WWII+Research+and+Symposium+GABA


 * WWII Research and Symposium Assignment GABA**
 * Only the United States had the scientific talent, industrial capability, and financial resources to successfully create, test, and eventually use the world's most powerful weapon of the time
 * By July of 1945, the United States' campaign of strategic bombings on Japan had already produced devastating results in Tokyo, Yawata, Kyushu, Kawasaki, Nagoya, Kobe, Osaka, Yokohama, and nearly 60 lesser cities
 * The committee working on the Manhattan Project expressed their concerns to President Truman that the bomb would only increase the tension between the U.S. and Soviet Union
 * General Douglas MacArthur advised Truman to continue with conventional bombings of Japan
 * Truman didn't meet with Churchill and Stalin to discuss the bomb until after he had already planned its targets
 * In the Potsdam Declaration, the U.S. demanded unconditional surrender from Japan, threatening "prompt and utter destruction"; the atomic bomb was never specifically mentioned
 * At the time of Little Boy's bombing, Hiroshima was the 7th most populated city in Japan with about 350,000 people
 * The force of Fat Man was equivalent to 22,000 tons of TNT, nearly 2,400 times more powerful than the largest conventional bomb used in World War II
 * Combined, the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed about 210,000 people, two thirds of which were women, children, and the elderly
 * Over the course of three years, the Manhattan Project cost approximately $2 billion, about $25 billion today

//"If no efficient international agreement is achieved, the race for nuclear armaments will be on in earnest not later than the morning after our first demonstration of the existence of nuclear weapons"- Franck Report (1945)// On June 11, 1945, a panel of seven distinguished nuclear physicists sent this lenghty report to Washington D.C., urging the United States not to drop the atomic bombs on Japan. The scientists were from several different countries and had all worked in divisions of the Manhattan Project. The potential of atomic bonds, both literally and politically, deeply concerned these men and for weeks they met in secret to perfect their argument. As evidenced by this excerpt, they predicted a nuclear arms race would follow the United States' use of the bomb and potentially lead to global destruction. The report recommended a demonstration of the bomb for all of the United Nations on a deserted island; this way, Japan would surrender and an international agreement could be reached to prevent nuclear warfare. Instead, President Truman ignored their advice, dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki less than a month later. Tensions with the Soviet Union rapidly increased and before they knew it, Americans found themselves in the midst of another war. Just as the panel predicted, an international arms race had begun.
 * Primary Sources:**

//"Whether you win or lose, it leaves your feeling futile with only your rage and with fear about the aftereffects of a radioactivity. The survivors have to live with this fear.At times I have thought I should have died then, it would have been better."- Toshiko Saeki, Hiroshima Witness No. 3-3 (2009)// At the time of Hiroshima's bombing, Saeki was 26 and visiting her parents in nearby Yasufuruichi with her children. She saw the American B-29 approach from behind the mountains, and before she knew it, there was a flash of light and searing heat. The house collapsed, crushing her daughter, and she had to take cover from the flames that fell from the sky. Hiroshima was in ruins and those that were left alive frantically searched for shelter. Saeki returned to the city almost everyday for weeks to search for her relatives, but no one was found. She lost 13 family members in the attack, including her older brother who lost his mind after being exposed to the bomb's radiation. Saeki herself started losing hair and vomiting blood; still, the biggest effect of the bomb was the anger, fear, and hopelessness it instilled in the surivivors. The Japanese war-cause is irrelevant to their suffering. No one should have to experience that kind of pain, especially not innocent civilians taking the fall for the crimes of their government.

As this aerial photo shows, Hiroshima was almost completely destroyed by Little Boy. An area of over five square was wiped out, leaving nothing but ashes. Nobody knows the exact number of deaths the bomb caused, especially considering how many people died in the following months from radiation exposure, suicidal depression, etc., but the number is estimated at 110-150 thousand. Nearly 60% of the city's buildings were destroyed, resulting in billions of dollars worth of damage. At first glance, most people couldn't tell from this picture that there was once a large urban area standing in this desolate wasteland. That was the devastating effect of the bomb, and it would take decades for Hiroshima to rebuild itself.


 * Works Cited:**