Primary Sources: World War II: A-Bomb

"This site explores the complex history surrounding the invention of the atomic bomb - a crucial turning point for all mankind."
Access is provided to a variety of information including historic documents, treaties, etc.

National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 162
Edited by William Burr - 202/994-7000

To mark the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, the National Security Archive is updating and reposting one of its most popular e-books of the past 25 years.

While U.S. leaders hailed the bombings at the time and for many years afterwards for bringing the Pacific war to an end and saving untold thousands of American lives, that interpretation has since been seriously challenged. Moreover, ethical questions have shrouded the bombings which caused terrible human losses and in succeeding decades fed a nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union and now Russia and others.

Three-quarters of a century on, Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain emblematic of the dangers and human costs of warfare, specifically the use of nuclear weapons. Since these issues will be subjects of hot debate for many more years, the Archive has once again refreshed its compilation of declassified U.S. government documents and translated Japanese records that first appeared on these pages in 2005.

"Combines historic film clips, an analysis of the facts behind the
decision to drop the atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, and personal
interviews with the men who helped make the decision in an attempt to
answer questions about how and why the decision was made."

" In this dramatic radio address, Truman told the nation that a bomb had been dropped on the city of Hiroshima on August 6. Truman inaccurately described Hiroshima as a “military base.” It was the base of the Second General Headquarters of the Imperial Army, but civilians outnumbered army personnel by about six to one."