools, studies continued, people worked according to their usual schedule. Most of the inhabitants were on the street, eliminating the consequences of the bombing. The rubble was dismantled even by small children. 340 (245 according to other sources) thousand people lived in Hiroshima.

Numerous T-shaped bridges connecting the six parts of the city with each other were chosen as the bombing site. They were perfectly visible from the air and crossed the river along and across. From here, both the industrial center and the residential sector, consisting of small wooden buildings, were visible. At 7 o'clock in the morning the air raid signal sounded. Everyone immediately ran for cover. But already at 7:30 the alarm was canceled, as the operator saw on the radar that no more than three aircraft were approaching. Entire squadrons were flown in to bomb Hiroshima, so the conclusion was made about reconnaissance operations. Most of the people, mostly children, ran out of hiding to look at the planes. But they flew too high.

The day before, Oppenheimer had given the crew members clear instructions on how to drop the bomb. It was not supposed to explode high above the city, otherwise the planned destruction would not be achieved. The target must be perfectly visible from the air. The pilots of the American B-29 bomber threw off the warhead in exact time explosion - 8:15 am. The Little Boy bomb exploded at an altitude of 600 meters from the ground.

Consequences of the explosion

The yield of the Hiroshima Nagasaki nuclear bomb is estimated at 13 to 20 kilotons. She had a filling of uranium. It exploded over the modern Sima hospital. People who were a few meters from the epicenter burned down immediately, as the temperature here was in the region of 3-4 thousand degrees Celsius. From some, only black shadows remained on the ground, on the steps. Approximately 70 thousand people died in a second, hundreds of thousands more were terribly injured. The mushroom cloud rose 16 kilometers above the ground.

According to eyewitnesses, at the moment of the explosion, the sky turned orange, then a fiery tornado appeared, which blinded, then the sound passed. Most of those who were within a radius of 2-5 kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion lost consciousness. People flew 10 meters away and looked like wax dolls, the remains of houses were spinning in the air. After the survivors came to their senses, they rushed en masse to the shelter, fearing the next combat use and the second explosion. No one yet knew what an atomic bomb was and did not imagine the possible dire consequences. Whole clothes remained on the units. Most of them were in tatters that had not had time to burn out. Based on the words of eyewitnesses, we can conclude that they were scalded with boiling water, their skin ached and itched. In places where there were chains, earrings, rings, there was a scar for life.

But the worst began later. People's faces were burned beyond recognition. It was impossible to make out whether it was a man or a woman. With many, the skin began to peel off and reached the ground, holding only on the nails. Hiroshima was like a parade of the living dead. The inhabitants walked with their hands outstretched in front of them and asked for water. But you could only drink from the canals by the road, which they did. Those who reached the river threw themselves into it to relieve the pain and died there. The corpses flowed downstream, accumulating near the dam. People with babies who were in the buildings hugged them and so died frozen. Most of their names have never been determined.

Within minutes, black rain fell with radioactive contamination. There is a scientific explanation for this. The nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki increased the air temperature several times. With such an anomaly, a lot of liquid evaporated, it very quickly fell on the city. Water mixed with soot, ash and radiation. Therefore, even if a person did not suffer much from the explosion, he became infected by drinking this rain. He penetrated into the channels, onto the products, infecting them with radioactive substances.

The dropped atomic bomb destroyed hospitals, buildings, there were no medicines. The day after, the survivors were taken to hospitals about 20 kilometers from Hiroshima. Burns were treated with flour and vinegar. People were wrapped in bandages like mummies and sent home.

Not far from Hiroshima, the inhabitants of Nagasaki were unaware of exactly the same attack on them, which was being prepared on August 9, 1945. Meanwhile, the US government congratulated Oppenheimer...

An American B-29 Superfortress bomber called "Enola Gay" took off from Tinian Island in the early hours of August 6 with a single 4,000 kg uranium bomb called "Little Boy". At 8:15 a.m., the "baby" bomb was dropped from a height of 9,400 m above the city and spent 57 seconds in free fall. At the moment of detonation, a small explosion provoked the explosion of 64 kg of uranium. Of these 64 kg, only 7 kg passed the splitting stage, and of this mass, only 600 mg turned into energy - explosive energy that burned everything in its path for several kilometers, leveling the city with a blast wave, starting a series of fires and plunging all living things into radiation flux. It is believed that about 70,000 people died immediately, another 70,000 died from injuries and radiation by 1950. Today in Hiroshima, near the epicenter of the explosion, there is a memorial museum, the purpose of which is to promote the idea that nuclear weapons cease to exist forever.

May 1945: selection of targets.

During its second meeting at Los Alamos (May 10-11, 1945), the Targeting Committee recommended as targets for the use of atomic weapons Kyoto (the largest industrial center), Hiroshima (the center of army warehouses and a military port), Yokohama (the center of military industry), Kokuru (the largest military arsenal) and Niigata (military port and engineering center). The committee rejected the idea of ​​using these weapons against a purely military target, as there was a chance of overshooting a small area not surrounded by a vast urban area.
When choosing a goal, great importance was attached to psychological factors, such as:
achieving maximum psychological effect against Japan,
the first use of the weapon must be significant enough for international recognition of its importance. The Committee pointed out that the choice of Kyoto was supported by the fact that its population had more high level education and thus better able to appreciate the value of weapons. Hiroshima, on the other hand, was of such a size and location that, given the focusing effect of the hills surrounding it, the force of the explosion could be increased.
US Secretary of War Henry Stimson struck Kyoto off the list due to the city's cultural significance. According to Professor Edwin O. Reischauer, Stimson "knew and appreciated Kyoto from his honeymoon there decades ago."

Pictured is Secretary of War Henry Stimson.

