The affect that the atomic bombings had on Japan was devastating and took the lives of tens of thousands. …show more content…
Every year on the 6th of August paper lanterns are sent along the rivers of Hiroshima to mourn those who died and as a reminder of the blast. People paint the names of their deceased and negatively affected loved ones on the lanterns and send them floating down the river as a representation of the deceased floating in rivers and burnt to a crisp. This is to remind people of the devastation and to give them an opportunity to mourn over their loss. It is also common for children’s growth to be stunted and for people had been said to have been dying from the after-effects of the bomb forty years on. It is also common for survivors to be traumatized from the a-bomb and to suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. People who had survived the blast experienced dysfunctions such as their eyesight and hearing failing early and their hair and teeth falling out. The survivors known as hibakusha treated their title as something to look down upon in shame rather than being a survivor. Grandchildren of hibakusha are often ashamed of telling their partner’s about their grandparents’ experiences in fear that they would be seen as unfit partners and that their genetics would be seen as …show more content…
However, the Japanese military were almost wiped out and were already considering surrender before the use of the a-bombs. General Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allies Forces in Europe, stated “the Japanese were ready to surrender and it wasn’t necessary to hit them with that awful thing.” Truman also claimed that the first atomic bomb was dropped upon a military base in Hiroshima with the intention of avoiding the mass genocide of tens of thousands of Hiroshima’s civilians. This is proven to be a lie as almost all of the victims killed in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were Japanese civilians. Both of the A-bombs were dropped on cities with large amounts of people, Hiroshima in particular was chosen due to its perfect weather conditions and The Little Boy was dropped on the city center. The amount of money the US spent to create the atomic bombs they felt as though the bombs had to be used. Historian A J P Taylor quoted the senior US official: “The bomb simply had to be used – so much money had been expended on it. Had it failed, how would we have explained the huge expenditure? Think of the public outcry there would have been… The relief to everyone concerned when the bomb was finished and dropped was