Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The United States’ use of atomic bombs against Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, near the end of World War II.
Little Boy: The uranium gun-type atomic bomb detonated over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. It was the weapon used in the first bombing.
Manhattan Project: The United States-led wartime program that developed the first nuclear weapons. It produced the bombs used against the two cities.
Hibakusha: Japanese survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Their experiences document injuries, bereavement, and long-term discrimination.
Firebombing of Tokyo: A devastating United States incendiary bombing raid on Tokyo on March 9–10, 1945. It caused mass civilian deaths through conventional bombing before the atomic attacks.
Hiroshima: A Japanese city that was the target of the first atomic bombing on August 6, 1945. It was struck by Little Boy during clear-weather conditions.
Fat Man: The plutonium implosion-type atomic bomb detonated over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. It was the weapon used in the second bombing.
Potsdam Declaration: The July 1945 Allied ultimatum demanding Japan’s surrender and warning of prompt, utter destruction. Japan’s rejection preceded the decision to use the bombs.
Radiation sickness: Illness caused by exposure to high doses of ionizing radiation. Survivors suffered acute radiation effects alongside blast and burn injuries.
Dresden bombing: The Allied bombing of Dresden, Germany, in February 1945, involving explosive and incendiary attacks. It offers a comparison in debates about civilian targeting and wartime morality.
Nagasaki: A Japanese port city that was the target of the second atomic bombing on August 9, 1945. It was struck by Fat Man after the primary target, Kokura, was obscured.