America dropped nuclear bombs on Japan. The inconvenient truth about Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Nagasaki and Hiroshima are two long-suffering cities in Japan that went down in world history as the first test site for testing a nuclear bomb on living people. During World War II, the US military used a new type of weapon of mass destruction on innocent civilians without knowing that this act would have repercussions for decades to come. and lethal rays of radiation will claim and maim thousands of lives, deprive hundreds of thousands of people of health, and kill an unknown number of children in the wombs of their sick mothers. How could such a brutal event happen? Why did the once flourishing, developing cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki turn into scorched ruins dotted with charred corpses?

To this day, disputes on these issues continue. Politicians, historians and people who are simply interested in searching for the truth are trying to get to the bottom of the truth, which is classified in secret military archives. Different opinions and versions are united by one thing: ordinary Japanese, workers, women, children, old people did not deserve such torment.

The phrase "Hiroshima and Nagasaki" is known to people all over the world. But behind the well-known fact that there was a nuclear attack on Hiroshima, most of the inhabitants no longer have any information. But behind these words lies a centuries-old history of the formation and development of cities, hundreds of thousands of human lives.

In the southwestern part of the island of Honshu, the Chugoku region is located, which in Japanese means "region of the middle lands." Its central part is the prefecture with the same name of the capital - Hiroshima. It is located on the "sunny side" of a mountain range that divides the region in two. This is a picturesque area, overgrown with dense forests, alternating hills and valleys. Among the beautiful island vegetation on the banks of the Ota River Delta lies the city of Hiroshima. In literal translation, its name is interpreted as "wide island". Today, Hiroshima can rightly be called the largest city in the region, with a developed infrastructure, revived, like a Phoenix bird, after a sizzling explosion of an atomic bomb. It is because of its location that Hiroshima was included in the list of cities in Japan on which a new bomb will be dropped. In 1945, the day will come when a catastrophe will occur in a beautiful and flourishing city. Hiroshima will turn into burnt ruins.

The second target of an American bomber carrying an atomic bomb was located at a distance of 302 km southwest of the city of Hiroshima. Nagasaki, which literally means "long cape" is the central city of Japan, located around the bay of the East China Sea Nagasaki. The modern districts of the metropolis rise in terraces on the slopes of the mountains, covering the port city from cold winds on three sides. Today, as in those distant years of the Second World War, the city on the island of Kyushu was one of the largest shipbuilding and industrial centers in Japan. Location, strategic importance and dense population will be the decisive factors that will put Nagasaki on the list of potential victims of a nuclear attack.

A little about the past

The history of Hiroshima originates from ancient times. Even in the period of more than 2 thousand years BC. on the territory of this modern city there were sites of primitive tribes. But only in the middle of the 16th century, the Japanese samurai Mori Motonari, uniting the entire population of the Chugoku region under his leadership, founded the settlement of Hiroshima off the coast of the bay, built a castle and made this place the center of his possessions. Over the next two centuries, one ruling family was replaced by another.

During the 19th century, settlements near the castle grew rapidly, the area received the status of a city. Since the beginning of the 20th century, Hiroshima has become the center of the General Staff of the Japanese Armed Forces, the base of the Imperial Navy and even the seat of the Parliament. Gradually, Hiroshima turned into one of the largest political and administrative centers in Japan.

The city of Nagasaki was founded by the samurai ruler Omura Sumitada in the second half of the 16th century. Initially, this settlement was an important trading center, where merchants from different countries arrived. Many Europeans, admiring the beauty of Japanese nature, authentic culture and great economic prospects, took root there and stayed to live. The city developed rapidly. By the middle of the 19th century, it was already the largest port of international importance. By the time the atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima, followed by the death of hundreds of thousands of innocent Japanese, Nagasaki was already the stronghold of the Japanese steel industry and the center of shipbuilding.

Developed infrastructure, the location of the main shipbuilding and automotive plants, weapons and steel production, dense buildings, these factors met all the conditions that the US military put forward to the proposed facility for testing the destructive effect of the atomic bomb. Like the city of Hiroshima, tragedy befell Nagasaki in the late summer of 1945.

The Day Hiroshima and Nagasaki Died

Only three days that separated in time the moment of the destruction of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the context of the history of the whole country can be called insignificant. The bombing operations carried out by American military pilots were carried out almost identically. A small group of aircraft did not cause concern. The observers of the Japanese air defense posts considered them simply reconnaissance, and so deeply mistaken. Without fear of bombardment, people continued to go about their daily business. Having dropped its deadly cargo, the bomber immediately retires, and the planes going a little behind record the results of the explosions.