On July 16, the world's first successful test of an atomic weapon was carried out at a test site in New Mexico. The power of the explosion was about 21 kilotons of TNT.
On July 24, during the Potsdam Conference, US President Harry Truman informed Stalin that the United States had a new weapon of unprecedented destructive power. Truman did not specify that he was referring specifically to atomic weapons. According to Truman's memoirs, Stalin showed little interest, remarking only that he was glad and hoped that the US could use him effectively against the Japanese. Churchill, who carefully observed Stalin's reaction, remained of the opinion that Stalin did not understand the true meaning of Truman's words and did not pay attention to him. At the same time, according to Zhukov's memoirs, Stalin perfectly understood everything, but did not show it, and in a conversation with Molotov after the meeting he noted that "It will be necessary to talk with Kurchatov about speeding up our work." After the declassification of the operation of the American intelligence services "Venona", it became known that Soviet agents had long been reporting on the development of nuclear weapons. According to some reports, agent Theodor Hall, a few days before the Potsdam conference, even announced the planned date for the first nuclear test. This may explain why Stalin took Truman's message calmly. Hall worked for Soviet intelligence already since 1944.
On July 25, Truman approved the order, beginning August 3, to bomb one of the following targets: Hiroshima, Kokura, Niigata, or Nagasaki, as soon as the weather allowed, and in the future, the following cities, as bombs arrived.
On July 26, the governments of the United States, Britain, and China signed the Potsdam Declaration, which set out the demand for Japan's unconditional surrender. The atomic bomb was not mentioned in the declaration.
The next day, Japanese newspapers reported that the declaration, which had been broadcast over the radio and scattered in leaflets from airplanes, had been rejected. The Japanese government has not expressed a desire to accept the ultimatum. On July 28, Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki stated at a press conference that the Potsdam Declaration was nothing more than the old arguments of the Cairo Declaration in a new wrapper, and demanded that the government ignore it.
Emperor Hirohito, who was waiting for a Soviet response to the evasive diplomatic moves [what?] of the Japanese, did not change the decision of the government. On July 31, in a conversation with Koichi Kido, he made it clear that the imperial power must be protected at all costs.

An aerial view of Hiroshima shortly before the bomb was dropped on the city in August 1945. Shown here is a densely populated area of ​​the city on the Motoyasu River.

Preparing for the bombing

During May-June 1945, the American 509th Combined Aviation Group arrived on Tinian Island. The group's base area on the island was a few miles from the rest of the units and was carefully guarded.
On July 26, the Indianapolis cruiser delivered the Little Boy atomic bomb to Tinian.
On July 28, the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, George Marshall, signed the order for the combat use of nuclear weapons. The order, drafted by Major General Leslie Groves, head of the Manhattan Project, called for a nuclear attack "on any day after August 3rd, as soon as the weather permits." On July 29, US Strategic Air Command General Karl Spaats arrived on Tinian, delivering Marshall's order to the island.
On July 28 and August 2, components of the Fat Man atomic bomb were brought to Tinian by planes.

Commander A.F. Birch (left) numbers the bomb, codenamed "Kid", physicist Dr. Ramsey (right) will receive Nobel Prize in physics in 1989.

"Kid" was 3 m long and weighed 4,000 kg, but contained only 64 kg of uranium, which was used to provoke a chain of atomic reactions and the subsequent explosion.

Hiroshima during World War II.

Hiroshima was located on a flat area, slightly above sea level at the mouth of the Ota River, on 6 islands connected by 81 bridges. The population of the city before the war was over 340 thousand people, which made Hiroshima the seventh largest city in Japan. The city was the headquarters of the Fifth Division and the Second Main Army of Field Marshal Shunroku Hata, who commanded the defense of all of Southern Japan. Hiroshima was an important supply base for the Japanese army.
In Hiroshima (as well as in Nagasaki), most buildings were one- and two-story wooden buildings with tiled roofs. Factories were located on the outskirts of the city. Outdated fire equipment and insufficient training of personnel created a high fire hazard even in peacetime.
The population of Hiroshima peaked at 380,000 during the course of the war, but before the bombing, the population gradually decreased due to systematic evacuations ordered by the Japanese government. At the time of the attack, the population was about 245 thousand people.

Pictured is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber of the US Army "Enola Gay"

Bombardment

The main target of the first American nuclear bombing was Hiroshima (Kokura and Nagasaki were spares). Although Truman's order called for the atomic bombing to begin on August 3, cloud cover over the target prevented this until August 6.
On August 6, at 1:45 am, an American B-29 bomber under the command of the commander of the 509th mixed aviation regiment, Colonel Paul Tibbets, carrying the atomic bomb "Baby" on board, took off from Tinian Island, which was about 6 hours from Hiroshima. Tibbets' aircraft ("Enola Gay") flew as part of a formation that included six other aircraft: a spare aircraft ("Top Secret"), two controllers and three reconnaissance aircraft ("Jebit III", "Full House" and "Straight Flash"). Reconnaissance aircraft commanders sent to Nagasaki and Kokura reported significant cloud cover over these cities. The pilot of the third reconnaissance aircraft, Major Iserli, found out that the sky over Hiroshima was clear and sent a signal "Bomb the first target."
Around 7 a.m., a network of Japanese early warning radars detected the approach of several American aircraft heading towards southern Japan. An air raid alert was issued and radio broadcasts stopped in many cities, including Hiroshima. At about 08:00 a radar operator in Hiroshima determined that the number of incoming aircraft was very small—perhaps no more than three—and the air raid alert was called off. In order to save fuel and aircraft, the Japanese did not intercept small groups of American bombers. The standard message was broadcast over the radio that it would be wise to go to the bomb shelters if the B-29s were actually seen, and that it was not a raid that was expected, but just some kind of reconnaissance.
At 08:15 local time, the B-29, being at an altitude of over 9 km, dropped an atomic bomb on the center of Hiroshima. The fuse was set to a height of 600 meters above the surface; an explosion equivalent to 13 to 18 kilotons of TNT occurred 45 seconds after the release.
The first public announcement of the event came from Washington, DC, sixteen hours after the atomic attack on the Japanese city.

A photo taken from one of two American bombers of the 509th Composite Group, shortly after 08:15, on August 5, 1945, shows smoke rising from the explosion over the city of Hiroshima.

