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The Genocidal Threat That Ended World War II
The not-so-subtle ultimatum that lay behind the atomic bombings of Japan
August 6th and 9th, 1945, were two days that changed the history of the world forever. In the space of three days, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively. A quarter of a million people died. Tens of thousands died instantly. Thousands more succumbed to burns and radiation poisoning. Many people think that this was enough to deter the Japanese from continuing the war effort.
But it wasn’t.
The Japanese didn’t officially surrender until August 15th, nearly a week after the second bombing. There was considerable debate about whether or not to continue fighting the war with hopes of avoiding an unconditional surrender.
But the looming threat of genocide was hanging heavily over the heads of the Japanese leadership.
Truman’s fateful speech
The doctrine governing the use of nuclear weapons was made clear just hours after the first bomb fell on Hiroshima. These were not to be choice weapons…