This is what the explosion looked like from the official reports:

Hell Survivors

Surprisingly, after the nuclear explosions in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which were supposed to destroy all life at a distance of a radius of up to 5 km, people survived. What is even more surprising, many of them survived to this day and told what happened to them at the time of the explosions.

Report of the Ambassador of the USSR on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

A month later, after what happened in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the leadership of the USSR instructed a group of representatives of the Embassy to get acquainted with the consequences of the explosions. Among the declassified documents of the Archive of Russian Foreign Policy, provided by the Historical Society, is the report of the Soviet ambassador. It tells about the sightings of eyewitnesses, press reports, and also describes the consequences of Hiroshima.

According to the ambassador, the destructive power of the bombs is greatly exaggerated in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The consequences of an atomic explosion are not significant for him. For example, the ambassador considered absurd the rumor that it was dangerous to be in the immediate vicinity of the explosion site, and a long stay in the city threatens with infertility and impotence. He accused American radio, which reported the impossibility of life in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki for another seventy years, of fueling confusion and panic.

The group went on September 14, 1945 to the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to see with their own eyes what a nuclear bomb is capable of. Representatives of the Embassy and a correspondent of the TASS news agency arrived in the city, which was a scorched desert. Here and there one came across reinforced concrete buildings miraculously standing with windows smashed inwards and "swollen" ceilings.

One old man told them that after the explosion, a huge fire spread even against a strong wind. Observing the visible destruction, how the completely burnt-out vegetation begins to revive in places, the representatives of the embassy concluded that some rays were spreading from the explosion, but not evenly, but as if in beams. This was confirmed by the doctor of the local hospital.

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Having been in the hospital, they saw the terrible wounds and burns of the victims, which they described in detail. The report spoke of deep wounds in exposed areas of the body, scorched head hairs that began to grow back in small tufts a month later, a lack of white blood cells that caused profuse bleeding, high fever and death. The hospital doctor said that protection against the rays of a uranium bomb could be rubber or electrical insulation. Also, from a conversation with doctors, it became known that it was impossible to drink water for several days after the explosion and be near that place, otherwise death would occur in a couple of days.

Although the information collected about the consequences of Hiroshima did not convince the ambassador of the danger of a uranium bomb, the first results of the deadly effect of radiation were visible.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Strange Stories

Many documents have been studied by historians in order to restore a complete and reliable picture of what actually happened in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. But there are still blank spots in the history of these cities. There are also unconfirmed official documents and simply incredible information.

There is a conspiracy theory that during the Second World War, Japanese scientists were actively studying the field of nuclear energy, and were already on the verge of discovering nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Only the lack of time and the consumption of the country's economic resources prevented the Japanese from finishing them before the United States and Russia. The Japanese media reported that secret documents were found with calculations of uranium enrichment to create a bomb. The scientists were supposed to complete the project before August 14, 1945, but apparently something prevented them.

The intelligence of the countries participating in the largest military confrontation worked perfectly. This is evidenced by the fact that their leaders knew about the nuclear developments of their rivals and were in a hurry to activate their own. But at that moment, the United States was head and shoulders ahead of the rest of the world. There is evidence of a man who in 1945 attended a school for the children of high-ranking Japanese military officials. A few weeks before the day when the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki took place, the leadership received a secret message. All staff and students were evacuated immediately. It saved their lives.

On the day when Hiroshima was attacked by an American plane carrying an atomic bomb, amazing things happened. For example, one of the eyewitnesses saw three parachutes descending from the sky. One of them was carrying a bomb, which exploded. Two others were also carrying cargo, apparently two more bombs. But they didn't explode. They were picked up by the military for study.

But the most mysterious event of that month, when Hiroshima and Nagasaki choked in fiery tornadoes from the explosion of the atomic bomb, were the appearances of UFOs.

Unidentified lights in the sky

As you know, August 1945, when there was Hiroshima and Nagasaki, was marked by many historically significant events. For their study, for many years, scientists did not notice inexplicable oddities in the documents. It wasn't until 1974 that the Japanese ufology magazine UFO News first published a photograph in which an unidentified flying object was accidentally captured over the ruins of Hiroshima. Although the quality of the picture left much to be desired, there could be no fake. A disk-shaped UFO was clearly visible in the sky.

