Why do Americans condemn Hitler's concentration camps, yet justify Hiroshima bombings?

Answer 1

Japan attacked us first on 12/7/1941. The Jews did not attack the Germans.

You can't compare the two.

Answer 2

There is a huge difference between murdering 6 million people for no reason. The big difference is that the Jews were scapegoats for Hitler, he used them as an excuse to assign blame for all of Germany's problems. Germany could have fought the war without having to kill them.


Hiroshima is a bit more complex and possibly politically motivated too. Unlike the Jews, the bomb was dropped on a nation that attacked the US first. Granted it's unfair that almost 200,000 people had to die as a result. The difference is that prior to dropping the bomb, US pilots dropped leaflets written in Japanese warning of great danger, granted the leaflets could have been dismissed as propaganda.

Secondly, the prevailing logic is that by dropping the bomb it shortened the war and saved lives for the US and Japan. However, there is also the belief that the bomb was also dropped as a warning for the Russians who were also trying to develop a bomb. The message that the US sent by dropping 2 bombs was that we have this terrible weapon and we're not afraid to use it. Was it right? perhaps, however that is a matter of personal interpretation.

Answer 3

The concentration camps were the attempt to exterminate an entire race of people whom the third reich felt were subhuman.

The Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings were done ironically to save lives. An attack on the Japanese mainland would have cost hundreds of thousands of lives on both sides, if not millions. Also realize that the Japanese empire in the apex of their power had attacked and conquered parts of Korea, China and the Phillipines and done what many people say were unspeakable acts to those people. The Japanese that fought under Hirohito were not kind. ask any of the surviving women who were forced to be "Comfort Girls" how kind the invading Japanese army was. And even though the allies had pushed them back, Hirohito was not going to let go of the fight without something drastic. The destruction of those two cities was enough to make the Japanese people say "enough" and to end the war a week later.

I know it's not a kind and nice way to look at things. America was in a war and militaries in war have two jobs: Kill people and break things. It may not rate as valid justification in your eyes but it is fact.

Answer 4

Hitler’s concentration camps included millions of unarmed civilians, with a scattering of prisoners of war. The Hiroshima booming was justified on two accounts.

1.Hiroshima housed two large divisions of Japanese troops and was a key area for military supplies. The area of Hiroshima also grew immensely during World War 2 because of the new industrial plants that sprang up to support war efforts.

2.The invasion of mainland Japan was expected to bring about one million US casualties, not counting the number of collateral civilian casualties that would be lost due to an invasion.

While the number of fatalities due to the atomic bomb was great, it was far less than the fatalities Hitler caused with his "extermination" camps.

Answer 5

Hitler's camps were for hate, and extermination. The hiroshima bombings were justified by the policy makers in the fact that it prevented an all out invasion of japan. An invasion and entire conquer of japan to end the war. Japan refused to surrender even after warnings of "complete and utter destruction" While it killed hundreds of thousands it might have saved lives in the end. I recall an articl recently saying the current defense minister of Japan said it was right for the US to drop the bomb. Morally killing is never RIGHT per se, but in times of war countries are looking to minimize their casualties and their concern isnt for the enemy. Overall I think it saved more japanese lives than it took even after the years of radiation and symptoms associated with the bombings. Japanese would have brought their citizens to arms, children and parents alike. Every inch would need to be taken, consider this, Iwo Jima, taking place on the home island. It would be brutal, and none of the US soldiers believe they would return from such an invasion.

Answer 6

who says americans justify the hiroshima bombings? Even know the japenese at the time were a brutal and fanatical people I think that was a sad decision and black mark on the us... But to put it in perspective.. at the time we carpeted bombed huge cities too. killing thousands and thousands. thats the way war was fought.. the only difference was this was just one bomb. also the effects of radiation were not as well known then as it is now etc.. remember these were the first times they were used. I don't think they realized how much damage it would cause..and.. it did stop the war.. immeadiatly

Answer 7

No one ever said Hiroshima was justified. Hiroshima happened to stop the war with Japan. I guess you forgot Japan attacked and bombed the US of A at Pearl Harbor first.

Answer 8

The reason we dropped the bomb on the Japs was because the war in Europe was over and all assesments of the war in the pacific said that hundreds of thousands of American lives would be lost trying to take Japan. The Japanese were unbelievably patrioitic and resolved to never giving up. We gave them a warning before we dropped the bomb on them and they didn't listen. After we dropped the first we asked them to surrender or face it again. They didn't surrender so we dropped another one. After that, they surrendered unconditionally. Additionally, we helped rebuild and restructure Japan afterward.

Hitler, on the other hand, gave the Jews no such warning. He was killing them by the millions just because he felt they were an inferior race. They posed no real threat to him or his country. Had Hitler won WWII, do you think he wou;d've helped to rebuild and restructure the Jewish community?

it's apples and oranges really.

Answer 9

Hitler rounded 12 million people, 6 milliong of them Jews, and tortured and killed them.

America was thrust into WWII because Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Millions of people were dying or being wounded, and the atom bomb ended the war pretty quickly.

Answer 10

this is the character of conflict that civilians who stay close to protection tension objective will often be killed while that protection tension objective is attacked. this is spoke of as "collateral injury", and this is tragic, yet one key clarification why conflict is to be prevented. look, for each civilian that died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki to Allied protection tension action, 4 civilians died in Germany, the place no nuclear weapons have been used in any respect. So, definite, there is something to the thought the bombings saved lives -- the two protection tension and civilian -- with the aid of bringing the conflict to a quicker close.

Answer 11

There is a huge difference between systematically collecting and extermination of a race of people and creating collateral damage in a military attack. Thus Hitlers bombing of London, and destruction of eastern Europe, though tragic, is not considered heinous. They were acts of war.

Your lack of historical knowledge is stunning. More Japanese were killed by the US's fire bombing of Tokyo than by dropping the two atomic bombs.