Peter Jennings: Why the Bomb was Dropped

The program starts out by talking about the Smithsonian controversy over their planned atomic bomb exhibit and how many groups like the Legion opposed the exhibit, saying it portrayed the Americans in a vengeful light and the Japanese as victims.

It ended up with the plane alone, nothing else. No pictures of Japanese 'victims.'

This is a method used on some historical programs. It's necessary since some of the people involved (and in the case of programs dealing with much older events, all the people involved at the time) are now dead.

Truman says he wanted to end the war with the least possible loss of American lives.

Movies about the bomb are discussed. One of the movies has Truman talk about how a half million American soldiers could have been killed in an actual invasion of Japan, and dropping the bomb saved their lives. Reynolds also talks about mistakes in the film like one claiming the Enola Gay had to fly through flak when there actually wasn't any on that day.

Part of FDR's speech to Congress is covered. Then the Manhattan Project is discussed. After that FDR's death is covered.

Truman, although Vice-President for 82 days, met with FDR only twice and he knew absolutely nothing about the atomic bomb project.

There was a film where Truman described the process of making his decision.

The Americans hated the Japanese for their atrocities during the war.

Part of the decision to use the atomic bomb was based on how fiercely the Japanese fought on Okinawa, refusing surrender. Military men in the United States were concerned that this might be how they would fight the entire length of Japan itself, if not worse. There was also the worry that civilians might take up the fight, strapping bombs on themselves and their children, etc.

That Japan was near being defeated was without question. That does not mean there were near surrender, however. There was also a program there to do such things as arm civilians with bamboo spears and fight to the last person. The Japanese also did not want to surrender because they thought the Emperor might be removed from power or even tried for war crimes.

Then the kamikaze are discussed.

The firebombing of Tokyo is discussed. There were so many that died it was almost as bad as the atomic bomb in its effects. Damage is measured in square miles of an area destroyed. This type of bombing eventually hit over sixty cities in Japan. The film also talks about how the war had gone beyond what was considered moral and how civilians were routinely killed. Hitler, of course, killed perhaps as many as 15 million directly, not counting those that died as soldiers or in the bombing of German cities. The Japanese killed hundreds of thousands when they took Nanking and had killed hundreds of thousands of other Chinese in their war on China. The American firebombing and regular bombing also killed thousands of people. Civilians were not a target.

Then they talk about a committee that was chosen to pick out the targets for the atomic bomb. The idea was to pick a city that had not already been destroyed by firebombs or conventional bombs so they could make a more accurate determination of the effect of the atomic bomb. Kyoto was the first choice of the general leading the committee

There was only one military man at a high level that had a problem with dropping the atomic bomb on civilians. They had become both a military target and a psychological target. Hiroshima was also listed, along with Yawata and Yokihama.

The film goes into detail on the politics behind the bomb and of the scientists that tried to get Truman not to use the very bomb they had built.

The film then discusses Japan's concern about a Russian invasion and if that would influence the war to end. The film adds that 75,000 Japanese had died on Okinawa. 13,000 Americans had been killed.

There was political pressure for changing the surrender terms from unconditional to one where the Japanese could keep their Emperor. This was backed by a number of American military leaders.

Decisions were made not to warn the Japanese civilians and not to give just a demonstration of the bomb. The Soviets were also kept out of the loop.

An atomic bomb is being made ready. Apparently if plutonium was going to be used then there could have been six bombs made ready for use.

The first bomb is loaded. Apparently the actual order to drop the bomb did not come from Truman. He never even saw that order.

This report holds that at least 75,000 were killed instantly. Some of the photos they show are very graphic.

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