An active search began for new evidence of the presence of aliens at that time over Japanese cities. And surprisingly, there was a lot of evidence that Hiroshima and Nagasaki attracted the attention of extraterrestrial visitors.

So, in the report of the captain of the anti-aircraft battery Matsuo Takenaka dated August 4, it is said that several luminous dots appeared in the night sky over Hiroshima. They were mistaken for reconnaissance aircraft and tried to be taken into the beams of searchlights. However, objects, making absolutely unthinkable turns, constantly moved away from the rays of light. Similar reports are found in other military reports.

The pilot of the Enola Gay escort aircraft carrying the Baby bomb reported strange movements in the clouds near the side. At first, he thought that these were Japanese army intercept aircraft, but, not noticing anything again, he did not raise the alarm.

Information about the observation of obscure objects in the sky over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in those days came from ordinary residents. Usari Sato claimed that when the mushroom cloud grew over Hiroshima, she saw a strange object at its top that flew through the “cap”. So she realized that she was mistaken in mistaking it for a plane. The disappearance of patients from hospital wards remains a mysterious phenomenon. After careful research, ufologists came to the conclusion that more than a hundred people officially disappeared from hospitals without a trace after the explosions. At that time, little attention was paid to this, since so many patients died, and even more missing people did not end up in medical institutions at all.

Conclusion

There are many black pages in the history of mankind, but August 6 and 9, 1945 is a special date. Hiroshima and Nagasaki fell victim to human aggression and pride that summer month. American President Truman issued a cruel and cynical decree: to drop atomic bombs on the densely populated Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The consequences of this decision, even for him, were not fully known. In those days, ominous nuclear mushrooms hovered over these Japanese cities.

Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. A few hours after the explosions, black, sticky raindrops rained down on the ground, poisoning the soil. Radiation and fiery whirlwinds burned out human flesh. Nagasaki and Hiroshima the day after the bombing were littered with burnt and charred corpses, the whole world shuddered from the horror committed by people against people. But, even 70 years after the atomic strikes on Japan, no apologies were made.

There are absolutely opposite opinions about whether Hiroshima and Nagasaki suffered from the nuclear bomb in vain. That such a decision was made by Truman is not surprising. The desire to get ahead of the USSR in the arms race was justified. He justified the atomic strike by the fact that fewer American soldiers and residents of Japan would die this way. Did it really happen? It's impossible to know.

The first use of atomic bombs in human history occurred in Japan in 1945.

Causes and history of the creation of the atomic bomb

Main reasons for creation:

• the presence of a powerful weapon;
• having an advantage over the enemy;
• reduction of human losses on their part.

During the Second World War, having a powerful weapon gave a huge advantage. This war became the driving force in the development of nuclear weapons. Many countries were involved in this process.

The action of an atomic charge is based on the research work of Albert Einstein on the theory of relativity.

For development and testing, it is necessary to have uranium ore.

Many countries could not carry out the design due to the lack of ore.

The United States also worked on a project to create nuclear weapons. Various scientists from all over the world worked on the project.

Chronology of events for the creation of a nuclear bomb

Political prerequisites for the bombings and the choice of targets for them

The US government justified the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki for the following purposes:

• for the speedy surrender of the Japanese state;
• to save the lives of their soldiers;
• to win a war without invading enemy territory.

The political interests of the Americans were aimed at establishing their interests in Japan. Historical facts show that from a military point of view, the use of such drastic measures was not necessary. Politics took precedence over reason.

The United States wanted to show the whole world the presence of super-dangerous weapons.

The order to use atomic weapons was given personally by US President Harry Truman, who until now remains the only politician who has made such a decision.

Choice of goals

To resolve this issue, in 1945, on May 10, the Americans created a special commission. At the initial stage, a preliminary list of cities was developed - Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Kokura, Niigata. The preliminary list of four cities was due to the presence of a fallback option.

Certain requirements were imposed on the selected cities:

• the absence of air attacks by American aircraft;
• high economic component for Japan.

Such requirements were drawn up to apply the strongest psychological pressure on the enemy and undermine the combat capability of his army.

Bombing of Hiroshima

• weight: 4000 kg;
• diameter: 700 mm;
• length: 3000 mm;
• explosion power (trinitrotoluene): 13-18 kilotons.