When the portion of uranium in the bomb went through the fission stage, it was instantly converted into the energy of 15 kilotons of TNT, heating the massive fireball to a temperature of 3,980 degrees Celsius.

explosion effect

Those closest to the epicenter of the explosion died instantly, their bodies turned to coal. Birds flying past burned up in the air, and dry, flammable materials such as paper ignited up to 2 km from the epicenter. Light radiation burned the dark pattern of clothes into the skin and left the silhouettes of human bodies on the walls. People outside the houses described a blinding flash of light, which simultaneously came with a wave of suffocating heat. The blast wave, for all who were near the epicenter, followed almost immediately, often knocking down. Those in the buildings tended to avoid exposure to the light from the explosion, but not the blast—glass shards hit most rooms, and all but the strongest buildings collapsed. One teenager was blasted out of his house across the street as the house collapsed behind him. Within a few minutes, 90% of people who were at a distance of 800 meters or less from the epicenter died.
The blast wave shattered glass at a distance of up to 19 km. For those in the buildings, the typical first reaction was the thought of a direct hit from an aerial bomb.
Numerous small fires that simultaneously broke out in the city soon merged into one large fire tornado, which created a strong wind (speed of 50-60 km/h) directed towards the epicenter. The fiery tornado captured over 11 km² of the city, killing everyone who did not have time to get out within the first few minutes after the explosion.
According to the memoirs of Akiko Takakura, one of the few survivors who were at the time of the explosion at a distance of 300 m from the epicenter:
Three colors characterize for me 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, peeling skin exposed to light from the explosion.
A few days after the explosion, among the survivors, doctors began to notice the first symptoms of exposure. Soon, the number of deaths among survivors began to rise again as patients who seemed to be recovering began to suffer from this strange new disease. Deaths from radiation sickness peaked 3-4 weeks after the explosion and began to decline only after 7-8 weeks. Japanese doctors considered vomiting and diarrhea characteristic of radiation sickness to be symptoms of dysentery. The long-term health effects associated with exposure, such as an increased risk of cancer, haunted the survivors for the rest of their lives, as did the psychological shock of the explosion.

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.

Loss and destruction

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 the action of radioactive contamination and other post-effects of the explosion, the total number of deaths was 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 200,000 people.
According to official Japanese data as of March 31, 2013, there were 201,779 "hibakusha" alive - people affected by the effects of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This figure includes children born to women exposed to radiation from the explosions (mostly living in Japan at the time of counting). Of these, 1%, according to the Japanese government, had serious cancers 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.

View of the destroyed Hiroshima in the autumn of 1945 on one branch of the river passing through the delta on which the city stands

Complete destruction after the release of the atomic bomb.

Color photograph of the destroyed Hiroshima in March 1946.

The explosion destroyed the Okita plant in Hiroshima, Japan.

Look how the sidewalk was raised, and sticks out of the bridge downpipe. Scientists say this was due to the vacuum created by the pressure from the atomic explosion.

Twisted iron beams are all that remains of the theater building, located about 800 meters from the epicenter.

The Hiroshima Fire Department lost its only vehicle when western station was destroyed by the atomic bomb. The station was located 1,200 meters from the epicenter.

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Nuclear pollution

The concept of "radioactive contamination" did not yet exist in those years, and therefore this issue was not even raised then. People continued to live and rebuild the destroyed buildings in the same place where they were before. Even the high mortality of the population in subsequent years, as well as illnesses and genetic abnormalities in children born after the bombings, were not initially associated with exposure to radiation. The evacuation of the population from the contaminated areas was not carried out, since no one knew about the very presence of radioactive contamination.
It is rather difficult to give an accurate assessment of the degree of this pollution due to lack of information, however, since technically the first atomic bombs were relatively low-power and imperfect (the “Kid” bomb, for example, contained 64 kg of uranium, of which only about 700 g fission occurred), the level of contamination of the area could not be significant, although it posed a serious danger to the population. For comparison: at the time of the accident on Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the reactor core there were several tons of fission products and transuranium elements - various radioactive isotopes accumulated during reactor operation.

Terrible consequences...

Keloid scars on the back and shoulders of a victim of the Hiroshima bombing. The scars formed where the victim's skin was exposed to direct radiation.

Comparative preservation of some buildings

Some reinforced concrete buildings in the city were very stable (due to the risk of earthquakes), and their framework did not collapse, despite being quite close to the center of destruction in the city (the epicenter of the explosion). Thus stood the brick building of the Hiroshima Chamber of Industry (now commonly known as the "Genbaku Dome", or "Atomic Dome"), designed and built by Czech architect Jan Letzel, which was only 160 meters from the epicenter of the explosion (at the height of the bomb detonation 600 m above the surface). The ruins became the most famous exhibit of the Hiroshima atomic explosion and were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, despite objections raised by the US and Chinese governments.

A man looks at the ruins left after the explosion of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima.

People lived here

Visitors to the Hiroshima Memorial Park look at a panoramic view of the aftermath of the July 27, 2005 atomic explosion in Hiroshima.

A memorial flame in honor of the victims of the atomic explosion on a monument in the Hiroshima Memorial Park. The fire has been burning continuously since it was ignited on August 1, 1964. The fire will burn until "until all the atomic weapons of the earth are gone forever."

In the post-war years, the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear bombs that were developed in the United States was widely discussed. Until now, disputes about this episode, which claimed thousands of innocent lives, do not fade away. Consider the chronology of events before fateful day and its consequences.

The history of the creation of a nuclear bomb in the United States

In the 1940s, the United States pioneered the use of nuclear weapons. The impetus for speeding up 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 systems of destruction in 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 from the fascist regime. Prior to 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 level of radiation was assessed first of all.

The United States authorities allocated funds to finance the novelty, and Robert Oppenheimer was appointed chief engineer. It is 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 British supported the States. Since for Great Britain the fascist nuclear bomb was a threat capable of destroying all the 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, which received the code name "Manhattan" (at the location of the research building), was overseen by Leslie Groves.

