The History of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Essay Example

History of Hiroshima & Nagasaki Bombings The decline of World War II was marked by the use of the terrible and deadly weapon that changed the whole trajectory of global political and social development. Nuclear weapon bringing death and devastation was applied to the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people and making Japan finally surrender (Hamner). The issue of nuclear bomb use remains controversial with almost equal percentage of people finding themselves on both sides of the barricades arguing id Truman’s decision was justified.

In my opinion, the bombing was a brutal and unjustified measure that could have been avoided. First, this method was fundamentally inhumane and barbaric as bombs were dropped right on the cities populated by civilians (including children, of course) who had nothing to do with the warfare. If the USA intended to demonstrate its military power by ‘scaring’ the Japanese government and forcing it to surrender, the bombs could have been dropped somewhere beyond the borders of the cities (e.g. in the harbour).

Moreover, I would disagree with the arguments of the bombings’ advocates on the fact that this attack had drawn the end of the war nearer saving many lives. This statement seems completely unreasonable as bombs killed a great number of innocent civilians and were not worth the price. Another reason why Truman was wrong in his decision to use nuclear weapons (by the way, just once in the world’s history) is that the Hiroshima & Nagasaki bombings weren’t actually necessary for the victory in the war: the regular bombings continued anyway and the Japanese government is under intense pressure was about to surrender.

In other words, the American bomb attack hadn’t played a crucial role in the establishment of peace but had become a vast disaster resulting in numerous casualties, radiation spread and devastation. Thus, I consider President Truman’s decision to be useless, brutal and inhumane having much in common with mere genocide and racism.