Becoming Death; The Bomb
Development
In 1942, American-German scientists including Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer began working on the iconic frontier that would change the world as we know it: the atomic bomb. Later, Einstein publicly expressed how deeply he regretted the bomb after he saw the consequences. As many as 130,000 people were involved in the bomb's creation, and 88 of who were Nazi scientists brought to America by the U.S. Government.
Albert Einstein, 2022, HISTORY
The atomic bomb being built, 1945, Smithsonian Magazine
Robert Oppenheimer, 2022, Britannica
In 1945, six days before the bomb was dropped, America’s president, Harry Truman, and the U.S. government sent a letter to ask Emperor Hirohito of Japan to surrender or else the U.S. would use the bombs. America tried to warn the population of Japan of a bomb attack by sending a message to leaders and dropping leaflet bombs which exploded papers all over major cities telling them to evacuate.
Leaflet bomb, 1945, Wikipedia.com
One of the leaflets, Leaflet No. 2101 reads, "This is a message from the President of the United States, Harry Truman, to the people of Japan. The only way to avoid complete destruction of your family, home, economy, and nation is to immediately cease all military activities and surrender unconditionally. If you continue your futile resistance, we will be forced to bring unnecessary destruction upon the nation. This damage will be far greater than those received by Germany."
-National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institute
President Truman, 2022, The Augusta Chronicle
Newspaper article after Hiroshima bomb, 1945, GoErie.com
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