Already in the summer of 1945, the first tests were carried out. In the first prototype, plutonium acted as the reaction material. Undermining was carried out at the site, which was built up with artificial structures to assess the damaging factors.

The result of the experiment was:

1. The blast wave covered one and a half kilometers;
2. At 12 km, a column of mushroom-shaped smoke rose into the air;
3. All buildings prepared for the experiment were destroyed;
4. The earth and all the animals that happened to be 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 the combat use of this destructive weapon, disputes about which have not subsided to this day.

Political conditions and prerequisites for the bombing

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 operating projects appeared immediately after the tests, the British and Canadians provided support to the Americans.

Consideration of the bombing option began after an assessment of the likely losses in 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 within 110 thousand fighters and almost the same number of civilians. The invasion of the country was to lead to even greater casualties.

The raid on Hiroshima was carried out on August 6, the delivery of the cargo was carried out by the aircraft B-29 "Enola Gay". Before Japanese city"Kid" was delivered, equivalent to 13-18 kilotons of TNT.

Three days later, a "Fat Man" was dropped on Nagasaki, with even greater power, in the region of 21 kilotons.

As a result of the first strike, 90-166 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 inclined them towards ending the war on the part of the island state. The date of August 15 became the time for the announcement of surrender, and on September 2 an act was signed, in fact, ending the Second World War.

Major economic centers

The choice of targets for the strike was made at the second meeting in Los Alamos, in the spring of 1945. Several cities that were of strategic interest had to be assessed and weeded out.

Options for bombing strikes:

• Kyoto. The city was the largest industrial center of the country;
• 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 hosted Japan's largest arsenal;
• Niigatu. Center for mechanical engineering, port of warships.

The idea of ​​inflicting a pinpoint strike exclusively on military targets was rejected, since the risk of a miss was high. The lack of an urban area around the bombing target could have nullified the effect.

It was important to assess the psychological aspects of the impact. First, it was necessary to intimidate the enemy as much as possible. Secondly, the first atomic strike was supposed to have an effect on the entire world community, emphasizing its significance.

The commission calculated all aspects of the location of likely targets. For example, Kyoto looked promising due to the higher education of the population, which means the ability to evaluate weapons more objectively. Hiroshima is surrounded by hills, which were considered as screens that could enhance the impact effect. Kyoto was subsequently crossed out by the US Secretary of War, who praised the city as a cultural center.

Resonance in the world

Until now, the question of ethical validity and the role that the bombings played in the surrender of Japan has been 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 called the main reason for the surrender of Japan, which means they prevented the heavy losses on both sides that the invasion guaranteed;
• the swift surrender that followed ruled out loss of life elsewhere in Asia;
• Japan waged an all-out war in which there was no distinction between the civilian population and the army;
• the authorities of the island state categorically refused to stop the war, but the 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 called a war crime and state terrorism.

However, at the time of the events in question, there were no agreements and treaties at the international level prohibiting the use of the atom for military purposes.

Many experts consider Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a demonstration of the power of the States. Its purpose 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 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 American strikes. Even after the complete loss of communication with military facilities, the Japanese authorities did not believe in the scale of the disaster. Only the arrival of an army officer at the scene made it possible to open one's eyes to the damage done.

The bombs themselves had a huge effect on the infrastructure, destroyed a huge number of people, including those who had nothing to do with the war at all. The psychological aspects are just as obvious, the demoralizing effect allowed to turn the tide of the war.

The weapon effects are as follows:

• shock wave of great power;
• thermal effect;
• 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 peak values ​​much later.

Details about the bombing of Hiroshima

The campaign began with the transfer of a mixed air group of Americans to the island of Tinian. This area was separated from other units of the US Air Force and heavily guarded. The Baby bomb was delivered on the cruiser Indianapolis at the end of July.

The order to use the new weapon was received and signed on 28 July. According to the document, after August 3, it was necessary to strike on any day, as soon as the weather allowed. Until August 6, the conditions did not allow the bombing to begin.

Hiroshima was the 7th city in Japan in terms of population - 340 thousand people (at the time of the impact due to the evacuation of 245 thousand). It was located on a flat land on 6 islands, just above sea level. AT war time the city became one of the key supply bases for the army.

Most of the buildings were low (within 32 floors), manufacturing centers were located on the periphery. The risk of fire spread in such conditions was very high, the situation was aggravated by outdated fire extinguishing systems.

Hiroshima became the main target of a nuclear air raid, Nagasaki and Kokura were considered spares. From the point of departure, the target was 2500 km away, 6 aircraft headed towards it, which the Japanese radars recorded at 7 in the morning. Since the number of vehicles was determined to be small, fighters were not sent to intercept, as fuel was saved.

The bomb was dropped on the city center at 8 am, B-29 was at an altitude of 9 km. The fuses of the "Kid" worked 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 underpowered. For example, "Kid" contained 64 kg of uranium, but only 700 g 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 about 21 kilotons.

Bombers

The carriers of the bombs were selected B-29 aircraft, which acted as part of a link that included scouts. Hiroshima was attacked by a plane named "Enola Gay" and Nagasaki by "Bockscar". Structurally, they practically did not differ from other production aircraft.

Results and consequences of the explosion

All living things that were close to the epicenter outside the buildings died instantly, the bodies of people and animals turned into coal. At a distance of up to 2 km, paper caught fire, all combustible materials instantly flared up. The silhouettes of burnt bodies remained on the walls of the surviving buildings.

A powerful flash of light occurred near the epicenter, then a shock wave passed, knocking people off their feet even at a significant distance. Buildings could save only from the light, but in the first minutes after the detonation within a radius of 800 meters, 90% died. At a distance of up to 19 km, glass was shattered in the windows.

The fires that started formed a fiery tornado with wind speeds 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 manifested itself only at 7-9 weeks. The situation was complicated by the fact that up to this point, doctors had not encountered radiation sickness. Survivors suffered for the rest of their lives from the effects of infection and the psychological aspects of the experience.

