Hiroshima the aftermath, C5 now

[Adrian W]

80000 people in 5 seconds, it is hard to believe that man could do this

[darren f]

No aid sent by the Japanese Government. Staggering

The pictures of the children in the schoolyard, heart breaking

[Adrian W]

The Americans studying the victims, but not treating them, and humiliating them by making them appear naked in public

[belleair302]

I have been there and it is a very strange place today. Japan has moved on as has Germany but they have never apologised for what they did to Allied or US forces. The two bombs ended the pacific war quickly saving tens of thousands of lives, and the US wanted to bomb Tokyo, but without the Emperor alive there was nobody to negotiate peace with. The first bomb was small compared to what we have today, the second one was a different weapon.

[PZR]

belleair302 said:

Japan has moved on as has Germany but they have never apologised for what they did to Allied or US forces. The two bombs ended the pacific war quickly saving tens of thousands of lives...

Not true. There have been multiple apologies, spread across many years, but people still keep repeating the "they never apologised" line.

The two bombs contributed to ending the conflict, but the USSR declaring war on Imperial Japan was just as big a factor in the decision to surrender.

[Eric Mc]

And why did the USSR declare war on Japan when they did?

[PZR]

Eric Mc said:

And why did the USSR declare war on Japan when they did?

I'm presuming that this is a rhetorical question Eric, and that you already know the final date of declaration was to do with the Soviet Union's responsibilities agreed at Yalta. It's a bigger subject than just that of course...

In any case, the bigger picture was the USA vs Soviet Union/USSR power struggle that would continue for several decades afterwards. Little Boy and Fat Man were not the sole triggers to the surrender that they have been painted as.

[PlayersNo6]

Sobering viewing. Never knew about the lack of aid from the Jap authorities or the Yakuza involvement post bombing.

This kind of thing, along with The War Game and Threads should be required viewing so that people actually know the meaning of nuclear war. I get the feeling it has kind of disappeared off the general public's radar since the 80s.