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| President Harry Truman and Allied leaders (Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin) at the Potsdam Conference. |
Handwritten note for the approval of the atomic attacks by President Harry Truman, sent in reply to a cable from Secretary of War, Henry Stimson; the note states, "Release [the statement] when ready but not sooner than August 2."
On July 26, 1945, The Allies (U.S., China, and Britain) issued the Potsdam Declaration, which stated that Japan had to "surrender unconditionally or face complete destruction" but Japanese leaders rejected it.The U.S. had successfully tested an atomic bomb in mid July in New Mexico called the Trinity Test, so by the end of the month President Truman knew that at least one of the two atomic bombs that remained would be dropped on Japan. He authorized use of the atomic bomb anytime after August 3, 1945. On the morning of August 6, the first atomic bomb, nicknamed "Little Boy", was dropped on the city of Hiroshima by a B-29 plane named Enola Gay. Leveling over 60 percent of the city, 70,000 civilians died instantaneously and even more were severely injured. Three days later, on August 9, a second bomb, nicknamed "Fat Man", was dropped on Nagasaki by another B-29 plane called Bock's Car. Over 20,000 people died instantly. In the following weeks, thousands more Japanese died from the after effects of the radiation exposure of the blast. On August 14, 1945 Japan agreed to surrender unconditionally and on the 15th, V-J Day (Victory over Japan) is declared. On September 2, 1945 Japan signed the formal surrender agreement on board the U.S.S Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
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| American crew of the Enola Gay, which was used during the final stages of the ww2 and it also was the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb as a weapon of war. |
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| (Above) "Fat Man" (Below) "Little Boy" atomic bombs |