Details about the bombing of Nagasaki

"Fat Man" was brought to the island of Tinian in two parts, respectively, July 28 and August 2. For this, aviation was involved.

Nagasaki was located in two valleys, a river flowed through each, the districts of the city were delimited by a ridge. The chaotic building occupied 90 m2, there was a large port, a 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), as bad weather began later.

In the airspace of Japan, US aircraft were seen at 7:50, but already at 8:30 it was canceled for the same reasons as in Hiroshima. Initially, Kokura was chosen as the target, but the clouds prevented the attack, so the plane headed for Nagasaki.

Consequences of the explosion

The bomb exploded at an altitude of about 500 meters above the ground. Given the power, greater than that of the previous projectile, only an inaccurate hit and several other factors saved from huge losses:

• the blow fell on the industrial part, factories were located literally around the epicenter;
• in Nagasaki there were hills that saved a number of areas of the city;
• of the affected 110 km2, only 84 were inhabited, partially.

Almost all living things within a radius of a kilometer died, up to 2 km, destruction of almost all buildings was observed. Localized fires started, but without the Hiroshima whirlwind.

Was the bombing necessary?

It is difficult to answer this question unequivocally, however, it is quite possible that the losses during the invasion could exceed the consequences nuclear strike. The problem is that most of the dead had nothing to do with the war at all - they were civilians, children.

The action of the Americans looks more like a "flexing muscle" 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 200,000 citizens remained in Japan who survived the American attack. This number includes the children of victims who lived in the country at the time of the recount. A big problem was the spread of oncological diseases of various types, which were recorded in 1% of the indicated number. By that time total number more than 450 thousand people died from the bombing and its consequences.

At first, no one was looking for protection from radiation, the population was not evacuated, and even the high mortality and illnesses could not be explained.

Now some objects of the city are of global importance. For example, in 1996, the building of the Hiroshima Chamber of Industry was included in the UNESCO heritage list.

The other day the world celebrated a sad anniversary - the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On August 6, 1945, an American Air Force B-29 Enola Gay, under the command of Colonel Tibbets, dropped the Baby bomb on Hiroshima. And three days later, on August 9, 1945, a B-29 Boxcar under the command of Colonel Charles Sweeney dropped a bomb on Nagasaki. The total number of deaths in the explosion alone ranged from 90,000 to 166,000 people in Hiroshima and from 60,000 to 80,000 people in Nagasaki. And that's not all - about 200 thousand people died from radiation sickness.

After the bombing, real hell reigned in Hiroshima. Miraculously surviving witness Akiko Takahura recalls:

“Three colors characterize for me 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, peeling skin exposed to light from the explosion."

From thermal radiation, some Japanese instantly evaporated, leaving shadows on the walls or on the pavement.

From thermal radiation, some Japanese instantly evaporated, leaving shadows on the walls or on the pavement. The shock wave swept away buildings and killed thousands of people. In Hiroshima, a real fiery tornado raged, in which thousands of civilians burned alive.

In the name of what was all this horror and why were the peaceful cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombed?

Officially: to hasten the fall of Japan. But she lived out her last days, especially when, on August 8, Soviet troops began to rout Kwantung Army. And unofficially, these were tests of super-powerful weapons, ultimately directed against the USSR. As US President Truman cynically said, "If this bomb explodes, I'll have a good club against these Russian guys." So forcing the Japanese to peace was far from the most important thing in this action. And the effectiveness of atomic bombings in this regard was small. Not them, but success Soviet troops in Manchuria were the last impetus for capitulation.

Characteristically, in the "Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors" of the Japanese Emperor Hirohito, issued on August 17, 1945, the significance of the Soviet invasion of Manchuria was noted, but not a word was said about atomic bombings.

According to the Japanese historian Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, it was the declaration of war on the USSR in the interval between the two bombings that caused the capitulation. After the war, Admiral Soemu Toyoda said: "I think the USSR's participation in the war against Japan, and not the atomic bombing, did more to hasten the surrender." Prime Minister Suzuki also stated that the entry of the USSR into the war made it "impossible to continue the war".

Moreover, the absence of the need for atomic bombing was eventually recognized by the Americans themselves.

According to the "Strategic Bombing Efficiency Study" released in 1946 by the US government, atomic bombs were not necessary to win the war. After researching numerous documents and interviewing hundreds of Japanese military and civilian officials the following conclusion was made:

“Definitely before December 31, 1945, and most likely before November 1, 1945, Japan would have surrendered, even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped and the USSR would not have entered the war, even if the invasion of Japanese islands not planned or prepared.

Here is the opinion of General, then US President Dwight Eisenhower:

“In 1945, Secretary of War Stimson, while visiting my headquarters in Germany, informed me that our government was preparing to drop an atomic bomb on Japan. I was one of those who believed that there were a number of compelling reasons to question the wisdom of such a decision. During his description... I was overcome with depression and I voiced my deepest doubts to him, first, based on my belief that Japan had already been defeated and that the atomic bombing was completely unnecessary, and second, because I believed that our country should avoid shocking world opinion with the use of weapons, the use of which, in my opinion, was no longer mandatory as a means of saving the lives of American soldiers.

And here is the opinion of Admiral Ch. Nimitz:

“The Japanese have actually asked for peace. From a purely military point of view, the atomic bomb did not play a decisive role in the defeat of Japan.

For those who planned the bombing, the Japanese were something like yellow monkeys, subhuman

The atomic bombings were a great experiment on people who were not even considered people. For those who planned the bombing, the Japanese were something like yellow monkeys, subhuman. Thus, American soldiers (in particular, marines) were engaged in a very peculiar collection of souvenirs: they dismembered the bodies of Japanese soldiers and civilians in the Pacific Islands, and their skulls, teeth, hands, skin, etc. sent home to their loved ones as gifts. There is no complete certainty that all the dismembered bodies were dead - the Americans did not disdain to pull out gold teeth from still living prisoners of war.

According to the American historian James Weingartner, there is a direct connection between the atomic bombings and the collection of body parts of the enemy: both were the result of the dehumanization of the enemy:

"The widespread image of the Japanese as subhuman created an emotional context that provided yet another justification for decisions that resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths."

