Colleen OBrien

Dr. Jeffery Zalar

HIST 3096: Global History of WWII
11 December 2015
Final Paper
The United States dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on April 6, 1945. Three
days later, on April 9, another destroyed Nagasaki. Japan officially surrendered on September 2,
1945. Many historians argue whether or not the atomic bombs should have been dropped on
Japan; three cases are presented in chapter eleven of Stoler and Gustafsons book, The Atomic
Bomb and the End of World War II, written in 2003. The first is written by Gar Alperovitz, who
argues the dropping of the atomic bomb was not necessary. The second is by Robert P. Newman
who says the bomb was obligatory. A third by Barton J. Bernstein argues there could have been
alternatives to dropping the atomic bomb. America should have dropped the bombs on Japan
because fire bombs had already collapsed the boundaries of exposing civilians to military tactics,
Japan would be unwilling to surrender due to the nature of its battle culture, the death toll would
have risen further, and they allowed America to have the opportunity to seek revenge for Pearl
Harbor and turn the tables to give them the element of surprise.
The use of incendiary, also known as fire, bombs had already brought helpless civilians
into warfare as victims of mass destruction, but the introduction of atomic weapons on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki took the definition of annihilation to new heights. On March 28-29,
1942, the German Bomber Command used incendiary bombs for the first time on the town of
Lbeck (Keegan 2005: 422). The overall accuracy and radius of devastation tremendously. Fires
are nondiscriminatory; atomic bombs are the same, but on a completely different level because a

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fire can be stopped whereas an atomic bomb cannot. Though the blast radius and amount of
destruction rose with A-bombs, the overall goal remained the same as incendiary bombs: to
annihilate as much as possible with one blow. In chapter eleven of Stoler and Gustafsons book,
document eight, titled Manhattan Project Commanding General Leslie Groves Reports the
Results of the Alamogordo Test, 1945, states A crater from which all vegetation had vanished,
with a diameter of 1200 feet and a slight slope toward the center, was formed. In the center was a
shallow bowl 130 feet in diameter and 6 feet in depth. The material within the crater was deeply
pulverized dirtIt disappeared completely (2003: 404). Though the atomic bomb dropped in
Alamogordo, New Mexico was only a test, it demonstrates just how powerful the effects were
going to be in Japan. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were virtually flattened, the worst of the damage
in the nucleus of the destruction zone. Hiroshima suffered a loss of 78,000 people, while
Nagasakis was 25,000 (Keegan 2010: 584). These losses were likely to increase if the war in the
Pacific Theater continued. As mentioned in one of the readings, Japanese commanders were still
willing to sacrifice the lives of soldiers after the emperor surrendered; therefore, the damage
inflicted by the bombs was worth it.
Due to the nature of Japanese battle culture, if America did not drop the atomic bombs,
they would have continued to fight to their deaths allowing for more lives to be lost. The samurai
code, or bushido, described the virtues a Japanese warrior possessed. Within the code soldiers
were to fight to the death in the name of the emperor because it was better to commit suicide
than to lose war. During World War II, education in Japan became standardized, but in a
militarized way. Young children learned aggressive nationalism because it was the only way to
oppose western leaders. Through education, children, especially young boys and men, to feel
snubbed by not being one of the major powers, such as Germany and Great Britain. Such hatred

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fueled the motivation to train for the military. Plus, the Japanese needed to mobilize a mass
amount of men who will be willing to fight for the national flag without retreating. The young
men who did not give consent to join the military were publically ridiculed by teachers. The
small boys were called runts and effeminate. These words turned a boy into an aggressor and was
an example of deliberate bullying in order to unify the Japanese for the purpose of war. These
men, and later women through the creation of the Lilly Corps, were ready to sacrifice their lives
no matter the coststhey would not accept defeat so easily. Traditional rules of war include
honoring the white flag, providing for prisoners of war, not killing at night, as well as killing as
quickly as possible. However, Japan did exactly the opposite when it comes to the war in the
pacific theater. As proposed by Barton J. Bernstein, in chapter eleven of Stoler and Gustafsons
book, an atomic bomb could have been dropped in an inhabited place to not further increase the
amount of lives on the death toll, but the notion was quickly shot down because it could have
been a dud or Allied POWs moved into the area (2003: 421-422). I believe, given the nature of
their battle culture, the Japanese would have viewed America and the Allies as weak if a
demonstration took place instead and continued to sacrifice their own men. Robert Newmans
essay, in chapter eleven of Stoler and Gustafsons book, states if the bomb was not dropped,
there would be
far greater casualties from (1) continued Japanese mistreatment of prisoners and
slave laborers; (2) intensified disruption of food supplies and transportation
throughout the empire; continued land and sea battles with losses like that of the
Indianapolis; and (4) continued conventional bombings by Gen. Curtis LeMays
B-29s. These things together would have produced monthly death rates well in
excess of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki total (2003: 419).