American planes flying in the sky of Hiroshima did not cause concern among the population, since this has already become a common occurrence.

On board the aircraft "Enola Gay" was the atomic bomb "Kid", which was dropped during a dive. The detonation of the charge occurred at a height of six hundred meters from the ground. Explosion time 8 hours 15 minutes. This time was recorded on many clocks in the city, which stopped working at the time of the explosion.

The mass of the dropped "Kid" was equal to four tons with a three-meter length and a diameter of seventy-one centimeters. This cannon-type bomb had a number of advantages: simplicity of design and manufacture, reliability.

Of the negative qualities, a low efficiency was noted. All the subtleties of development and drawings are classified to date.

Consequences

The nuclear explosion in Hiroshima led to horrifying consequences. People who were directly in the focus of the blast wave died instantly. The rest of the victims experienced a painful death.

The temperature of the explosion reached four thousand degrees, people disappeared without a trace or turned into ashes. Dark silhouettes of people remained on the ground from exposure to light radiation.

approximate number of bombing casualties

It was not possible to establish the total number of victims exactly - this figure is about 140-200 thousand. This difference in the number of victims is due to the impact of various destructive factors on people after the explosion.

Consequences:

• light radiation, a fiery tornado and a shock wave led to the death of eighty thousand people;
• in the future, people died from radiation sickness, radiation, psychological disorders. Including these deaths, the number of victims was two hundred thousand;
• within a radius of two kilometers from the explosion, all buildings were destroyed and burned by a fiery tornado.

Japan could not understand what happened in Hiroshima. Communication with the city was completely absent. Using their aircraft, the Japanese saw the city in the wreckage. Everything became clear after the official confirmation of the United States.

Bombing of Nagasaki

"Fat Man"

Tactical and technical characteristics:

• weight: 4600 kg;
• diameter: 1520 mm;
• length: 3250 mm;
• explosion power (trinitrotoluene): 21 kilotons.

After the events in Hiroshima, the Japanese were in a state of terrifying panic and fear. When American planes appeared, a danger from the air was announced and people hid in bomb shelters. This contributed to the salvation of some part of the population.

The projectile was called "Fat Man". The detonation of the charge occurred at a height of five hundred meters from the ground. The time of the explosion is eleven hours two minutes. The main target was the industrial area of ​​the city.

The mass of the dropped "Fat Man" was equal to four tons, six hundred kilograms, with a length of three meters and twenty-five centimeters and a diameter of one hundred and fifty-two centimeters. This bomb is an implosive type of detonation.

The striking effect is many times greater than that of the "Baby". In fact, less damage was done. This was facilitated by the mountainous area and the choice to drop the target on the radar, due to poor visibility.

Consequences

Although the harm caused was lower than when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, this event horrified the whole world.

Consequences:

• about eighty thousand people died from light radiation, a fiery tornado and a shock wave;
• taking into account deaths from radiation sickness, radiation, psychological disorders, the death toll was one hundred and forty thousand;
• destroyed or damaged - about 90% of all types of structures;
• territorial destruction covered about twelve thousand square kilometers.

According to many experts, these events served as an impetus for the start of the nuclear arms race. Due to the existing nuclear potential, the United States of America planned to impose its political views on the whole world.

On the morning of August 6, 1945, the American B-29 Enola Gay bomber dropped the Little Boy atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima with the equivalent of 13 to 18 kilotons of TNT.

Those closest to the epicenter of the explosion died instantly, their bodies turned to coal. Birds flying past burned up in the air, and dry combustible materials (for example, paper) ignited at a distance of up to 2 km from the epicenter. Light radiation burned the dark pattern of clothes into the skin and left the silhouettes of human bodies on the walls.

The number of deaths from the direct impact of the explosion ranged from 70 to 80 thousand people. By the end of 1945, due to the effects of radioactive contamination and other delayed effects of the explosion, the total number of deaths ranged from 90 to 166 thousand people. After 5 years, the total death toll, taking into account deaths from cancer and other long-term effects of the explosion, could reach or even exceed 200 thousand people.

The role of the atomic bombings in the surrender of Japan and their ethical validity are still the subject of scientific and public discussion. But it remains indisputable that the peaceful people of Hiroshima suffered terribly, although they were not to blame for anything. And politicians are obliged to do everything so that such a tragedy could never happen again.