But you will be indignant and say: these are rude infantrymen. And the decision was ultimately made by the intelligent Christian Truman. Well, let's give him the floor. On the second day after the bombing of Nagasaki, Truman declared that “the only language they understand is the language of the bombings. When you have to deal with an animal, you have to treat it like an animal. It's very sad, but it's true nonetheless."

Since September 1945 (after the surrender of Japan), American specialists, including doctors, have been working in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, they did not treat the unfortunate "hibakusha" - patients with radiation sickness, but with genuine research interest watched how their hair fell out, their skin flaked, then spots appeared on it, bleeding began, as they weakened and died. Not an ounce of compassion. Vae victis (woe to the vanquished). And science above all!

But I already hear indignant voices: “Father deacon, whom do you pity? Were they not the Japanese who treacherously attacked the Americans at Pearl Harbor? Is it not the same Japanese military that committed terrible crimes in China and Korea, killed millions of Chinese, Koreans, Malays, and at times in brutal ways? I answer: most of those killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki had nothing to do with the military. They were civilians - women, children, old people. With all the crimes of Japan, one cannot fail to recognize the well-known correctness of the official protest of the Japanese government of August 11, 1945:

“Military and civilians, men and women, old and young, were killed indiscriminately atmospheric pressure and the thermal radiation of the explosion... These bombs used by the Americans are far superior in their cruelty and terrifying effects to poison gases or any other weapons whose use is prohibited. Japan is protesting the US's violation of internationally recognized principles of warfare, violated both by the use of the atomic bomb and by earlier incendiary bombings that killed the elderly."

The most sober assessment of the atomic bombings was voiced by the Indian judge Radhabinut Pal. Recalling the rationale given by German Kaiser Wilhelm II for his obligation to end the First World War as soon as possible (“Everything must be given to fire and sword. Men, women and children must be killed, and not a single tree or house should remain undestroyed”), Pal noted :

"This policy mass murder, carried out with the aim of ending the war as soon as possible, was considered a crime. During the war in the Pacific, which we are considering here, if there is anything approaching the letter of the Emperor of Germany considered above, it is the decision of the Allies to use the atomic bomb.

Indeed, we see here a clear continuity between the German racism of the First and Second World Wars and Anglo-Saxon racism.

The creation of atomic weapons and especially their use exposed the terrible disease of the European spirit - its hyper-intellectualism, cruelty, will to violence, contempt for man. And contempt for God and His commandments. It is significant that the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki exploded not far from a Christian church. Since the 16th century, Nagasaki has been the gateway for Christianity to Japan. And then the Protestant Truman gave the order for its barbaric destruction.

The ancient Greek word ατομον means both an indivisible particle and a person. This is no coincidence. The disintegration of the personality of European man and the disintegration of the atom went hand in hand. And even such godless intellectuals as A. Camus understood this:

“Mechanized civilization has just reached the final stage of barbarism. In the not-too-distant future, we will have to choose between mass suicide and sensible use scientific achievements[...] It shouldn't just be a request; this must be an order that will come from the bottom up, from ordinary citizens to governments, an order to make a firm choice between hell and reason.”

But, alas, as governments did not listen to reason, they still do not listen.

St. Nicholas (Velimirovich) rightly said:

“Europe is smart to take away, but it doesn’t know how to give. She knows how to kill, but she does not know how to value other people's lives. She knows how to create weapons of destruction, but she does not know how to be humble before God and merciful towards weaker peoples. She is smart to be selfish and everywhere to carry her “creed” of selfishness, but she does not know how to be God-loving and humane.”

These words capture the vast and terrible experience of the Serbs, the experience of the last two centuries. But this is also the experience of the whole world, including Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The definition of Europe as a “white demon” was deeply correct. In many ways, the prophecy of St. Nicholas (Velimirovich) about the nature of the future war came true: “It will be a war that is completely devoid of mercy, honor and nobility [...] For the coming war will have a goal not only victory over the enemy, but also the extermination of the enemy. Complete destruction not only of the belligerents, but of everything that makes up their rear: parents, children, sick, wounded and prisoners, their villages and cities, livestock and pastures, railways and all ways! With the exception of the Soviet Union and the Great Patriotic War, where the Russian soviet soldier nevertheless he tried to show mercy, honor and nobility, the prophecy of St. Nicholas came true.

Why such cruelty? Saint Nicholas sees its cause in militant materialism and the plane of consciousness:

“And Europe once began in the spirit, but now it ends in the flesh, i.e. carnal vision, judgment, desire, and conquest. Like bewitched! Her whole life flows along two paths: in length and in width, i.e. along the plane. It knows neither depth nor height, and that is why it fights for the earth, for space, for the expansion of the plane, and only for this! Hence war after war, horror after horror. For God created man not only so that he would be just a living being, an animal, but also so that he would penetrate the depths of mysteries with his mind, and ascend with his heart to the heights of God. The war for the earth is a war against the truth, against God's and human nature.

But not only the flatness of consciousness led Europe to a military catastrophe, but also carnal lust and a godless mind:

“What is Europe? It is lust and mind. And these properties are embodied in the Pope and Luther. The European Pope is the human lust for power. The European Luther is the human daring to explain everything with one's own mind. Pope as the ruler of the world and wise guy as the ruler of the world.

Most importantly, these properties do not know any external restrictions, they strive for infinity - "the fulfillment of human lust to the limit and the mind to the limit." Such properties, elevated to the absolute, must inevitably give rise to constant conflicts and bloody wars of annihilation: “Because of human lust, every nation and every person seeks power, sweetness and glory, imitating the Pope. Because of the human mind, every people and every person finds that he is smarter than others and more than others. How then can there not be madness, revolutions and wars between people?

Many Christians (and not only Orthodox) were horrified by what happened in Hiroshima. In 1946, a report was issued by the National Council of Churches of the United States, entitled "Atomic Weapons and Christianity", in which, in part, it was said:

“As American Christians, we deeply repent for the irresponsible use of atomic weapons. We all agree that whatever our view of the war as a whole, the surprise bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are morally vulnerable."

