It was vital that Japan be convinced to surrender as fast as possible because the United States had just two atomic bombs available in July and additional weapons would not be ready to deploy for several more weeks. Meanwhile, thousands of Chinese, American, and Japanese soldiers continued to die each day the war continued.
Consequently, Truman approved the long-standing plans for the US Army Air Force to drop atomic bombs on a list of preselected Japanese cities. The list of targets excluded Tokyo and Kyoto because of their political and historic importance.
Instead, the intended target of the first bomb was Hiroshima, a fan-shaped city of approximately , people that occupied the estuary of the Ota River. The city was also home to the headquarters of the Japanese army that defended the island of Kyushu as well as a number of war industries.
At a. As a result, the overloaded Enola Gay used more than two miles of runway to get aloft. US Army Air Force photo. Meanwhile, in Hiroshima, Reverend Kiyoshi Tanimoto awoke at 5 a. Hiroshima time, which was an hour behind Tinian time. Tanimoto remained in the city to remove the transportable objects in his church to the safety of a suburban estate.
He had slept poorly because of several air raid warnings the previous night. Hiroshima had not yet endured an American bombing raid, but its good fortune was not expected to last. That morning, Tanimoto had agreed to help a friend move a large armoire filled with clothes out to the suburbs. As the two men trundled the piece of furniture through the streets, they heard an air raid siren go off. The alarm sounded every morning when American weather planes flew overhead, so the men were not particularly worried.
They continued on with their handcart through the city streets. The morning was still; the place was cool and pleasant. Hiroshima time, the Enola Gay arrived over the city. Ferebee took control of the bomber and opened the bomb bay doors. Over and over the Japanese fought desperate battles not to win the war, but to win a seat at the negotiating table.
Regardless of its purpose, this demand did not give the Allies any flexibility to negotiate with the Japanese. Despite utter devastation, the effects of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima were not as severe as one might think.
Unlike in the nuclear disasters at Chernobyl and Fukushima , the city was never evacuated, though that was largely due to a lack of information and the logistical near impossibility of doing so. The Americans detonated the Hiroshima bomb nearly 2, feet above the city, which somewhat limited the damaged caused by radiation. In fact, in his memo predicting the effects of the bomb, Manhattan Project lead scientist Robert Oppenheimer argued that the radioactive byproducts would go into the upper atmosphere and be dispersed throughout the world.
This process did occur, but the detonation caused a rainstorm that brought many radioactive byproducts back to earth. The black rain would have been hard for Oppenheimer and others who developed the atomic bomb to predict, however, because the only test detonation was done in the Nevada desert where there was not enough moisture for rain.
Hiroshima is indelibly linked with its destruction, but the city and its people are also intimately connected with the peace movement. During their Occupation , the Americans wrote a new constitution for the Japanese, which included the famous Article 9, a provision that all but makes war illegal. Hiroshima emerged as the spiritual center of both the Japanese antinuclear and peace movements. In the aftermath of the war, it constructed the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum that has been dedicated to commemorating the bombing of Hiroshima and to eliminating nuclear weapons.
The museum is housed in the Peace Memorial Park, which includes an eternal flame that will burn until all nuclear weapons are eliminated.
The Park serves as a gathering ground for tens of thousands to commemorate the bombing and demonstrate for peace.
Today, the Hiroshima's level of radioactivity has reverted to the world background level. The residents of Denver, Colorado experience a higher level of radioactivity than those of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The residents of Hiroshima report elevated levels of some cancers, with the highest rate of liver cancer in the world, but other forms of cancer occur at average or even low rates comparably. Hiroshima is an exquisite, complicated city known for its food, the stunning natural beauty of its bay, and an incident decades ago that will forever connect it with nuclear weapons and peace.
Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Stanton Foundation. Skip to main content. The Ohio State University. Department of History. Home Topics Africa. Middle East. The bombs contained enriched uranium and had a blast yield of 13 kilotons of TNT. Please contact us for subscription options. Japan's Toshiba says it will split into 3 firms. Japan will resolutely say what it needs to say: Foreign minister on ties with China.
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