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Thus, the death rates would have been greater than 103,000 every month, but from events
other than bombs. Though the costs of the civilians lives were tragic, however it was
worth dropping the bombs because the overall death toll was lessened. Yet, bombing
Hiroshima and Nagasaki would finally give America the element of surprise, as well as,
the chance to seek revenge for the attack on Pearl Harbor.
America and its public sought after revenge for Pearl Harbor, which occurred on
December 7, 1941Hiroshima and Nagasaki offered a small window of opportunity for such
retaliation. Before this event, America was only somewhat present in the war. Japan was only
successful attacking Pearl Harbor due to the element of surprise. A Japanese commander in the
movie Pearl Harbor, directed by Michael Bay in 2001, says I fear all we have done is awaken a
sleeping giant. However, most of the Japanese leaders did not feel this way. The Americans took
the bombing as a personal blow and combatted the Japanese in the Pacific Theater with as much
ferocity as them, if not more. Dowers chapter titled The War in Western Eyes of his book War
without Mercy, written in 1986, depicts illustrations of propaganda cartoons of Americas
feelings towards the Japanese after the attack on Pearl Harbor. A majority of the cartoons portray
the Japanese as primates suggesting they are weak animalistic creatures who can be easily
beaten. Primates are uncivilized, therefore, implying the Japanese are as well. The Americans, on
the contrary, are presented as hyper-masculine. One image in particular, is of a louse representing
the Japanese. Parasites need to be exterminated before they take over the body. Ideals such as
this, relate to Hitlers view of the Jewish community. Dehumanizing individuals makes killing
them easier. Continually throughout the semester, I noticed terminology in the readings which
would suggest dehumanization. Common terms referred to cattle, pigs and parasites. The Nazi
Party and its sympathizers viewed the Jews as subhuman, and America, after the attack on Pearl

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Harbor, had similar emotions toward the Japanese. In his book, With the Old Breed, Eugene
Sledge and his fellow Marines continually used the derogatory term yellow bellies to refer to
the Japanese (2005). Such terms allow for the necessary dehumanization in wartime settings in
order to kill another individual. Noncombatants of the
Yet, it is also necessary to reflect upon a civilians viewpoint of the war. Putting myself in
the perspective of a person my age in the 1940s, I would be part of the 85% of Americans who
approved of using the atomic bombs on the Japanese mentioned in chapter eleven of Stoler and
Gustafsons book (2003: 405). The propaganda cartoons in the aforementioned paragraph also
help illustrate the overall consensus of hatred towards the Japanese. As we have seen throughout
the course, with Germany and the Jews to Japan and America, hatred fuels a wide range of
emotions. With that being said, I can begin to understand why the American population felt the
way they did towards the Japanese. As discussed in an earlier paragraph of this paper, the
Japanese used propaganda in the schools and public to bring about strong feelings of hate
towards America. Similarly, through the use of political cartoons in the media, America was
doing the same thing to stir up intense emotions against the Japanese. Such feelings promoted
enlisting in all branches of the military. For example, in the beginning of his book, Sledge is
excited and eager to go to war, but after two tours, he became worn out physically and
emotionally. I equate the bombings of Pearl Harbor to that of the destruction of the Twin Towers,
because, though I was young, I remember being angry at the individuals who killed innocent
civilians. If I was alive in 1941, I am positive I would feel the same way about Pearl Harbor.
Thinking of my family, I have a brother who would have been drafted or enlisted during the war,
much like Sledge. Continuing the Pacific Theater, allowed for less chance of his survival. It
would be unbearable to hear of a family members death, such as my brothers, however, I think

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my mother would suffer worse because she gave birth to him. It is important to bring up such a
topic because a common theme throughout the course was women are the unmentioned sufferers
and victims of war.
The Hiroshima-Nagasaki bombings were necessary because through the use of fire
bombs, civilians were exposed to militaristic tactics; the bushido would not allow the Japanese to
surrender causing an even greater death rate amongst soldiers and noncombatants, and also
Americas public wanted revenge for Pearl Harbor. Incendiary bombs were introduced in order to
have a larger destruction zone; the atomic bomb re-defined annihilation. A total of 103,000
individuals were killed between August 6th and 9th, 1945. However, the amount would increase
monthly if Japan would not have surrendered on September 2nd. The Japanese were unwilling to
surrender due to the bushido, or samurai code. They also did not follow traditional rules of war;
therefore, Allied troops had to fight the Pacific Theater in similar manners in order to be
victorious. For example, in the clips from The Pacific, we saw Marines taking teeth from
Japanese soldiers while they were still living and purposefully missing places, such as the heart
and head, to prolong death. Typically, living members of the military from the opposing side
were taken as prisoners of war. It is important to note both America and the Japanese used
propaganda to enhance enlistment into the military. In the American media, as depicted in
Dower, we see illustrations of Japanese as primates as well as louse. Similarly, Hilter referred to
the Jewish community as parasites and cattlethe latter reflected especially in the use of cattle
cars. Such views also allow us to understand the mindset of a noncombatant in America during
the 1940s. The bombing of Pearl Harbor would have felt personal, causing a need for revenge.
America made the right decision when dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki because
the amount of deaths suffered by civilians and soldiers would have increased greatly.