Of course, many inventors of atomic weapons and executors of inhuman orders recoiled in horror from their offspring. The inventor of the American atomic bomb, Robert Oppenheimer, after the tests in Alamogorodo, when a terrible flash lit up the sky, remembered the words of an ancient Indian poem:

If the shine of a thousand suns
Together it will flash in the sky,
Man becomes death
A threat to the earth.

Oppenheimer after the war began to fight for the limitation and prohibition of nuclear weapons, for which he was removed from the "Uranium Project". His successor Edward Teller, father hydrogen bomb, was much less scrupulous.

Iserli, a spy plane pilot who reported good weather over Hiroshima, then sent aid to the victims of the bombing and demanded that he be imprisoned as a criminal. His request was fulfilled, however, they put him in ... a psychiatric hospital.

But alas, many were much less scrupulous.

After the war, a very illustrative pamphlet was published with documentary recollections of the crew of the Enola Gay bomber, which delivered the first atomic bomb "Kid" to Hiroshima. How did these twelve people feel when they saw the city below them, reduced to ashes by them?

“STIBORIK: Before, our 509th Composite Aviation Regiment was constantly teased. When the neighbors left for sorties before light, they threw stones at our barracks. But when we dropped the bomb, everyone saw that we were dashing guys.

LUIS: Before the flight, the entire crew was briefed. Tibbets later claimed that he alone was aware of the matter. This is nonsense: everyone knew.

JEPSON: About an hour and a half after takeoff, I went down to the bomb bay. It was pleasantly cool there. Parsons and I had to cock everything and remove the safety catches. I still keep them as souvenirs. Then again it was possible to admire the ocean. Everyone was busy with their own business. Someone was humming “Sentimental Journey,” the most popular song of August 1945.

LUIS: The commander was dozing. Sometimes I also left my chair. The autopilot kept the car on course. Our main target was Hiroshima, alternates were Kokura and Nagasaki.

VAN KIRK: The weather would have to decide which of these cities we were to choose for the bombing.

CARON: The radio operator was waiting for a signal from the three "superfortresses" flying in front for weather reconnaissance. And from the tail section I could see two B-29s escorting us from behind. One of them was supposed to take photographs, and the other to deliver measuring equipment to the explosion site.

FERIBI: We are very successful, from the first call, we reached the target. I saw her from afar, so my task was simple.

NELSON: As soon as the bomb came off, the plane turned 160 degrees and went down hard to gain speed. Everyone put on dark glasses.

JEPSON: This waiting was the most unsettling moment of the flight. I knew the bomb would fall for 47 seconds and started counting in my head, but when I got to 47 nothing happened. Then I remembered that the shock wave would still take time to catch up with us, and just then it came.

TIBBETS: The plane was suddenly thrown down, it rattled like an iron roof. The tail gunner saw the shockwave approaching us like a radiance. He didn't know what it was. He warned us about the approach of the wave with a signal. The plane failed even more, and it seemed to me that an anti-aircraft shell had exploded above us.

CARON: I took pictures. It was a breathtaking sight. An ash gray smoke mushroom with a red core. It was evident that everything inside was on fire. I was ordered to count the fires. Damn it, I immediately realized that this was unthinkable! A swirling, boiling mist, like lava, covered the city and spread outward to the foothills.

SHUMARD: Everything in that cloud was death. Along with the smoke, some black fragments flew up. One of us said: "These are the souls of the Japanese ascending to heaven."

BESER: Yes, in the city everything that could burn was on fire. “Guys, you just dropped the first atomic bomb in history!” came the voice of Colonel Tibbets through the headsets. I recorded everything on tape, but then someone put all these tapes under lock and key.

CARON: On the way back, the commander asked me what I thought about flying. “It's worse than driving your backside down a mountain in Coney Island Park for a quarter dollar,” I joked. “Then I’ll collect a quarter from you when we sit down!” laughed the colonel. “Have to wait until payday!” we answered in unison.

VAN KIRK: the main idea was, of course, about herself: to get out of all this as soon as possible and return whole.

FERIBI: Captain First Class Parsons and I were to draw up a report to send to the President via Guam.

TIBBETS: None of the conventions that had been agreed upon were suitable, and we decided to transmit the telegram in clear text. I don’t remember it verbatim, but it said that the results of the bombing exceeded all expectations.”

On August 6, 2015, the anniversary of the bombings, President Truman's grandson Clifton Truman Daniel stated that "my grandfather believed for the rest of his life that the decision to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the right one, and the United States will never ask for forgiveness for it."

It seems that everything is clear here: ordinary fascism, even more terrible in its vulgarity.

Let us now look at what the first eyewitnesses saw from the ground. Here is a report by Birt Bratchet, who visited Hiroshima in September 1945. On the morning of September 3, Burchett stepped off the train in Hiroshima, becoming the first foreign correspondent to see the city after the atomic explosion. Together with the Japanese journalist Nakamura from the Kyodo news agency Tsushin Burchett walked around the endless reddish ashes, visited the street first aid stations. And there, among the ruins and groans, he tapped out his report on a typewriter, entitled: "I am writing about this to warn the world ...":

“Almost a month after the first atomic bomb destroyed Hiroshima, people continue to die in the city - mysteriously and horribly. The townspeople, who were not injured on the day of the catastrophe, are dying from an unknown disease, which I cannot call otherwise than the atomic plague. Without any apparent reason their health begins to deteriorate. Their hair falls out, spots appear on the body, bleeding from the ears, nose and mouth begins. Hiroshima, Burchett wrote, does not look like a city that has suffered from a conventional bombing. The impression is as if a giant skating rink passed along the street, crushing all living things. On this first living test site, where the power of the atomic bomb was tested, I saw a nightmarish devastation unspeakable in words, such as I have not seen anywhere in the four years of the war.

