THE ATOMIC BOMBING OF WAS IT NECESSARY? Christopher Philippi On August 6 and 9, 1945, the only atomic bombs ever used in warfare were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The mass destruction and numerous deaths caused by those bombs ultimately put an end to World War II. Was this the only way to end the war, however? Could this killing of innocent Japanese citizens had been avoided and the war still ended This paper will go into this controversial topic. First, a summaryof the events leading up to the bombing and the events that followed:With the end of the European war, the Allies focused their effortson Japan. Though they were losing miserably, the Japanese continued tofight back.The Potsdam Proclamation was issued to the Japanese. It made nomention of Japan’s central surrender condition, the status of the Emperor.In Japan, the Emperor was viewed as a god. Therefore, Japan rejected thePotsdam Proclamation.The United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Russia declared war against Japan. Japan, because of its military,still refused to surrender. The Japanese government voted against surrender.Japanese believe in “death before dishonor.”Japanese peace advocates feared for the safety of the Emperor. They begged him to break with tradition and make government policy by2calling for peace now. As a result of the Emperor’s call to surrender, theentire Japanese cabinet, including the military, agreed to surrender. Thecabinet saw that this would allow the Emperor to be retained.The Japanese would have fought to the death if they did not feelthe Emperor would have been spared. They may have been fighting a losing battle, but they saw unconditional surrender as a threat to theEmperor. President Truman had been advised of the importance of the Emperorto the Japanese. Japan was seeking Russia’s help to end the war in July 1945. TheU.S. was aware of t...
