Hiroshima + Nagasaki

When the U.S. dropped the world’s first nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, some 150,000 Japanese were killed instantly, while some 200,000 died in the following year. It was the biggest and fastest mass murder the world had ever witnessed. The U.S. claimed that it was the only way to end the war quickly, as an invasion of Japan would have cost many more lives. Others insist, however, that Japan had already signaled its willingness to surrender long beforehand. Read here about the hidden history of this war crime.

Harry Truman and the Atomic Bomb

The most spectacular episode of Harry Truman’s presidency will never be forgotten but will be forever linked to his name: the atomic bombings of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and of Nagasaki three days later. Probably around two hundred thousand persons were killed in the attacks and through radiation poisoning; the vast majority were civilians,…

Peenemünde and Los Alamos: Two Studies

Abstract The Second World War produced two great and memorable scientific and technological teams: the German Peenemünde rocket team under the direction of Dr. Wernher von Braun, and the American Los Alamos atomic bomb team under the direction of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer. Taken together, the contributions of these teams created the post-war capability for…

Was Hiroshima Necessary?

On August 6, 1945, the world dramatically entered the atomic age: without either warning or precedent, an American plane dropped a single nuclear bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion utterly destroyed more than four square miles of the city center. About about 90,000 people were killed immediately; another 40,000 were injured, many…

Hiroshima and Nagasaki After 50 Years

Gregory P. Pavlik wrote this essay as an editor for The Freeman, published monthly by the Foundation for Economic Education (30 S. Broadway, Irvington-on-Hudson, NY 10533). It is reprinted from the September 1995 issue. Pavlik is also editor of the 1995 work, Forgotten Lessons: Selected Essays of John T. Flynn. The first use of an…

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