HIROSHIMA—WHY THE BOMB WAS DROPPED
VIDEO GUIDE
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NAME
1. What was the name of the plane that dropped the Atomic bomb on Hiroshima?
2. Why was there opposition to display the plane and photos in the Smithsonian museum?
3. It has been estimated that how many American lives were saved by dropping the A-
bomb?
4. What did President Truman say was his chief purpose when making the decision to
drop the bomb?
5. In Hollywood films made after the dropping of the bombs, what were two noted
mistakes?
6. Who was the military director of the Manhattan Project?
7. How many people were employed and how many labs were build to carry out the
Manhattan Project?
8. Who was the Sectary of War at this time?
9. Who was James Byrnes?
10. How was the Battle of Okinawa used to justify the dropping of the atomic bomb?
11. What was the status of the Japanese military in the summer of 1945?
12. What did the Japanese Kamakazi fighters suggest to the American people?
13. Prior to the development of the atomic bomb, describe the US attack on Tokeyo?
How many died?
14. What moral threshold was broken with the bombing of Tokeyo?
15. Who was in charge of dropping the bomb?
16. Leslie Groves put together a “target committee” of military officers. How many cities
were off limits?
17. What was the target committee’s first choice of cities? Why was this city selected?
18. What was the main “aiming point” for any of the selected targets?
19. What was Hiroshima like? What was selected as the center for its target?
20. Some scientists feared that if we did not warn Japan first, what could happen?
21. Who was the most outspoken scientist on this matter? What was his connection with
Albert Einstein?
22. What country did the scientists specifically want to know prior to dropping the bomb?
23. How many scientists sided with Szilard? What happened to the petition that was sent
to President Truman?
24. Who became the new Sect. of State? What was his position about letting the Russians
know about the bomb?
25. What was the projected casuality number range?
How To End the War (three options)
26. Describe the military option for ending the war with Japan? What promise had Stalin
made to the US?
27. What three things were known in the government in Washington, D.C. but not known
before the first bomb was dropped?
28. Describe the political option for ending the war with Japan?
29. Describe the third option for ending the war with Japan? What did the committee
additionally recommend with this option?
30. Why did Sect. of State Byrnes suggest that President Truman NOT tell Japan they
could keep their Emperor?
31. In July, 1945 what two leaders did President Truman meet with? Where was the
meeting?
32. What knowledge did President Truman obtain at this meeting?
33. What did Premier Stalin promise Truman at the meeting?
34. What did Sect of State Byrnes take out of the ultimatum sent to Japan?
35. How did Stalin know before Truman about the atomic bomb? What didn’t Stalin know?
36. How many atomic bombs did the U.S. have?
37. Why did we use two bombs so quickly?
38. What type of bomb was “Little Boy”?
39. What type of bomb was “Fat Man”?
40. Who wrote the order to drop the atomic bomb? Who signed it?
41. When was the first bomb dropped? How many died instantly? What was the target?
42. Why did Russia enter the war against Japan two days after the first bomb was dropped?
43. When was the second bomb dropped?
44. What did Pres. Truman say about dropping a third bomb?
45. What was the “conditional surrender” of Japan?
46. What percentage of American people favored dropping the bomb?
47. What did Americans learn for the first time by an article written in the New Yorker
magazine by John Hersey?
48. What did Sect. of War Stimson write in his 1947 article to Harper’s Magazine?
49. What does the video say about the notion of one million lives being saved by the
dropping of the atomic bombs?
50. What are the two bookends of World War II?