Atomic Bombings Flashcards
When did Japan invade Manchuria?
September 18th 1931
Why did Japan invade China
False pretenses under a bombing of a railway
How did the US respond to Japan invading China?
Sanctions on the Japanese empire
Why did Japan bomb Pearl Harbor?
To try and knock out the US quickly, to avoid a long war.
When did the Harbor bombing happen?
7th of December 1941
How many waves of bombers were there?
2
What was the US reaction to Pearl Harbor?
Entry into the war and public outrage.
When did Germany surrender?
May 7th 1945
Who wrote a letter to Roosevelt about the bombs?
Einstein and Leo Szilard
When did the Potsdam conference start?
July 17th 1945
Why meet on the 17th of July?
The trinity test was the day before.
Who was president in 1945?
Truman.
How far across was the blast
3.5 Kilometers.
How many people died from radiation poisoning?
Between 90,000 and 166,000
What was the official date of the Japanese surrender?
2nd of September 1945.
What was the highest estimated death toll of Operation Downfall?
1 million US soldiers.
What areas of Germany did the Soviets get?
The agricultural parts of Germany.
When was the first Soviet nuclear test?
29th of August 1949.
What was the next progression of nuclear weapons?
The H-Bomb.
What was the name of the plane over Hiroshima?
Enola Gay.
Who is Gar Alperovitz?
A leading historian on the decision to drop the bombs.
What is Alperovitz’s view on the bombings?
They were used primarily to scare the Soviet Union and give the US bargaining power in Europe.
Did the Soviets react to the bomb
Yes, they were more cautious in 1945 and 1946.
How was the US response to post war Japan?
They helped Japan rebuild and made them an ally against China and Russia.
What year was the Cuban missile crisis?
1963.
How did JFK get the Soviets to move their missiles out?
Showed photos of Soviet sites in Cuba and promised to remove missiles from Turkey.
Who was the scientist who was passing Soviet’s secrets from the Manhattan Project?
Klaus Fuchs.
Who was the senator leading anti-Soviet sentiment in the 50s?
Joseph. R. McCarthy
Why did the Berlin Airlift happen?
The Soviets blockaded Berlin to take it away from the West.
What was the Berlin Airlift?
A concentrated effort of planes landing in Berlin to deliver supplies to the people there, stopping their hunger.
When was the Berlin wall built?
13th of August 1961.
When was the Berlin wall taken down?
November 9th 1989.
When did the Soviet Union collapse?
26th of December 1991.
Who was the leader of the Manhattan Project?
J. Robert Oppenheimer
Who is Barton Bernstein?
Another leading historian on the bombings?
What was Bernstein’s opinion?
The bombs were dropped to save lives first.
What did Bernstein change his mind to?
The bombs were dropped to both scare the Soviets AND save lives.