Pre-war photograph of the bustling shopping district of Hiroshima City.

The Chamber of Industry Building, by the Motoyasugawa River, Hiroshima, the remains of which were preserved after the nuclear explosion and are now called the "House of the Atomic Bomb" or "Peace Memorial".

Street of the Temples, in pre-war Hiroshima. This area was completely destroyed.

Traditional, Japanese sailing ships against the backdrop of wooden houses, in Hiroshima before the explosion.

An aerial view of the densely populated area of ​​Hiroshima along the Motoyasugawa River, which took the brunt of the nuclear attack and was completely destroyed.

Hiroshima railway station, between 1912 and 1945.

Port of Hiroshima.

On August 6, 1945, an American B-29 bomber dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. About 80,000 people are believed to have been killed, and another 60,000 survivors died from trauma and radiation exposure by 1950.

Survivors of the first atomic bomb wait for emergency medical attention in Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945.

Shortly after the atomic bomb was dropped over the Japanese city of Hiroshima, survivors receive urgent medical treatment from military medics. August 6, 1945.

People return to Hiroshima, a month after the nuclear explosion.

Japanese troops involved in the elimination of the consequences of a nuclear explosion, rest in the Hiroshima railway station, which survived the bombing.

The movement of some tram lines in the destroyed Hiroshima has been restored.

One of several Japanese fire engines that arrived in Hiroshima shortly after the bombing.

Hiroshima after the nuclear bombing.

A Japanese woman and her child, who were injured in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, lie on a blanket on the floor of a damaged bank building turned hospital near the city center. October 6, 1945.

Hiroshima a month after the nuclear bombing.

Traces of a nuclear explosion: from the railing of the bridge and from a person standing on the bridge.

Post Office, Hiroshima. Traces of a nuclear explosion on the walls.

Traces of an explosion on a gas tank.

Two Japanese men sit in a makeshift office set up in a ruined building in Hiroshima.

Nagarekawa, a Methodist church among the ruins of Hiroshima.

The ruins left after the explosion of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima.

Photo of Hiroshima after the atomic bombing.

A Japanese soldier near Hiroshima, September 1945.

The only combat use of nuclear weapons in the world was the bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. At the same time, it should be noted that the unfortunate cities turned out to be victims in many respects, thanks to the tragic circumstances.

Who will we bomb?

In May 1945, US President Harry Truman was given a list of several Japanese cities that were supposed to be hit by a nuclear attack. Four cities were chosen as the main targets. Kyoto as the main center of Japanese industry. Hiroshima, as the largest military port with ammunition depots. Yokohama was chosen due to the defense factories located on its territory. Niigata became a target because of its military port, and Kokura was on the "hit list" as the country's largest military arsenal. Note that Nagasaki was not originally on this list. In the opinion of the US military, the nuclear bombing was supposed to have not so much a military effect as a psychological one. After it, the Japanese government had to abandon further military struggle.

Kyoto was saved by a miracle

From the very beginning, Kyoto was supposed to be the main target. The choice fell on this city not only because of its huge industrial potential. It was here that the color of the Japanese scientific, technical and cultural intelligentsia was concentrated. If a nuclear attack on this city really took place, Japan would be thrown far back in terms of civilization. However, this is exactly what the Americans needed. The unfortunate Hiroshima was chosen as the second city. The Americans cynically considered that the hills surrounding the city would increase the force of the explosion, significantly increasing the number of victims. The most surprising thing is that Kyoto escaped a terrible fate thanks to the sentimentality of US Secretary of War Henry Stimson. In his youth, a high-ranking military man spent his honeymoon in the city. He not only knew and appreciated the beauty and culture of Kyoto, but also did not want to spoil the bright memories of his youth. Stimson did not hesitate to cross Kyoto off the list of cities proposed for nuclear bombing. Subsequently, General Leslie Groves, who led the US nuclear weapons program, in his book “Now You Can Tell It,” recalled that he insisted on the bombing of Kyoto, but he was persuaded, emphasizing the historical and cultural significance of the city. Groves was very dissatisfied, but nevertheless agreed to replace Kyoto with Nagasaki.

What is wrong with Christians?

