Use of nuclear weapons in World War II (General Nuclear weapons discussion)

[Herofan]

I don't get the claim, why, how people can make it, that Japan would have been willing to surrender if the US hadn't used the atomic bomb, that using it was gratuitous and unnecessary, when Japan still did not surrender after the first one was used, only after two were used (as well as Russia attacking).

Granted there is pretty massive dark irony that one of the big things the Japanese wanted was to be allowed to keep the Emperor in/as office and the US wouldn't accept having that as condition of surrender and then let them keep the Emperor anyway. But I have also read that that wasn't the only big condition, that some Japanese leaders who were more open to surrender were still wanting that Japan be allowed to keep Korea and parts of China.

Also if atomic bombs had been used against Germany do you think they and their use would be less controversial, even less regarded as tragic, trying to focus on it as tragic would be seen as more controversial, imply, be linked with sympathy or acceptance of the regime?

 

[squeekness]

There is mo good reason for these weapons. Russia would have defeated Japan if we hadn't used the bombs, but we didn't want to let Russia get ahead of us in any way. Now too many unstable governments have the bombs and too many are just itching to use them. It's a sad state of affairs we are in right now and it doesn't seem like it will get better anytime soon.

 

[DKDetective]

There is mo good reason for these weapons. Russia would have defeated Japan if we hadn't used the bombs, but we didn't want to let Russia get ahead of us in any way. Now too many unstable governments have the bombs and too many are just itching to use them. It's a sad state of affairs we are in right now and it doesn't seem like it will get better anytime soon.

It wasn't even that. Well before even the first bomb, Japan had made it clear through the Soviet Union, with which it had a non-aggression pact until the Soviets declared war after the first bomb that it was willing to surrender and asked the Soviets to mediate with the Allies.

The issue was that the United States had issued the Potsdam Declaration which stated that the Allies would only accept an unconditional surrender from Japan. Japan was willing to accept that with the sole exception it wanted the preservation of the imperial family and the emperor confirmed. FDR had previously had no issue with that, but Truman and his advisors were concerned about public backlash over a conditional surrender.

There was some very vague statements from the US about letting the Japanese people choose their own government following occupation, ie. Keep the Emperor if they wanted, but Truman's people didn't want to outright confirm that. Hence the failure to confirm the surrender and the US going forward with the bombs.

Also, there were some in the US government that were already turning their mind to the Soviet Union as the next enemy after Stalin's refusal to allow free elections in Soviet-occupied Eastern Europe. The dropping of the bomb was intended to reign in Stalin and make the USSR fear America's superior military might, including its then monopoly in atomic weapons. Stalin moved the Soviet invasion of Japanese Manchuria several weeks in response to the US bombing Hiroshima as a power play as well.