On the 75th Anniversary of the 1st Atomic Bomb (Manhattan Project)

 

On this day, July 16^th, 1945, the atomic bomb was successfully tested for the first time in the New Mexico desert. Known as the Manhattan Project, you can learn more about it at manhattanvoices.org. 

 

Less than 1 month later, atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima (August 6^th, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9^th, 1945) The death toll from those events may never be truly known. Many died immediately as a result of the detonations. Others died in the following days and weeks as a result of injuries and burns. Less easy to establish are the numbers who died of radiation-induced cancers and complications as a result of the bombings.

 

 

 

On this 75^th anniversary of the dawn of the nuclear age, it is timely to pause and reflect.

• What do we know about those events and that era?

• Why were those bombs dropped?

• Were the bombings justified?

• Have we learned anything from those events?

 

 

 

Here are some resources to use to explore this topic.

 

What is an atomic bomb?

• Britannica.com: Atomic bomb

• History.com: Atomic bomb history

 

Why was the atomic bomb developed?

One of the contributing factors leading to the development of the atomic bomb was a letter from Albert Einstein. Einstein wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt to warn him about the possibility Germany could develop an atomic bomb, and to urge FDR to consider a similar programme in the United States.

• Atomicheritage.org: Einstein’s letter

 

Events of July 16^th 1945

• History.com: The first atomic bomb is successfully exploded

• Conversation.com: This is what happened the morning the first atomic bomb created a new world

• Nationalgeographic.com: I trekked to a nuclear crater to see where the Atomic Age first began

 

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

• HistoryforKids.net: Hiroshima and Nagasaki

• Historyhit.com: How Many People Died in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombings?

 

A Survivor’s Tale

• Conversation.com: ‘They died with stones in their mouths’: Hiroshima’s last survivors tell their stories

 

Learning Lessons from the Past

• Washingtonpost.com: How the Hiroshima bombing is taught around the world

 

Was the use of Atomic Bombs Justified?

• Historyextra.com: Was the US justified in dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War?

 

American Attitudes towards Hiroshima and Nagasaki

• Pewresearch.org: 70 years after Hiroshima, opinions have shifted on use of atomic bomb

 

A heartbreaking topic but one it is important not to forget.