At the same time, if we analyze the choice of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as targets for nuclear bombing, then many uncomfortable questions arise. The Americans knew very well that the main religion of Japan is Shinto. The number of Christians in this country is extremely small. At the same time, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were considered Christian cities. It turns out that the US military deliberately chose cities inhabited by Christians for bombing? The first B-29 "Great Artist" aircraft had two purposes: the city of Kokura as the main one, and Nagasaki as a spare. However, when the plane with great difficulty reached the territory of Japan, Kukura was hidden by thick clouds of smoke from the burning Yawata metallurgical plant. They decided to bomb Nagasaki. The bomb fell on the city on August 9, 1945 at 11:02 am. In the blink of an eye, an explosion with a capacity of 21 kilotons destroyed several tens of thousands of people. He was not even saved by the fact that in the vicinity of Nagasaki there was a camp for prisoners of war of the allied armies of the anti-Hitler coalition. Moreover, in the United States, its location was well known. During the bombing of Hiroshima, a nuclear bomb was even dropped over the Urakamitenshudo Church, the largest Christian temple in the country. The explosion killed 160,000 people.

During World War II, on August 6, 1945, at 8:15 am, a US B-29 Enola Gay bomber dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Approximately 140,000 people died in the explosion and died over the following months. Three days later, when the United States dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki, about 80,000 people were killed.

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On August 15, Japan capitulated, thus ending World War II. Until now, this bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remains the only case of the use of nuclear weapons in the history of mankind.

The US government decided to drop the bombs, believing that this would hasten the end of the war and there would be no need for prolonged bloody fighting on the main island of Japan. Japan was strenuously trying to control the two islands, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, as the Allies closed in.

This wrist watch, found among the ruins, stopped at 8.15 am on August 6, 1945 - during the explosion of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima.

The flying fortress "Enola Gay" comes in for landing on August 6, 1945 at the base on the island of Tinian after the bombing of Hiroshima.

This photograph, released in 1960 by the US government, shows the Little Boy atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The size of the bomb is 73 cm in diameter, 3.2 m in length. It weighed 4 tons, and the explosion power reached 20,000 tons of TNT.

This image provided by the US Air Force shows the main crew of the B-29 Enola Gay bomber that dropped the Baby nuclear bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Pilot Colonel Paul W. Tibbets stands center. The photo was taken in the Mariana Islands. This was the first time in the history of mankind that nuclear weapons were used during military operations.

20,000 feet of smoke rises over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 after an atomic bomb was dropped on it during the war.

This photograph, taken on August 6, 1945, from the city of Yoshiura, across the mountains north of Hiroshima, shows smoke rising from the explosion of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. The picture was taken by an Australian engineer from Kure, Japan. The spots left on the negative by radiation almost destroyed the picture.

Survivors of the atomic bomb, first used in combat on August 6, 1945, await medical attention in Hiroshima, Japan. As a result of the explosion, 60,000 people died at the same moment, tens of thousands died later due to exposure.

August 6, 1945. In the photo: the surviving residents of Hiroshima are given first aid by military doctors shortly after the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, used in military operations for the first time in history.

After the explosion of the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945, only ruins remained in Hiroshima. Nuclear weapons were used to hasten the surrender of Japan and end World War II, for which US President Harry Truman ordered the use of nuclear weapons with a capacity of 20,000 tons of TNT. Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945.

August 7, 1945, the day after the explosion of the atomic bomb, smoke billows over the ruins of Hiroshima, Japan.

President Harry Truman (pictured left) at his desk in the White House next to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson after returning from the Potsdam Conference. They discuss the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.

Survivors of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki among the ruins, against the backdrop of a raging fire in the background, on August 9, 1945.

Crew members of the B-29 "The Great Artiste" bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki surrounded Major Charles W. Sweeney in North Quincy, Massachusetts. All crew members participated in the historic bombing. Left to right: Sgt. R. Gallagher, Chicago; Staff Sergeant A. M. Spitzer, Bronx, New York; Captain S. D. Albury, Miami, Florida; Captain J.F. Van Pelt Jr., Oak Hill, WV; Lt. F. J. Olivy, Chicago; staff sergeant E.K. Buckley, Lisbon, Ohio; Sgt. A. T. Degart, Plainview, Texas; and Staff Sgt. J. D. Kucharek, Columbus, Nebraska.

This photograph of the atomic bomb that exploded over Nagasaki, Japan during World War II was released to the public by the Atomic Energy Commission and the US Department of Defense in Washington on December 6, 1960. The Fat Man bomb was 3.25 m long and 1.54 m in diameter, and weighed 4.6 tons. The power of the explosion reached about 20 kilotons of TNT.

