why did america drop the atomic bomb on japan and was it justified?

Question

why did they drop the bomb ? how did they make japan surrender and was it justified?

Answer 1

Probably they used the atomic bomb to ensure that Japan will surrender to the US government and not the USSR, since it is believed that in a possible attack of the Red army against Japan the Russians would easily succeed in having Japan to sign a truce with their government and in this way it would be easier to get them under their communist block. Probably they would have done the same with Berlin or perhaps another German and they would have avoided the fact that the Russians were the first to set foot on Berlin. But it seems that using the atomic bomb against a European city would have a very negative effect on the image of the US in Europe

Answer 2

I think it was justified-it saved lives on both sides. Even if we assume that Japan would have surrender in a few weeks in any case, then it saved the lives of thousands of POWs, civilian internees, and Chinese civilians. Could Truman really in good conscience think, "Sorry all you POWs, internees and people living under Japanese rule in Asia, this A-bomb is just too nasty so you will have to keep dying until the Japanese finally decide to surrender on their own". It's not just Americans and Japanese who would have died in an invasion of Japan. The Canadian soldiers who had already fought their way across Europe and had been in the war since 1939, were reassembling in Canada to ship out to the Pacific during the summer of 1945. The US Navy transferred about 60 ships to the Soviet Union in 1945 in preparation for the invasion of Japan. You can be sure the Canadian soldiers and Russian sailors were very happy when the bomb was dropped.

Answer 3

Nobody aboved mentioned that the Soviet Union were poised to attack Japan in August of 1945. The United States didn't want the Soviets to attack because the Soviets would have wanted a piece of Japan and it would have been carved up till Germany was.

The beginning of the Cold War began before the end of the Second World War. The United States wanted a quick end to the war to keep the Soviet Union out of the Asian front.

I agree that dropping the bombs saved lots of military losses and a lot of time but incinerated 100,000's of innocent people is never justified.

If an enemy of America denotated a bomb inside the US and killed millions, would people call that justified? Of course they wouldn't. It'd be the greatest crime in human history.

Answer 4

Towards the end of the war, the Japanese military was ordered to execute all American POWs if the US ever reached the main Japanese islands. Also, the entire population of Japan would be encouraged to fight back suicidally if the Americans invaded. US generals estimated that more than 100000 soldiers would be dead within the first month. The atomic bombs saved many lives on both sides.

Answer 5

The rational was and early end to the war. Was it justified? That depends on the historian you read. There are excellent and reasonable conclusions on both sides.

Answer 6

Look at Iwo Jima and how the Japaneese fought so hard for a piece of rock.

It would have taken the lives of a million soldiers to take Japan's main islands.

The bomb got their attention - and we ended the war they started. We saved not only our lives, but many more of their soldiers lives, too.

Yeah, it was justified. But war still sucks.

Answer 7

I think it was justified.Not only did it save countless lives but are we all forgetting Pearl Harbor?I know that was not the reason it was done but they were not completely innocent.They attacked
Pearl Harbor without provacation.

Answer 8

to tomforbucks, Im sorry I hit the thumbs down, I ment to hit the thumbs. I agree with you, Im sorry

Answer 9

to put an end to the war.