Exercises on the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

(PUC-SP-2000/adapted) Read carefully:

“In the case of Hiroshima, it is the most concentrated catastrophe that has ever befallen men. In a passage from his diary, Dr. Hachiya [who witnessed the event] thinks of Pompeii. But not even this one offers a term of comparison. A catastrophe befell Hiroshima that was planned and executed with the greatest precision by human beings. ‘Nature’ is out of the game.”

(Canetti, Elias. A Consciência das Palavras. SP:Companhia das Letras, 1990).

The text refers to the atomic explosion:

a) with which the US managed to capitulate the Japanese, the last core of Axis resistance to the end of the world conflict that took place between 1939-45.

b) which functioned as a demonstration of American military power to intimidate China, which had joined the communist bloc at the end of World War II.

c) whose objective was to put an end to the US conflict with Vietnam, where local guerrillas imposed systematic defeats on US soldiers.

d) that resulted from an air accident involving American and Soviet fighter jets, when they were carrying out joint operations with a nuclear arsenal in the Pacific Ocean.

e) resulting from the bombing promoted by the US, during the Second World Conflict, on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese military base where the hydrogen bomb was developed.

(Mackenzie-2003/adapted) For Americans, the decision to use nuclear weapons was described in purely humanitarian and military terms. In the words of then-Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, the artifacts were used "in order to end the war in the shortest possible time and to avoid the enormous loss of human life that we would otherwise have to face." Probably, if the United States had been defeated in the war, General Leslei Groves, responsible for the project that created the new weapon, Airman Colonel Paul Tibbetts, commander of the Enola Gay plane that dropped the bomb, and the physicists led by Oppenheimer would certainly be tried for crimes against humanity.

About the event quoted in the text, it is incorrect state that:

a) By early August, the American victory in the Pacific was already clear. It was only a matter of time before Japan surrendered; the US government justified itself, claiming that this was the quickest way to end the war once and for all.

b) the first atomic bomb exploded in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, another Japanese city, Nagasaki, learned the power of the atomic bomb.

c) the Vice President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, commander of all US armed forces, was responsible for making the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan.

d) the atomic bomb, dropped on the city of Hiroshima in 1945, was one of the factors that triggered, in the years following the Cold War, a veritable festival of American and Russian explosions, which polluted with radiation almost every space on earth.

e) for many military analysts, historians, the use of bombs was a US war crime, destined to impress the USSR and to mark its political strength, in view of the new international order of the post -war.

The atomic bombs that were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were built according to the order given by the then President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The project to build the atomic bombs became known as:

a) Pearl Harbor Project

b) Potsdam Project

c) Roosevelt Project

d) Manhattan Project

e) Project Einstein

Far behind Tibbets' plane in Tokyo, Dr. Yashio Nishina and Eizo Tajima were already trying to convince the Minister of War, Anami, that the abrupt and simultaneous interruption of all communication by radio and telephone with Hiroshima was compatible with an atomic bomb. Even after Mayor Nishioka secured a line to the suburbs, confirmed Doctor Nishina's assessment with his own eyewitness account, and had Alvarez's letter in his hands, Anami wouldn't believe it. Even after the US president revealed the secret to the world a few hours later […], the Minister of War refused to believe it.

PELLEGRINO, Charles R. Hiroshima's Last Train:Survivors Look Back. São Paulo:Leya, 2010, p. 87-88.

The snippet above depicts:

a) the insistence of some members of the Japanese leadership not to accept defeat and to surrender in the war, which led to a second atomic attack, this time on Nagasaki.

b) the lack of knowledge of what the attack had represented.

c) the personal conflicts that existed between the members of the Japanese leadership.

d) the difficulty of communication and information, which led to a delay in the decision.

e) the war minister's disappointment that Japan did not attack the United States with atomic weapons.

Letter A

In August 1945, the war had already ended in Europe and dragged on in Asia with indefiniteness due to the Japanese refusal to surrender. Even with the ruined nation and an extremely weakened army, Japan insisted on carrying out a great final resistance, which could win the war. Atomic bombs, therefore, were seen as the ultimate weapon with which the Americans would achieve definitive victory over Japan.

Letter C

In August 1945, the office of President of the United States was held by Vice President Harry Truman. This happened because the then president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, died in April 1945. Roosevelt had the decision to start the project that led to the construction of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan, but their launch was an order given by Truman.

Letter D

The Manhattan Project was responsible for building the atomic bombs dropped on Japan. This project was initiated by order of the then American president, Franklin D. Roosevelt. The president's order came after receiving a letter from physicist Albert Einstein, who warned of the possibility of Germany building this new weapon. From there, the project started with the collaboration of the United Kingdom and Canada.

Letter A

The passage referred to in the question mentions the Japanese refusal to surrender, even with imminent defeat. War Minister Korechika Anami refused to believe that the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was in fact an atomic bomb and faithfully believed in a final stand, carried out by the Japanese people, that would lead to victory. The Japanese refusal to surrender after the dropping of the first bomb led the United States to drop its second bomb on Japanese territory.