And that is not all. Let us remember the tragedy of the irradiated and their children. The piercing story of a girl from Hiroshima, Sadako Sasaki, who died in 1955 from leukemia, one of the consequences of radiation, spread around the world. Already in the hospital, Sadako learned about the legend, according to which a person who folded a thousand paper cranes can make a wish that will surely come true. Wanting to get well, Sadako began to fold cranes from any pieces of paper that fell into her hands, but managed to fold only 644 cranes. There was a song about her:

Returning from Japan, having traveled many miles,
A friend brought me a paper crane.
A story is connected with him, a story is one -
About a girl who was irradiated.

Chorus:
I will spread paper wings for you,
Fly, don't disturb this world, this world
Crane, crane, Japanese crane,
You are a forever living souvenir.

"When will I see the sun?" - asked the doctor
(And life burned thinly, like a candle in the wind).
And the doctor answered the girl: “When the winter will pass
And you will make a thousand cranes yourself.”

But the girl did not survive and soon died,
And she did not make a thousand cranes.
The last crane fell from dead hands -
And the girl did not survive, like thousands around.

Note that all this would have awaited you and me if it were not for the Soviet uranium project, which began in 1943, accelerated after 1945 and completed in 1949. Of course, the crimes committed under Stalin are terrible. And above all - the persecution of the Church, the exile and execution of clergy and laity, the destruction and desecration of churches, collectivization, the All-Russian (and not only Ukrainian) famine of 1933, which broke people's life, and finally the repressions of 1937. However, let's not forget that now we are living the fruits of that same industrialization. And if now the Russian state is independent and so far invulnerable to external aggression, if the tragedies of Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya and Syria are not repeated in our open spaces, then this is largely due to the military-industrial complex and the nuclear missile shield laid down under Stalin.

Meanwhile, there were enough people who wanted to burn us. Here is at least one - the emigrant poet Georgy Ivanov:

Russia has been living in prison for thirty years.
On Solovki or Kolyma.
And only in Kolyma and Solovki
Russia is the one that will live for centuries.

Everything else is planetary hell:
Damned Kremlin, crazy Stalingrad.
They deserve only one
The fire that consumes him.

These are poems written in 1949 by Georgy Ivanov - "a wonderful Russian patriot", according to a certain publicist who called himself "church Vlasov". Professor Aleksey Svetozarsky aptly spoke about these verses: “What can we expect from this glorious son Silver Age? Cardboard swords and blood for them, especially someone else's, is “cranberry juice”, including the one that flowed near Stalingrad. Well, the fact that both the Kremlin and Stalingrad are worthy of a “withering” fire, then in this the “patriot”, who himself successfully sat out both the war and the occupation in a quiet French outback, was, alas, not alone in his desire. About the "cleansing" fire nuclear war said in the Paschal Epistle of 1948 of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

By the way, it is worth reading it carefully. Here is what Metropolitan Anastassy (Gribanovsky) wrote in 1948:

“Our time has invented its own special means of exterminating people and all life on earth: they have such destructive power that in an instant they can turn large spaces into a continuous desert. Everything is ready to incinerate this hellish fire, caused by man himself from the abyss, and we again hear the prophet’s complaint addressed to God: “As long as the earth weeps and all the grass of the countryside withers from the malice of those who live on it” (Jeremiah 12, 4). But this terrible devastating fire has not only a destructive, but also a cleansing effect: for it burns those who ignite it, and with it all the vices, crimes and passions with which they defile the earth. [...] Atomic bombs and all other destructive means invented by modern technology are truly less dangerous for our Fatherland than the moral decay that the highest representatives of civil and ecclesiastical power bring into the Russian soul by their example. The decomposition of the atom brings with it only physical devastation and destruction, and the corruption of the mind, heart and will entails the spiritual death of an entire people, after which there is no resurrection” (“Holy Russia”, Stuttgart, 1948).

In other words, not only Stalin, Zhukov, Voroshilov, but also His Holiness Patriarch Alexy I, Metropolitan Grigory (Chukov), Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov), St. And millions of our compatriots, including millions of believing Orthodox Christians, who suffered both persecution and the Great Patriotic War. Only Metropolitan Anastassy chastely keeps silent about the moral decay and example that the highest representatives of Western civil and ecclesiastical authorities showed. And I forgot the great gospel words: "With what measure you measure, it will be measured to you."

The novel by A. Solzhenitsyn "In the First Circle" also goes back to a similar ideology. It sings of the traitor Innokenty Volodin, who tried to give the Americans the Russian intelligence officer Yuri Koval, who was hunting for atomic secrets. It also calls for dropping an atomic bomb on the USSR, "so that people do not suffer." No matter how much they "suffered", we can see in the example of Sadako Sasaki and tens of thousands like her.

And therefore, deep gratitude not only to our great scientists, workers and soldiers who created the Soviet atomic bomb, which was never used, but stopped the cannibalistic plans American generals and politicians, but also to those of our soldiers who, after the Great Patriotic War guarded the Russian sky and did not allow B-29s to break into it nuclear bombs on board. Among them is the now living Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General Sergei Kramarenko, known to readers of the site. Sergei Makarovich fought in Korea and personally shot down 15 American aircraft. This is how he describes the meaning of activity Soviet pilots In Korea:

“I consider our most important achievement that the pilots of the division inflicted significant damage on US strategic aviation armed with B-29 Superfortress (Superfortress) heavy bombers. Our division managed to shoot down more than 20 of them. As a result, the B-29s, which carried out carpet (areal) bombardments in large groups, stopped flying in the afternoon north of the Pyongyang-Genzan line, that is, over most of the territory North Korea. Thus, millions of Korean residents were saved - mostly women, children and the elderly. But even at night, the B-29s suffered heavy losses. In total, during the three years of the war in Korea, about a hundred B-29 bombers were shot down. Even more important was the fact that it became clear that in the event of a war with Soviet Union carrying atomic bombs "Superfortress" will not reach the major industrial centers and cities of the USSR, because they will be shot down. This played a huge role in the fact that the Third World War never started.