Hiroshima

Zachary Shore: the Struggle Between Vengeance and Virtue in WWII

Zachary Shore discusses the contrasting decisions to drop atomic bombs on Japan and rebuild Germany. 

75 Years Ago: Did Truman Read John Hersey's "Hiroshima"?

by Greg Mitchell

"My research yielded amazing letters between "New Yorker" editor and the White House following publication of one of the most heralded and important articles of the century."

Review: Lesley Blume's “Fallout: The Hiroshima Cover-up and the Reporter Who Revealed It to the World”

by Lawrence Wittner

Journalist Lesley Blume's book "Fallout" ably tells the story about how John Hersey and the New Yorker navigated government censorship and political opposition to publish Hersey's "Hiroshima," a foundational work in later movements to prevent nuclear war.

“Atomic Cover-Up” Premieres

by Greg Mitchell

Documentarian Greg Mitchell's new movie about the two film crews – one Japanese, one American – who recorded the human toll of the Hiroshima bombing and had their footage suppressed has premiered. Find out how to view it. 

This Vanishing Moment and Our Vanishing Future: John Hersey, Hiroshima, and the End of World

by Nick Turse

Lesley Blume's new book Fallout describes how John Hersey and his editors punctured official myths about the Hiroshima attacks to write his influential book. 

Honor a Hiroshima Survivor's Legacy: Ban Nuclear Testing and Move to Disarmament

by William Lambers

Miyoko Matsubara survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and became an advocate for abolishing nuclear weapons. The United States Senate can honor her and all victims and survivors of nuclear war by ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. 

Hiroshima (1953, Hideo Sekigawa)

View a segment from, and read about, Hideo Sekigawa's 1953 film "Hiroshima."

Sunday Reading: Hiroshima

Read John Hersey's influential 1946 account of the atomic bomb and its aftermath, along with related articles from The New Yorker. 

Witnessing Nuclear Carnage, Then Devoting Her Life to Peace

Setsuko Thurlow, a survivor of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima 75 years ago this month, has used the power of her personal story to try to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

After Atomic Bombings, These Photographers Worked Under Mushroom Clouds

Photographs commissioned by Japanese newspapers in the aftermath of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were suppressed by American occupation authorities in both countries. A new book offers Americans a new opportunity to grasp the physical and human toll of nuclear weapons. 

The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II

Extensive Compilation of Primary Source Documents Explores Manhattan Project, Eisenhower’s Early Misgivings about First Nuclear Use, Curtis LeMay and the Firebombing of Tokyo, Debates over Japanese Surrender Terms, Atomic Targeting Decisions, and Lagging Awareness of Radiation Effects

He Was an American Child in Hiroshima on the Day the Atomic Bomb Dropped

Unknown numbers of American children of Japanese ancestry were stuck in Japan because of visits to family when war broke out; some were in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Women Survivors of the Atomic Bombs

Those who survived the bombings are known as hibakusha. Survivors faced a horrifying aftermath in the cities, including radiation poisoning and psychological trauma.

A Magazine Story Opened Eyes to Hiroshima’s Horror. White House Allies Plotted to Shut Them Again.

by Greg Mitchell

The Hersey article, with its unflinching account of what survivors witnessed in Hiroshima, threatened the official narrative of justification.

Did the Atomic Bomb End the Pacific War? – Part II

by Paul Ham

Japan's surrender was hastened by imminent invasion by the Soviet Red Army, a crippling US naval blockade and conventional bombing, and a diplomatic promise to protect the Japanese Emperor from execution, argues Paul Ham. Granting undue credit to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki excuses atrocity. 

Did the Atomic Bomb End the Pacific War? – Part I

by Paul Ham

Many people, including historians, believe that the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused Japan's unconditional surrender, saved a million American lives, and was the least morally repellent way to end World War II. Paul Ham contends that none of this is true. 

Robert J. Sawyer Tackles the Atomic Bomb with Alternate-History Novel, “The Oppenheimer Alternative”

Robert J. Sawyer's novel is built around the ethical and moral ramifications of dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which the author hopes will receive deep reflection on their 75th anniversaries.

The Atomic Bomb, War Room Intrigue and Emperor Hirohito's Decision to Surrender

by David Dean Barrett

The record of the Imperial Conferences makes clear two salient facts: that Emperor Hirohito ended the war, and he ended it because of the atomic bomb.

Samantha Smith's Dream of Peace and Nuclear Disarmament

by William Lambers

Samantha Smith taught us your voice matters and you can make a difference in ridding the world of nuclear weapons and achieving peace for all. 

“Mr. Straight Arrow,” John Hersey, and the decision to drop the atomic bomb

by D. M. Giangreco

What recent histories getsright--and wrong--about Harry S. Truman's decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan.