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Nagasaki, August 10, 1945; photograph by Yosuke Yamahata; used with permission of copyright holder, Shogo Yamahata/Courtesy: IDG films. Photo restoration by TX Unlimited, San Francisco |
The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II
A Collection of Primary Sources
National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 162
Edited by William Burr - 202/994-7000
Posted - August 5, 2005
First Updated - April 27, 2007
Latest Update, August 4, 2015 (click here)
A nuclear weapon of the "Little Boy" type, the uranium gun-type detonated over Hiroshima. It is 28 inches in diameter and 120 inches long. "Little Boy" weighed about 9,000 pounds and had a yield approximating 15,000 tons of high explosives. (Copy from U.S. National Archives, RG 77-AEC)
Washington, D.C., August 5, 2005 - Sixty years ago this month, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, and the Japanese government surrendered to the United States and its allies. The nuclear age had truly begun with the first military use of atomic weapons. With the material that follows, the National Security Archive publishes the most comprehensive on-line collection to date of declassified U.S. government documents on the atomic bomb and the end of the war in the Pacific. Besides material from the files of the Manhattan Project, this collection includes formerly "Top Secret Ultra" summaries and translations of Japanese diplomatic cable traffic intercepted under the "Magic" program. Moreover, the collection includes for the first time translations from Japanese sources of high level meetings and discussions in Tokyo, including the conferences when Emperor Hirohito authorized the final decision to surrender.[1]
A nuclear weapon of the "Fat Man" type, the plutonium implosion type detonated over Nagasaki. 60 inches in diameter and 128 inches long, the weapon weighed about 10,000 pounds and had a yield approximating 21,000 tons of high explosives (Copy from U.S. National Archives, RG 77-AEC)
Ever since the atomic bombs were exploded over Japanese cities, historians, social scientists, journalists, World War II veterans, and ordinary citizens have engaged in intense controversy about the events of August 1945. John Hersey�s Hiroshima, first published in the New Yorker in 1946 made some unsettled readers question the bombings while church groups and a few commentators, most prominently Norman Cousins, explicitly criticized them. Former Secretary of War Henry Stimson found the criticisms troubling and published an influential justification for the attacks in Harper�s.[2] During the 1960s the availability of primary sources made historical research and writing possible and the debate became more vigorous. Historians Herbert Feis and Gar Alperovitz raised searching questions about the first use of nuclear weapons and their broader political and diplomatic implications. The controversy, especially the arguments made by Alperovitz and others about "atomic diplomacy" quickly became caught up in heated debates about Cold War "revisionism." The controversy simmered over the years with major contributions by Martin Sherwin and Barton J. Bernstein but it became explosive during the mid-1990s when curators at the National Air and Space Museum met the wrath of the Air Force Association over a proposed historical exhibit on the Enola Gay.[3] The NASM exhibit was drastically scaled down but historians and journalists continued to engage in the debate. Alperovitz, Bernstein, and Sherwin made new contributions to the debate as did historians, social scientists, and journalists such as Richard B. Frank, Herbert Bix, Sadao Asada, Kai Bird, Robert James Maddox, Robert P. Newman, Robert S. Norris, Tsuyoshi Hagesawa, and J. Samuel Walker.[4] The controversy has revolved around the following, among other, questions:
Taken at Tinian Island on the afternoon of August 5, 1945, this shows the tail of the Enola Gay being edged over the pit and into position to load "Little Boy" into the bomb bay. The weapon is in the pit covered with canvas. Various personnel and guards are standing around the loading area. (Photo from U.S. National Archives, RG 77-BT)
- Were atomic strikes necessary primarily to avert an invasion of Japan in November 1945?
- Did Truman authorize the use of atomic bombs for diplomatic-political reasons-- to intimidate the Soviets--or was his major goal to force Japan to surrender and bring the war to an early end?
- If ending the war quickly was the most important motivation of Truman and his advisers to what extent did they see an "atomic diplomacy" capability as a "bonus"?
- To what extent did subsequent justification for the atomic bomb exaggerate or misuse wartime estimates for U.S. casualties stemming from an invasion of Japan?
- Were there alternatives to the use of the weapons? If there were, what were they and how plausible are they in retrospect? Why were alternatives not pursued?
- How did the U.S. government plan to use the bombs? What concepts did war planners use to select targets? To what extent were senior officials interested in looking at alternatives to urban targets? How familiar was President Truman with the concepts that led target planners to choose major cities as targets?
- Did President Truman make a decision, in a robust sense, to use the bomb or did he inherit a decision that had already been made?
- Were the Japanese ready to surrender before the bombs were dropped? To what extent had Emperor Hirohito prolonged the war unnecessarily by not seizing opportunities for surrender?
- If the United States had been more flexible about the demand for "unconditional surrender" by guaranteeing a constitutional monarchy would Japan have surrendered earlier than it did?
- How greatly did the atomic bombings affect the Japanese decision to surrender?
- Was the bombing of Nagasaki unnecessary? To the extent that the atomic bombing was critically important to the Japanese decision to surrender would it have been enough to destroy one city?
- Would the Soviet declaration of war have been enough to compel Tokyo to admit defeat?
- Was the dropping of the atomic bombs morally justifiable?
This shows the "Little Boy" weapon in the pit ready for loading into the bomb bay of Enola Gay. (Photo from U.S. National Archives, RG 77-BT)
This briefing book will not attempt to answer these questions or use primary sources to stake out positions on any of them. Nor will it attempt to substitute for the extraordinarily rich literature on the atomic bombs and the end of World War II. This collection does not attempt to document the origins and development of the Manhattan Project. Nor does it include any of the miscellaneous sources (interviews, documents prepared after the events, post-World War II correspondence, etc.) that participants in the debate have brought to bear in framing their arguments. Instead, by gaining access to a broad range of U.S. and Japanese documents from the spring and summer of 1945, interested readers can see for themselves the crucial source material that scholars have used to shape narrative accounts of the historical developments and to frame their arguments about the questions that have provoked controversy over the years. To help readers who are less familiar with the debates, commentary on some of the documents will point out, although far from comprehensively, some of the ways in which they have been interpreted. With direct access to the documents, readers may be able to develop their own answers to the questions raised above. The documents may even provoke new questions.
This shows "Little Boy" being raised for loading into the Enola Gay's bomb bay. (Photo from U.S. National Archives, RG 77-BT)
Contributors to the historical controversy have deployed the documents selected here to support their arguments about the first use of nuclear weapons and the end of World War II. The editor has closely reviewed the footnotes and endnotes in a variety of articles and books and selected documents cited by participants on the various sides of the controversy.[5] While the editor has a point of view on the issues, to the greatest extent possible he has tried not to let that influence document selection, e.g., by selectively withholding or including documents that may buttress one point of view or the other. The task of compilation took the editor to primary sources at the National Archives, mainly in Manhattan Project files held in the records of the Army Corps of Engineers, Record Group 77 but also in the files of the National Security Agency. Private collections were also important such as the Stimson Diary at Yale University (although available on microfilm elsewhere) and the papers of W. Averell Harriman at the Library of Congress. To a great extent the documents selected for this compilation have been declassified for years, even decades; the most recent declassifications were in the 1990s.
The mushroom cloud billowing up 20,000 feet over Hiroshima on the morning of August 6, 1945 (Photo from U.S. National Archives, RG 77-AEC)
The U.S. documents cited here will be familiar to many expert readers on the Hiroshima-Nagasaki controversy. To provide a fuller picture of the transition from U.S.-Japanese antagonism to reconciliation, the editor has done what could be done within time and resource constraints to present information on the activities and points of view of Japanese policymakers and diplomats. This includes a number of formerly top secret summaries of intercepted Japanese diplomatic communications; the documents enable interested readers to form their own judgments about the direction of Japanese diplomacy in the weeks before the atomic bombings. Moreover, this briefing book includes new translations of Japanese primary sources on crucial events, including accounts of the conferences on August 9 and 14, where Emperor Hirohito made decisions to accept Allied terms of surrender. This material sheds light on the considerations that induced Japan �s surrender.
Documents
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I. Background on the Atomic Project
Document 1: Memorandum from Vannevar Bush and James B. Conant, Office of Scientific Research and Development, to Secretary of War, September 30, 1944, Top Secret
Source: Record Group 77, Records of the Army Corps of Engineers (hereinafter RG 77), Manhattan Engineering District (MED), Harrison-Bundy Files (H-B Files), folder 69
Months before the bomb would be available, key War Department advisers, among others, worried about the political and military problems and possibilities raised by the project�the possibility of enormously powerful hydrogen bombs, enormous military potential, the limits of secrecy, the danger of a global arms race, and the need for international exchange of information and international inspection to stem dangerous nuclear competition. Martin Sherwin and James Hershberg see this memorandum flowing from Bush and Conant�s concern about President Roosevelt's "cavalier" belief that it would be possible to maintain an Anglo-American atomic monopoly after World War II. To disabuse senior officials that such a monopoly was possible, they drafted this memorandum.[6]
The Enola Gay returns to Tinian Island after the strike on Hiroshima. (Photo from U.S. National Archives, RG 77-BT)
Document 2: Commander F. L. Ashworth to Major General L.R. Groves, "The Base of Operations of the 509th Composite Group,"
Source: RG 77, MED Records, Top Secret Documents, File no. 5g
The force of B-29 nuclear delivery vehicles that was being readied for first nuclear use�the Army Air Force�s 509th Composite Group�required an operational base in the Western Pacific. In late February 1945, months before atomic bombs were ready for use, the high command selected
Documents 3a-c: President Truman Learns the Secret:
a. Memorandum for the Secretary of War from General L. R. Groves, "Atomic Fission Bombs,"
Source: RG 77, Commanding General�s file no. 24, tab D
b. Memorandum discussed with the President,
Source: Henry Stimson Diary, Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library, Henry Lewis Stimson Papers (microfilm at Library of Congress)
c. Untitled memorandum by General L.R. Groves,
Source: Record Group 200, Papers of General Leslie R. Groves, Correspondence 1941-1970,
d. Diary Entry,
Source: Henry Stimson Diary,
A "Fat Man" test unit being raised from the pit into the bomb bay of a B-29 for bombing practice during the weeks before the attack on Nagasaki. (Photo from U.S. National Archives, RG 77-BT)
Soon after he was sworn in as president, after President Roosevelt's death, Harry Truman learned about the top secret Manhattan Project.� It was not until he received a briefing from Secretary of War Stimson and Manhattan Project chief
II. Defining Targets
Document 4: Notes on Initial Meeting of Target Committee,
Source: RG 77, MED Records, Top Secret Documents, File no. 5d (copy from microfilm)
A photo prepared by U.S. Air Intelligence for analytical work on destructiveness of atomic weapons. The total area devastated by the atomic strike on Hiroshima is shown in the darkened area (within the circle) of the photo. The numbered items are military and industrial installations with the percentages of total destruction. (Photo from U.S. National Archives, RG 77-AEC)
In late April, military officers and nuclear scientists met to discuss bombing techniques, target selection, and overall mission requirements.� The discussion of "available targets" included
Document 5: Memorandum from J. R. Oppenheimer to Brigadier General Farrell,
Source: RG 77, MED Records, Top Secret Documents, File no. 5g (copy from microfilm)
Discussing the radiological dangers of a nuclear detonation, Oppenheimer explained to General Farrell,
Document 6: Memorandum from Major J. A. Derry and Dr. N.F. Ramsey to General L.R. Groves, "Summary of Target Committee Meetings on 10 and 11 May 1945," May 12, 1945
Source: RG 77, MED Records, Top Secret Documents, File no. 5d (copy from microfilm)
Scientists and officers held further discussion of bombing mission requirements, including height of detonation, weather, plans for possible mission abort, and the various aspects of target selection, including priority cities ("a large urban area of more than three miles diameter") and psychological dimension.
Document 7: Diary Entries, May 14 and 15, 1945
Source: Henry Stimson Diary, Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library, Henry Lewis Stimson Papers (microfilm at Library of Congress)
The polar cap of the "Fat Man" weapon being sprayed with plastic spray paint in front of Assembly Building Number 2. (Photo from U.S. National Archives, RG 77-BT)
On May 14 and 15, Stimson had several conversations involving S-1 (the atomic bomb); during a talk with Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy, he estimated that possession of the bomb gave Washington a tremendous advantage�"held all the cards," a "royal straight flush"-- in dealing with Moscow on post-war problems: "They can�t get along without our help and industries and we have coming into action a weapon which will be unique." The next day a discussion of divergences with
Document 8: Diary entry for
Source: Joseph E. Davies Papers, Library of Congress,
While officials at the Pentagon continued to look closely at the problem of atomic targets, President Truman, like Stimson, was thinking about the diplomatic implications of the bomb.� During a conversation with Joseph E. Davies, a prominent
Document 9: Minutes of Third Target Committee Meeting � Washington,
Source: RG 77, MED Records, Top Secret Documents, File no. 5d (copy from microfilm)
More updates on training missions, target selection, and conditions required for successful detonation over the target. �Pumpkins� referred to bright orange, pumpkin-shaped high explosive bombs�shaped like the �Fat Man� implosion weapon--used for bombing run test missions. �
Document 10: General Lauris Norstad to Commanding General, XXI Bomber Command, "509th Composite Group; Special Functions,"
Source: RG 77, MED Records, Top Secret Documents, File no. 5g (copy from microfilm)
The 509th Composite Group�s cover story for its secret mission was the preparation of �Pumpkins� for use in battle.� In this memorandum, Norstad reviewed the complex requirements for preparing B-29s and their crews for successful nuclear strikes.
Document 11: Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy, "Memorandum of Conversation with General Marshall
Source: Record Group 107, Office of the Secretary of War, Formerly Top Secret Correspondence of Secretary of War Stimson (�Safe File�), July 1940-September 1945, box 12, S-1
Apparently dissenting from the Targeting Committee�s recommendations, Army Chief of Staff George Marshall noted the �opprobrium which might follow from an ill considered employment of such force.�� This document has played a role in arguments developed by Barton J. Bernstein that a few figures such as Marshall and Stimson were �caught between an older morality that opposed the intentional killing of noncombatants and a newer one that stressed virtually total war.� [10]
Document 12: "Notes of the Interim Committee Meeting Thursday, 31 May 1945, 10:00 A.M. to 1:15 P.M. � 2:15 P.M. to 4:15 P.M.," n.d., Top Secret
Source: RG 77, MED Records, H-B files, folder no. 100 (copy from microfilm)
With Secretary of War Stimson presiding, members of the committee heard reports on a variety of Manhattan Project issues, including the stages of development of the atomic project, �problems of secrecy, the possibility of informing the Soviet Union, cooperation with �like-minded� powers, the military impact of the bomb on Japan, and the problem of �undesirable scientists.� �Interested in producing the �greatest psychological effect,� the Committee members agreed that the �most desirable target would be a vital war plant employing a large number of workers and closely surrounded by workers� houses.�� Bernstein argues that this target choice represented an uneasy endorsement of �terror bombing�--the target was not exclusively military or civilian; nevertheless, workers' housing would include noncombatant men, women, and children. [11]
Document 13:� General George A. Lincoln to General Hull,
Source: Record Group 165, Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, American-British-Canadian Top Secret Correspondence, Box
George A. Lincoln, chief of the Strategy and Policy Group at the U.S. Army�s Operations Department, commented on a memorandum by former President Herbert Hoover that Stimson had passed on for analysis.�
Document 14: Memorandum from R. Gordon Arneson, Interim Committee Secretary, to Mr. Harrison,
Source: RG 77, MED Records, H-B files, folder no. 100 (copy from microfilm)
In a memorandum to George Harrison, Stimson�s special assistant on Manhattan Project matters, Arneson noted actions taken at the recent Interim Committee meetings, including target criteria and an attack �without prior warning.�
Document 15:� Memorandum of Conference with the President,
Source: Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library, Henry Lewis Stimson Papers (microfilm at Library of Congress)
Stimson and Truman began this meeting by discussing how they should handle a conflict with French President deGaulle over the movement by French forces into Italian territory. (Truman finally cut off military aid to
III. Debates on Alternatives to First Use and Unconditional Surrender
Document 16: Memorandum from Arthur B. Compton to the Secretary of War, enclosing "Memorandum on 'Political and Social Problems,' from Members of the 'Metallurgical Laboratory' of the
Source: RG 77, MED Records, H-B files, folder no. 76 (copy from microfilm)
Physicists Leo Szilard and James Franck, a Nobel Prize winner, were on the staff of the �Metallurgical Laboratory� at the
Document 17: Memorandum from Acting Secretary of State Joseph Grew to the President, "Analysis of Memorandum Presented by Mr.
Source: Record Group 107, Office of the Secretary of War, Formerly Top Secret Correspondence of Secretary of War Stimson ("Safe File"), July 1940-September 1945, box 8, Japan (After December 7/41)
A former ambassador to
Document 18: Memorandum from Chief of Staff Marshall to the Secretary of War,
Source: Record Group 107, Office of the Secretary of War, Formerly Top Secret Correspondence of Secretary of War Stimson ("Safe File"), July 1940-September 1945, box 8, Japan (After December 7/41)
Commenting on another memorandum by Herbert Hoover, George A. Lincoln discussed war aims, face-saving proposals for
Document 19: Memorandum by J. R. Oppenheimer, "Recommendations on the Immediate Use of Nuclear Weapons,"
Source: RG 77, MED Records, H-B files, folder no. 76 (copy from microfilm)
In a report to Stimson, Oppenheimer and colleagues on the scientific advisory panel--Arthur Compton, Ernest O. Lawrence, and Enrico Fermi--tacitly disagreed with the report of the �Met Lab� scientists.� The panel argued for early military use but not before informing key allies about the atomic project to open a dialogue on �how we can cooperate in making this development contribute to improved international relations.�
Document 20: "Minutes of Meeting Held at the White House on Monday,
Source: Record Group 218, Records of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Central Decimal Files, 1942-1945,
With the devastating battle for
This meeting has also played a role in the historical discussions of the alternatives to nuclear weapons use in the summer of 1945. � �According to accounts based on post-war recollections and interviews, McCloy raised the possibility of winding up the war by guaranteeing the preservation of the emperor albeit as a constitutional monarch.� If that failed to persuade
Document 21: Memorandum from R. Gordon Arneson, Interim Committee Secretary, to Mr. Harrison,
Source: RG 77, MED Records, H-B files, folder no. 100 (copy from microfilm)
For
�������
Document 22: Memorandum from George L. Harrison to Secretary of War,
Source: RG 77, MED, H-B files, folder no. 77 (copy from microfilm)
Reminding Stimson about the objections of some
Document 23: Memorandum from George L. Harrison to Secretary of War,
Source: RG 77, MED, H-B files, folder no. 77 (copy from microfilm)
Under Secretary of the Navy Ralph Bard joined those scientists who sought to avoid military use of the bomb; he proposed a �preliminary warning� so that the
Document 24: Memorandum for Mr. McCloy, "Comments re: Proposed Program for
Source: RG 107, Office of Assistant Secretary of War Formerly Classified Correspondence of John J. McCloy, 1941-1945,
Despite the interest of some senior officials such as Joseph Grew, Henry Stimson, and John J. McCloy in modifying the concept of unconditional surrender so that the Japanese could be sure that the emperor would be preserved, it remained a highly contentious subject. For example, one of McCloy�s staffers, Colonel Fahey, argued against modification of unconditional surrender (see �Appendix �C`�).�
Document 25: Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy to Colonel Stimson,
Source: Record Group 107, Office of the Secretary of War, Formerly Top Secret Correspondence of Secretary of War Stimson ("Safe File"), July 1940-September 1945, box 8, Japan (After December 7/41)
McCloy was part of a drafting committee that was working on the text of a proclamation to
Document 26: Memorandum, "Timing of Proposed Demand for Japanese Surrender,"
Source: Record Group 107, Office of the Secretary of War, Formerly Top Secret Correspondence of Secretary of War Stimson ("Safe File"), July 1940-September 1945, box 8, Japan (After December 7/41)
Probably the work of General George A. Lincoln at Army Operations, this document was prepared a few weeks before the
Document 27: Minutes, Secretary's Staff Committee, Saturday Morning,
Source: Record Group 353, Records of Interdepartmental and Intradepartmental Committees, Secretary's Staff Meetings Minutes, 1944-1947 (copy from microfilm)
The possibility of modifying the concept of unconditional surrender so that it guaranteed the continuation of the emperor remained hotly contested within the
Document 28: Combined Chiefs of Staff, �Estimate of the Enemy Situation (as of
Source: RG 218, Central Decimal Files, 1943-1945, CCS 381 (
This review of Japanese capabilities and intentions portrays an economy and society under �tremendous strain�; nevertheless, �the ground component of the Japanese armed forces remains
�
IV. The Japanese Search for Soviet Mediation
Source: Record Group 457, Records of the National Security Agency/Central Security Service, "Magic" Diplomatic Summaries 1942-1945,
Since September 1940, under the covername "Magic," U.S. military intelligence had been routinely decrypting the intercepted cable traffic of the Japanese Foreign Ministry. The National Security Agency kept the 'Magic" diplomatic and military summaries classified for many years and did not release the series for 1942 through August 1945 in its entirety until the early 1990s. This summary includes a report on a cable from Japanese Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo to Ambassador Naotake Sato in Moscow concerning the emperor's decision to seek Soviet help in ending the war. Not knowing that the Soviets had already made a commitment to its Allies to declare war on Japan, Tokyo fruitlessly pursued this option for several weeks. The "Magic" intercepts from mid-July have figured in Gar Alperovitz's argument that Truman and his advisers recognized that the emperor was ready to capitulate if the Allies showed more flexibility on the demand for unconditional surrender. This point is central to Alperovitz's thesis that top U.S. officials recognized a "two-step logic" that moderating unconditional surrender and a Soviet declaration of war would have been enough to induce Japan's surrender without the use of the bomb. [22]
Document 30: John Weckerling, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, July 12, 1945, to Deputy Chief of Staff, "Japanese Peace Offer," 13 July 1945, Top Secret Ultra
Source: RG 165, Army Operations OPD Executive File #17, Item 13 (copy courtesy of J. Samuel Walker )
The day after the
Document 31: "Magic"� Diplomatic Summary, War Department, Office of Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, No. 1205 � July 13, 1945, Top Secret Ultra
Source: Record Group 457, Records of the National Security Agency/Central Security Service, "Magic" Diplomatic Summaries 1942-1945,
The day after he told Sato about the current thinking on Soviet mediation, Togo requested the Ambassador to see Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov and tell him of the emperor�s �private intention to send Prince Konoye as a Special Envoy� to Moscow.� Before he received
Document 32: Cable to Secretary of State from Acting Secretary Joseph Grew,
Source: Record Group 59, Decimal Files 1945-1949, 740.0011 PW (PE)/7-1645
The draft of the proclamation to Japan that reached Truman contained language that modified unconditional surrender by promising to retain the emperor.� When former Secretary of State Cordell Hull learned about that development he outlined his objections to Secretary of State Byrnes. The latter was already inclined to reject that part of the draft but
Document 33: "Magic" � Diplomatic Summary, War Department, Office of Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, No. 1210 � July 17, 1945, Top Secret Ultra
Source: Record Group 457, Records of the National Security Agency/Central Security Service, "Magic" Diplomatic Summaries 1942-1945,
Another intercept of a cable from
Document 34: R. E. Lapp, Leo Szilard et al., "A Petition to the President of the
Source: RG 77, MED Records, H-B files, folder no. 76 (copy from microfilm)
In a final effort to discourage military use of the bomb, Szilard circulated a petition, which he hoped would reach President Truman, and which was signed by about 68 Manhattan Project scientists, mainly physicists and biologists (copies with the remaining signatures are in the archival file). �Not explicitly rejecting military use, the petition raised questions about an arms race that military use could inspire and called Truman to publicize detailed terms for Japanese surrender.� Truman, already on his way to
V. The Trinity Test, the
Document 35: Cable War 33556 from
Source: RG 77, MED Records, Top Secret Documents, File 5e (copy from microfilm)
An elated message from
Document 36: Memorandum from General L. R. Groves to Secretary of War, "The Test,"
Source: RG 77, MED Records, Top Secret Documents, File no. 4 (copy from microfilm)
�The first atomic test took place in the
Document 37: Diary Entry for
Source:� Takashi Itoh, ed., Sokichi Takagi: Nikki to Joho [Sokichi Takagi: Diary and Documents] (
In 1944 Navy minister Mitsumasa Yonai put rear admiral Sokichi Takagi on sick leave so that he could undertake a secret mission to find a way to end the war. Takaki was soon at the center of a cabal of Japanese defense officials, civil servants, and academics, which concluded that, in the end, the emperor would have to �impose his decision on the military and the government.�� Takagi kept a detailed account of his activities, part of which was in diary form, the other part of which he kept on index cards.� The material that follows gives a sense of the state of play for Foreign Minister
Document 38: Truman's
Barton J. Bernstein, "Truman At
Some years after Truman died a hand-written diary that he kept during the
Document 39: Diary entries for July 16 through 25, 1945
Source: Henry Stimson Diary, Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library, Henry Lewis Stimson Papers (microfilm at Library of Congress)
Stimson did not always have Truman�s ear but historians have frequently cited his diary when he was at the
An important question that Stimson discussed with
Document 40: "Magic" � Diplomatic Summary, War Department, Office of Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, No. 1214 � July 22, 1945, Top Secret Ultra
Source: Record Group 457, Records of the National Security Agency/Central Security Service, "Magic" Diplomatic Summaries 1942-1945,
This �Magic� summary includes messages from both
Documents 41 a-d: Framing the Directive for Nuclear Strikes:
a. Cable VICTORY 213 from
b. Memorandum from Colonel John Stone to General Arnold, "
c. Cable WAR 37683 from General Handy to General Marshall, enclosing directive to General Spaatz,
d. Cable VICTORY 261 from
e. General Thomas T. Handy to General Carl Spaatz,
Source: RG 77, MED Records, Top Secret Documents, Files no. 5b and 5e (copies from microfilm)
Ground view of Nagasaki before and after the bombing; 1,000 foot circles are shown. (Photo from U.S. National Archives, RG 77-MDH)
Apparently top Army Air Force commanders did not want to take responsibility for the first use of nuclear weapons on urban targets and sought formal authorization from Chief of Staff Marshall who was then in
Document 42: Diary Entry,
Source: Naval Historical Center, Operational Archives, James Forrestal Diaries
Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal was a regular recipient of �Magic� intercept reports; this substantial entry reviews the dramatic Sato-Togo exchanges covered in the 22 July �Magic� summary (although Forrestal misdated Sato�s cable as �first of July� instead of the 21st).�� In contrast to Alperovitz�s argument that Forrestal tried to modify the terms of unconditional surrender to give the Japanese an out, Frank sees Forrestal�s account of the Sato-Togo exchange as additional evidence that senior
Document 43: Diary entry for
Source: Joseph E. Davies Papers, Library of Congress, Manuscripts Division,
Having been asked by Truman to join the delegation to the
Document 44: "Magic" � Diplomatic Summary, War Department, Office of Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, No. 1221- July 29, 1945, Top Secret Ultra
Source: Record Group 457, Records of the National Security Agency/Central Security Service, "Magic" Diplomatic Summaries 1942-1945,
The day before the governments of
Document 45: Memorandum from Major General L. R. Groves to Chief of Staff,
Source: RG 77, MED Records, Top Secret Documents, File no. 5
With more information on the
Document 46: "Magic" � Diplomatic Summary, War Department, Office of Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, No. 1222 � July 30, 1945, Top Secret Ultra
Source: Record Group 457, Records of the National Security Agency/Central Security Service, "Magic" Diplomatic Summaries 1942-1945,
This report included an intercept of a message from Sato who reported that it was impossible to see Molotov and that unless
Document 47: "Magic" � Diplomatic Summary, War Department, Office of Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, No. 1225 � August 2, 1945, Top Secret Ultra
Source: Record Group 457, Records of the National Security Agency/Central Security Service, "Magic" Diplomatic Summaries 1942-1945,
An intercepted message from
Document 48: "Magic" � Diplomatic Summary, War Department, Office of Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, No. 1226 - August 3, 1945, Top Secret Ultra
Source: Record Group 457, Records of the National Security Agency/Central Security Service, "Magic" Diplomatic Summaries 1942-1945,
This summary included intercepts of Japanese diplomatic reporting on the Soviet buildup in the
Document 49: Meeting Notes,
Source: Clemson University Libraries, Special Collections, Clemson, SC; Mss 243, Walter J. Brown Papers, box 10, folder 12, Byrnes, James F.: Potsdam, Minutes, July-August 1945
A number of scholars have used this item in the papers of Byrne�s aide, Walter Brown, to make a variety of points. �Richard Frank sees this brief discussion of
Documents 50a-c: Weather delays
Document 50a: CG 313th Bomb Wing,
Document 50b: CG 313th Bomb Wing,
Document 50c: CG 313th Bomb Wing,
Source: RG 77,
The
Document 51: "Magic" � Far East Summary, War Department, Office of Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, no. 502,
Source: RG 457, Summaries of Intercepted Japanese Messages ("Magic"
This �Far East Summary� included reports on the Japanese army�s plans to disperse fuel stocks to reduce vulnerability to bombing attacks, the text of a directive by the commander of naval forces on �Operation Homeland,� the preparations and planning to repel a U.S. invasion of Honshu, and the specific identification of army divisions located in, or moving into, Kyushu. �Both Richard Frank and Barton Bernstein have used intelligence reporting and analysis of the major buildup of Japanese forces on southern
Document 52 : "Magic" � Diplomatic Summary, War Department, Office of Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, No. 1228 � August 5, 1945, Top Secret Ultra
Source: Record Group 457, Records of the National Security Agency/Central Security Service, "Magic" Diplomatic Summaries 1942-1945,
This summary included several intercepted messages from Sato, who conveyed his despair and exasperation over what he saw as Tokyo�s inability to develop terms for ending the war: �[I]f the Government and the Military dilly-dally in bringing this resolution to fruition, then all Japan will be reduced to ashes.�� Sato remained skeptical that the Soviets would have any interest in discussions with
VI. The First Nuclear Strikes
Document 53: Memorandum from General L. R. Groves to the Chief of Staff,
Source: RG 77, MED Records, Top Secret Documents, File no. 5b (copy from microfilm)
Hiroshima, after the first atomic bomb explosion. This view was taken from the Red Cross Hospital Building about one mile from the bomb burst. (Photo from U.S. National Archives, Still Pictures Branch, Subject Files, "Atomic Bomb")
The day after the bombing of Hiroshima, Groves provided Chief of Staff Marshall with a report which included messages from Captain William S. Parsons and others about the impact of the detonation which immediately killed at least 70,000, with many dying later from radiation sickness and other causes. [41]
How influential the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and later Nagasaki compared to the impact of the Soviet declaration of war were on the Japanese decision to surrender has been the subject of controversy among historians. Sadao Asada emphasizes the shock of the atomic bombs, while Herbert Bix has suggested that Hiroshima and the Soviet declaration of war made Hirohito and his court believe that failure to end the war could lead to the destruction of the imperial house. Frank and Hasegawa divide over the impact of the Soviet declaration of war, with Frank declaring that the Soviet intervention was "significant but not decisive" and Hasegawa arguing that the two atomic bombs "were not sufficient to change the direction of Japanese diplomacy. The Soviet invasion was." [42]
Document 54: Memorandum of Conversation, "Atomic Bomb,"
Source: Library of Congress Manuscript Division, Papers of W. Averell Harriman,
The Soviets already knew about the
Documents 55a and 55b: Early High-level Reactions to the Hiroshima Bombing
Document 55a: Cabinet Meeting and Togo's Meeting with the Emperor, August 7-8, 1945
Source: Gaimusho (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) ed. Shusen Shiroku (The Historical Records of the End of the War), annotated by Jun Eto, volume 4, 57-60 [Excerpts] [Translation by Toshihiro Higuchi]
Document 55b: Diary Entry for Wednesday, August 8 , 1945
Source:�Takashi Itoh, ed., Sokichi Takagi: Nikki to Joho [Sokichi Takagi: Diary and Documents] (
Ground Zero at Hiroshima Today: This was the site of Shima Hospital; the atomic explosion occurred 1,870 feet above it (Photo courtesy of Lynn Eden, www.wholeworldonfire.com) |
Excerpts from the Foreign Ministry's compilation about the end of the war show how news of the bombing reached Tokyo as well as how Foreign Minister's Togo initially reacted to reports about Hiroshima. When he learned of the atomic bombing from the Domei News Agency, Togo believed that it was time to give up and advised the cabinet that the atomic attack provided the occasion for Japan to surrender on the basis of the Potsdam Declaration. Togo could not persuade the cabinet, however, and the Army wanted to delay any decisions until it had learned what had happened to Hiroshima. When the Foreign Minister met with the Emperor, Hirohito agreed with him; he declared that the top priority was an early end to the war, although it would be acceptable to seek better surrender terms--probably U.S. acceptance of a figure-head emperor--if it did not interfere with that goal. In light of those instructions, Togo and Prime Minister Suzuki agreed that the Supreme War Council should meet the next day. [42a]
An entry from Admiral Tagaki's diary for August 8 conveys more information on the mood in elite Japanese circles after Hiroshima, but before the Soviet declaration of war and the bombing of Nagasaki. Seeing the bombing of Hiroshima as a sign of a worsening situation at home, Tagaki worried about further deterioration. Nevertheless, his diary suggests that military hard-liners were very much in charge and that Prime Minister Suzuki was talking tough against surrender, by evoking last ditch moments in Japanese history and warning of the danger that subordinate commanders might not obey surrender orders. The last remark aggravated Navy Minister Yonai who saw it as irresponsible. That the Soviets had made no responses to Sato's request for a meeting was understood as a bad sign; Yonai realized that the government had to prepare for the possibility that Moscow might not help. One of the visitors mentioned at the beginning of the entry was Iwao Yamazaki who became Minister of the Interior in the next cabinet.
Document 56: Navy Secretary James Forrestal to President Truman,
Source: Naval Historical Center, Operational Archives, James Forrestal Diaries
General Douglas MacArthur had been slated as commander for military operations against
Document 57: Memorandum of Conversation, "Far Eastern War and General Situation,"
Source: Library of Congress Manuscript Division, Papers of W. Averell Harriman,
Shortly after the Soviets declared war on
Document 58: Memorandum of Conference with the President,
Source: Henry Stimson Diary, Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library, Henry Lewis Stimson Papers (microfilm at Library of Congress)
At their first meeting after the dropping of the bomb on
Documents 59 a-c: The Attack on
a. Cable APCOM 5445 from General Farrell to O�Leary [
b. COMGENAAF 8 cable CMDW 576 to COMGENUSASTAF, for General Farrell, August 9, 1945, Top secret
c. COMGENAAF 20 Guam cable AIMCCR 5532 to COMGENUSASTAF Guam,� August 10, 1945, Top Secret
Source: RG 77,
The mushroom cloud over Nagasaki shortly after the bombing on August 9. (Photo from U.S. National Archives, RG 77-AEC)
The prime target for the second atomic attack was Kokura, which had a large army arsenal and ordnance works, but various problems ruled that city out; instead, the crew of the B-29 that carried "Fat Man" flew to an alternate target at Nagasaki. These cables are the earliest reports of the mission; the bombing of Nagasaki killed immediately at least 39,000 people with more dying later. According to Frank, the "actual total of deaths due to the atomic bombs will never be known," but the "huge number" ranges somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 people. Barton J. Bernstein and Martin Sherwin have argued that if top Washington policymakers had kept tight control of the delivery of the bomb instead of delegating it to Groves the attack on Nagasaki could have been avoided. The combination of the first bomb and the Soviet declaration of war would have been enough to induce Tokyo's surrender. By contrast, Maddox argues that Nagasaki was necessary so that Japanese "hardliners" could not "minimize the first explosion" or otherwise explain it away. [45]
Document 60: Ramsey Letter from Tinian Island
a. Letter from Norman Ramsey to J. Robert Oppenheimer , undated [mid-August 1945], Secret, excerpts
Source: Library of Congress, J. Robert Oppenheimer Papers,
b. Transcript of the letter prepared by editor.
Ramsey, a physicist, served as deputy director of the bomb delivery group, Project
VII. Toward Surrender
Document 61: "Magic" � Far East Summary, War Department, Office of Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, no. 507, August 9, 1945
Source: RG 457, Summaries of Intercepted Japanese Messages ("Magic"
Within days after the bombing of
Document 62: "Hoshina Memorandum" on the Emperor's "Sacred Decision [go-seidan]," 9-10 August, 1945
Source: Zenshiro Hoshina, Daitoa Senso Hishi: Hoshina Zenshiro Kaiso-roku [Secret History of the Greater
An overview of the destruction of Hiroshima [undated, circa August-September 1945] (Photo from U.S. National Archives, RG 306-NT)
Despite the bombing of
Zenshiro Hoshina, a senior naval official, attended the conference and prepared a detailed account.� With Prime Minister Suzuki presiding, each of the ministers had a chance to state his view directly to Hirohito.� While Army Minister Anami tacitly threatened a coup (�civil war�), the emperor accepted the majority view that the reply to the
Document 63: "Magic" � Far East Summary, War Department, Office of Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, no. 508,
Source: RG 457, Summaries of Intercepted Japanese Messages ("Magic"
More intercepted messages on the bombing of
Documents 64 a-b: The First Japanese Offer Intercepted
a. "Magic" � Diplomatic Summary, War Department, Office of Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, No. 1233 � August 10, 1945, Top Secret Ultra
b. Translation of intercepted Japanese messages, circa 10 August 10, 1945, Top Secret Ultra
Source: Record Group 457, Records of the National Security Agency/Central Security Service, "Magic" Diplomatic Summaries 1942-1945,
The first Japanese surrender offer was intercepted shortly before
Document 65: Diary Entry,
Source: Papers of Henry A. Wallace, Special Collections Department,
Note: The second page of the diary entry includes a newspaper clipping of the Associated Press�s transmission of the Byrnes note. Unfortunately, AP would not authorize the Archive to reproduce this item without payment.� Therefore, we are publishing an excised version of the entry, with a link to the Byrnes note .
Secretary of Commerce (and former Vice President) Henry Wallace provided a detailed report on the cabinet meeting where Truman and his advisers discussed the Japanese surrender offer, Russian moves into Manchuria, and public opinion on �hard� surrender terms. With
Document 66: Diary Entries, Friday and Saturday, August 10 and 11, 1945
Source: Henry Stimson Diary, Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library, Henry Lewis Stimson Papers (microfilm at Library of Congress)
Stimson�s account of the events of 10 August focused on the debate over the substance of the reply to the Japanese note, especially the question of the emperor�s status.� The
Document 67: General L. R. Groves to Chief of Staff George C. Marshall,
Source: George C. Marshall Papers, George C. Marshall Library,
While Groves was making plans for the use of a third atomic weapon sometime after 17 August, depending on the weather, Marshall�s note on this memo shows that he was following Truman�s instructions to halt nuclear strikes: �It is not to be released over Japan without express authority from the President.�
Document 68: Memorandum of Conversation, "Japanese Surrender Negotiations,"
Source: Library of Congress Manuscript Division, Papers of W. Averell Harriman,
Document 69: Diary Entry for August 12 [, 1945]
Source:� Takashi Itoh, ed., Sokichi Takagi: Nikki to Joho [Sokichi Takagi: Diary and Documents] (
As various factions in the government were maneuvering on how to respond to the Byrnes note, Navy Minister Yonai and Admiral Tagaki discussed the latest developments.� Yonai was upset that Chief of Staff Yoshijiro Umezu and naval chief Suemu Toyada had sent the emperor a memorandum arguing that acceptance of the Brynes note would �desecrate the emperor�s dignity� and turn
�
Document 70: Memorandum from Major General Clayton Bissell, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, for the Chief of Staff, "Estimate of Japanese Situation for Next 30 Days,"
Source: National Archives, RG 165, Army Operations OPD, Executive Files 1940-1945,
Not altogether certain that surrender was imminent, Army intelligence did not rule out the possibility that
Document 71: The Cabinet Meeting over the Reply to the Four Powers (August 13)
Source: Gaimusho [Ministry of Foreign Affairs], ed., Shusen Shiroku [Historical Record of the End of the War] (Tokyo: Hokuyosha, 1977-1978), vol. 5, 27-35 [Translated by Toshihiro Higuchi]
The Byrnes Note did not break the stalemate at the cabinet level. �An account of the cabinet debates on August 13 prepared by Director of Information Toshiro Shimomura showed the same divisions as before with Anami and a few other ministers continuing to argue that the Allies threatened the kokutai and that setting the four conditions (no occupation, etc.) did not mean that the war would continue. Nevertheless, Anami argued, �We are still left with some power to fight.� �Suzuki, who was working quietly with the peace party, declared that the Allied terms were acceptable because they gave a �dim hope in the dark� of preserving the emperor. At the end of the meeting, he announced that he would report to Hirohito and ask him to make another �Sacred Judgment�.� Meanwhile, junior Army officers plotted a coup to thwart the plans for surrender. [52]
Document 72: Telephone conversation transcript, General Hull and Colonel Seaman [sic] �� 1325 �
Source: George C. Marshall Library,
While Truman had rescinded the order to drop nuclear bombs, the war was not yet over and uncertainty about
Document 73: "Magic" � Diplomatic Summary, War Department, Office of Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, No. 1236 � August 13, 1945, Top Secret Ultra
Source: Record Group 457, Records of the National Security Agency/Central Security Service, "Magic" Diplomatic Summaries 1942-1945,
That important elements in the Japanese Army were unwilling to surrender is evident from intercepted messages dated 12 and 13 August. �Willingness to accept the �destruction of the Army and Navy� rather than surrender inspired the military coup that unfolded and failed during the night of 14 August.
Document 74: "The Second Sacred Judgment",
Source: Hiroshi [Kaian) Shimomura, Shusenki [Account of the End of the War] (Tokyo, Kamakura Bunko, [1948], 148-152 [Translated by Toshihiro Higuchi]
Frightened about the rapid movement of Soviet forces into Manchuria and worried that the army might launch a coup, the peace party set in motion a plan to persuade Hirohito to meet with the cabinet and the "Big Six" to resolve the stalemate over the response to the Allies. Japan was already a day late in responding to the Byrnes Note and Hirohito agreed to move quickly. At 10:50 a.m., the emperor met with the leadership at the bomb shelter in his palace. This account, prepared by Director of Information Shimomura, conveys the drama of the occasion (as well as his interest in shifting the blame for the debacle to the Army). After Suzuki gave the war party--Umeza, Toyoda, and Anami--an opportunity to present their arguments against accepting the Byrnes Note, he asked the emperor to speak. Asking the leadership to accept the Note, Hirohito argued that continuing the war would reduce the nation "to ashes." Hirohito's language about "bearing the unbearable" and sadness over wartime losses and suffering prefigured the language he would use in his public announcement the next day. According to Bix, "Hirohito's language helped to transform him from a war to a peace leader, from a cold, aloof monarch to a human being who cared for his people" but "what chiefly motivated him … was his desire to save a politically empowered throne with himself on it." [54]
Hirohito said that he would make a recording of the surrender announcement so that the nation could hear it. That evening army officers tried to seize the palace and find Hirohito's recording, but the coup failed. Early the next day, General Anami committed suicide. On the morning of August 15, Hirohito broadcast the message to the nation (although he never used the word "surrender"). On September 2, 1945 Japanese representatives signed surrender documents on the USS Missouri, in Tokyo harbor. [55]
Document 75: "Magic" � Far East Summary, War Department, Office of Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, no. 515, August 18, 1945
Source: RG 457, Summaries of Intercepted Japanese Messages ("Magic"
This summary includes an intercepted account of the destruction of
VIII. Confronting the Problem of Radiation Poisoning
Document 76: Memorandum of Telephone Conversation Between General Groves and Lt. Col. Rea, Oak Ridge Hospital, 9:00 a.m., August 28, 1945, Top Secret�
Source: RG 77, MED Records, Top Secret Documents, File no. 5b
Despite the reports pouring in from
Documents 77a-b: General Farrell Surveys the Destruction
a. Cable CAX 51813 from USS Teton to Commander in Chief Army Forces Pacific Administration, From Farrell to
b. Cable CAX 51948 from Commander in Chief Army Forces Pacific Advance Yokohoma
Source: RG 77,
A month after the attacks
The editor thanks Barton J. Bernstein, J. Samuel Walker, and Gar Alperovitz for their suggestions. The editor also gratefully acknowledges the scholarship of Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, whose recent book, Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of Japan (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2005), includes invaluable information on Japanese primary sources. Professor Hasegawa kindly provided copies of some of the materials that were translated in this compilation. The editor also thanks Kyle Hammond for research assistance and Toshihiro Higuchi and Hikaru Tajima, graduate students in history at Georgetown University and the University of Tokyo respectively, for translating documents and answering many questions on the Japanese sources.
[1] .� The World Wide Web includes significant documentary resources on these events.� The Truman Library has published a helpful collection of archival documents, some of which are included in the present collection, see http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/index.php.� The documents, however, were scanned with earlier software and are not as easy to use as they could be.� Also useful is a collection edited by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin, authors of the recently published Oppenheimer biography, American Prometheus,
[2] .�� For the early criticisms and their impact on former officials, see Barton J. Bernstein, �Seizing the Contested Terrain of Early Nuclear History: Stimson, Conant, and Their Allies Explain the Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb,� Diplomatic History 17 (1993): 35-72, and James Hershberg, James B. Conant: Harvard to Hiroshima and the Making of the Nuclear Age (Stanford, Stanford University Press, 1995), 291-301.� Social critic Dwight MacDonald wrote severe criticisms immediately after Hiroshima-Nagasaki; see Politics Past: Essays in Political Criticism (New York: Viking, 1972), 169-180.� For Stimson�s article, see �The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb,� Harper�s 194 (February 1947): 97-107.
[3] . The proposed script for the Smithsonian exhibition can be seen at Philipe Nobile, Judgment at the Smithsonian (New York: Matthews and Company, 1995), pp. 1-127.� For reviews of the controversy, see Barton J. Bernstein, �The Struggle Over History: Defining the Hiroshima Narrative,� ibid., 128-256, as well as Charles T. O�Reilly and William A. Rooney, The Enola Gay and The Smithsonian (Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, 2005).
[4] .��� For the extensive literature, see the references in J. Samuel Walker, Prompt and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs against
(
:
, 2004) at 131-136, as well as
�s latest contribution, �Recent Literature on Truman�s Atomic Bomb Decision: A Search for Middle Ground,� Diplomatic History 29 (April 2005): 311-334.
[5] .� The editor particularly benefited from perusing the sources cited in the following works: Robert S. Norris, Racing for the Bomb: General Leslie S. Groves, The Manhattan Project�s Indispensable Man (South Royalton, VT: Steerforth Press, 2002); Gar Alperovitz, The Decision to Use the Bomb and the Architecture of an American Myth (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995); Richard B. Frank, Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire (New York: Random House, 1999), Martin Sherwin, A World Destroyed: Hiroshima and the Origins of the Arm� Race (New York, Vintage Books, 1987), and Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of Japan (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2005). � Barton J. Bernstein�s numerous articles in scholarly publications (many of them are listed in
�s assessments of the literature) also constitute an invaluable guide to the primary sources.� An article that Bernstein published in 1995, �The Atomic Bombings Reconsidered,� Foreign Affairs, January-February 1995, 135-152, nicely summarizes his thinking on the key issues.
[6] .�� Sherwin, 126-127; James Hershberg,� James B. Conant: Harvard to
and the Making of the Nuclear Age (Stanford, Stanford University Press, 1995), 203-207.
[7] .� �Alperovitz, 662; Bernstein (1995), 139; Norris, 377.
[8] .�� Alperovitz argues that the possibility of atomic diplomacy was central to the thinking of Truman and his advisers, while Bernstein, who argues that Truman�s primary objective was to end the war quickly, suggests that the ability to �cow other nations, notably the Soviet Union� was a �bonus� effect.� See Bernstein (1995), 142.
[9] .��� Alperovitz, 147; Robert James Maddox, Weapons for Victory: The
Decision Fifty Years Later (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1995), 52; Gabriel Kolko, The Politics of War: The World and
Foreign Policy, 1943-1945 (New York: Pantheon Books, 1990), 421-422.� As Alperovitz notes, the Davies papers include variant diary entries and it is difficult to know which versions are the most accurate.
[10] .�� Bernstein (1995), 146.
[11] .� Bernstein (1995), 144.
[12] .��
(2005), 320.
[13] .����Frank Costigliola,
and the
: The Cold
Since World War II (New York: Twayne, 1992), 38-39.
[14] .�� Barton J. Bernstein, Introduction to Helen S. Hawkins, et al. editors, Toward a Livable World: Leo Szilard and the Crusade for Nuclear Arms Control (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1987), Sherwin, 210-215.
[15] .�� Herbert P. Bix, Hirohito and the Making of Modern
(
: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2000), 523.
[16] .��
(2005), 319-320.
[17] � .�� For a recent review of the debate on casualty estimates, see
(2005), 315, 317-318, 321, 323, and 324-325.
[18] .� Hasegawa, 105; Alperovitz, 67-72; Forrest Pogue, George C. Marshall: Statesman, 1945-1959 (New York: Viking, 1987), 18.� Pogue only cites the JCS transcript of the meeting; presumably, an interview with a participant was the source of the McCloy quote.�
[19] .�� The Truman administration would later blame the 1946 Atomic Energy Act for the nullification of the Quebec Agreement.� See National Security Archive electronic briefing book no. 159, "Consultation is Presidential Business": Secret Understandings on the Use of Nuclear Weapons, 1950-1974,� at www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB159/index.htm.
[20] .��� Alperovitz, 226; Bernstein, �Understanding the Atomic Bomb and the Japanese Surrender,� Diplomatic History 19 (1995), 237, note 22.
[21] .�� Alperovitz, 242, 245; Frank, 219.
[22] .����"Magic" summaries for post-August 1945 remain classified at the National Security Agency. Information from John Taylor, National Archives; Alperovitz, 232-238.
[23] .��� Maddox, 83-84; Hasegawa, 126-128.� See also
(2005), 316-317.
[24] .�� Bernstein, introduction, Toward a Livable World, xxxvii-xxxviii.
[25] .�� For the distances, see Norris, 407.
[27] .��� Hasegawa, 28, 121-122.
[28] .��� Peter Grose, Gentleman Spy: The Life of Allen Dulles (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1994), 170-174, 248-249.
[29] .� Bernstein�s detailed commentary on Truman�s diary has not been reproduced here except for the opening pages, where he provides context and background on the diary.
[30] .� Frank, 258; Bernstein (1995), 147; Walker (2005), 322.
[31] .�� Maddox, 102; Alperovitz, 269-270; Hasegawa, 152-153.
[34] .� Alperovitz, 392; Frank, 148.
[35] .�� Alperovitz, 281-282.� For Davies at
, see Elizabeth Kimball MacLean, Joseph E. Davies: Envoy to the Soviets (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1992), 151-166
[36] .�� Hasegawa, 168; Bix, 518.
[37] .� Barton J. Bernstein, "'Reconsidering the 'Atomic General': Leslie R. Groves," The Journal of Military History 67 (July 2003): 883-920.
[39] .� Alperovitz, 415; Frank, 246.
[40] .���Frank, 273-274; Bernstein, �The Alarming Japanese Buildup on
, Growing
Fears and Counterfactual Analysis: Would the Planned November 1945 Invasion of
Have Occurred?� Pacific Historical Review 68 (1999): 561-609.
[42] .�� Sadao Asada, �The Shock of the Atomic Bomb and
�s Decision to Surrender: A Reconsideration,� Pacific Historical Review 67 (1998): 101-148; Bix, 523; Frank, 348; Hasegawa, 298.� Recently, Bix appears to have moved toward a position like Hasegawa�s; see Bix, �
's Surrender Decision and the Monarchy: Staying the Course in an Unwinnable War,� Japan Focus at <japanfocus.org/article.asp?id=321>.� For emphasis on the �shock� of the atomic bomb, see also Lawrence Freedman and Saki Dockrill, �Hiroshima: A Strategy of Shock,� in Saki Dockrill, ed., From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima : the Second World War in Asia and the Pacific, 1941-1945 (New York: St. Martin�s Press, 1994), 191-214.
[42a]. For more on these developments, see Asada, "The Shock of the Atomic Bomb and Japan's Decision to Surrender: A Reconsideration," 486-488.
[44] .�� Hasegawa, 191-192.
[45] .��� Sherwin, 233-237; Bernstein (1995), 150; Maddox, 148. �
[46] .����The Supreme War Council comprised the prime minister, foreign minister, army and navy ministers, and army and navy chiefs of staff.� Hasegawa, 72.
[47] .��� For the maneuverings on August 9 and the role of the kokutai, see Hasegawa, 3-4, 205-214
[50] .��� For �tug of war,� see Hasegawa, 226-227.
[51] .� Hasegawa, 228-229, 232.
[52] .� Hasegawa, 235-238.
[53] . �Barton J. Bernstein, �Eclipsed by
and
: Early Thinking about Tactical Nuclear Weapons,� International Security 15 (Spring 1991): 149-173; Marc Gallicchio, �After Nagasaki: General Marshall�s Plans for Tactical Nuclear Weapons in
,� Prologue 23 (Winter 1991): 396-404.� An exchange of correspondence on Bernstein�s article between Robert Messer, Gar Alperovitz, and Bernstein provides insight into some of the interpretative issues.� �Correspondence,� International Security 16 (Winter 1991/1992): 214-221.
[54] .� Bix, �
's Surrender Decision and the Monarchy: Staying the Course in an Unwinnable War,�
Focus .
[56] .��For
and the problem of radiation sickness, see Norris, 339-441 and Bernstein, �Reconsidering the �Atomic General�: Leslie R. Groves,� Journal of Military History 67 (2003), 907-908.
Source: https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/index.htm
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