A huge column of smoke rises into the air after the explosion of the second atomic bomb in the port city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. A US Army Air Force B-29 Bockscar bomber killed more than 70,000 people immediately, and tens of thousands more died later as a result of exposure.

A huge nuclear mushroom cloud over Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945, after a US bomber dropped an atomic bomb on the city. The nuclear explosion over Nagasaki occurred three days after the US dropped the first ever atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

A boy carries his burnt brother on his back on August 10, 1945 in Nagasaki, Japan. Such photos were not made public by the Japanese side, but after the end of the war they were shown to the world media by UN staff.

The arrow was installed at the site of the fall of the atomic bomb in Nagasaki on August 10, 1945. Most of the affected area is empty to this day, the trees remained charred and mutilated, and almost no reconstruction was carried out.

Japanese workers clean up rubble in the affected area in Nagasaki, an industrial city in southwest Kyushu, after an atomic bomb was dropped on it on August 9. A chimney and a lone building can be seen in the background, ruins in the foreground. The picture is taken from the archives of the Japanese news agency Domei.

As seen in this photo taken on September 5, 1945, several concrete and steel buildings and bridges remained intact after the US dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima during World War II.

A month after the first atomic bomb exploded on August 6, 1945, a journalist inspects the ruins of Hiroshima, Japan.

Victim of the explosion of the first atomic bomb in the department of the first military hospital in Ujina in September 1945. The thermal radiation generated by the explosion burned the pattern from the kimono fabric on the woman's back.

Most of the territory of Hiroshima was razed to the ground by the explosion of the atomic bomb. This is the first aerial photograph after the explosion, taken on September 1, 1945.

The area around the Sanyo-Shorai-Kan (Trade Promotion Center) in Hiroshima was reduced to rubble by an atomic bomb 100 meters away in 1945.

A reporter stands among the ruins in front of the shell of a building that was the city theater in Hiroshima on September 8, 1945, a month after the first atomic bomb was dropped by the United States to hasten the surrender of Japan.

The ruins and lone frame of a building after the atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima. The photo was taken on September 8, 1945.

Very few buildings remain in the devastated Hiroshima, a Japanese city that was razed to the ground by an atomic bomb, as seen in this photograph taken on September 8, 1945. (AP Photo)

September 8, 1945. People walk along a cleared road among the ruins left by the first atomic bomb in Hiroshima on August 6 of the same year.

A Japanese man finds the wreckage of a children's tricycle among the ruins in Nagasaki, September 17, 1945. The nuclear bomb dropped on the city on August 9 wiped out almost everything within a radius of 6 kilometers from the face of the earth and took the lives of thousands of civilians.

This photo, courtesy of the Japan Association of the Photographers of the Atomic (Bomb) Destruction of Hiroshima, shows a victim of the atomic explosion. A man is in quarantine on the island of Ninoshima in Hiroshima, Japan, 9 kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion, a day after the US dropped an atomic bomb on the city.

A tram (top center) and its dead passengers after the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9. The photo was taken on September 1, 1945.

People pass a tram lying on the tracks at the Kamiyashō junction in Hiroshima some time after the atomic bomb was dropped on the city.

In this photo courtesy of the Japan Association of the Photographers of the Atomic (Bomb) Destruction of Hiroshima, victims of the atomic explosion are seen at the Hiroshima 2nd Military Hospital's tent care center on the waterfront. Ota River, 1150 meters from the epicenter of the explosion, August 7, 1945. The photo was taken the day after the United States dropped the first ever atomic bomb on the city.

A view of Hachobori Street in Hiroshima shortly after the Japanese city was bombed.

The Urakami Catholic Cathedral in Nagasaki, photographed on September 13, 1945, was destroyed by an atomic bomb.

A Japanese soldier wanders among the ruins in search of recyclable materials in Nagasaki on September 13, 1945, just over a month after the atomic bomb exploded over the city.

A man with a loaded bicycle on a road cleared of debris in Nagasaki on September 13, 1945, a month after the atomic bomb was detonated.

On September 14, 1945, the Japanese try to drive through a ruined street on the outskirts of the city of Nagasaki, over which a nuclear bomb exploded.

This area of ​​Nagasaki was once built up with industrial buildings and small residential buildings. In the background are the ruins of the Mitsubishi factory and the concrete school building at the foot of the hill.