Summer Assessment - Atomic Bomb NOT JUSTIFIED

Question 1

How many people were killed by the atomic bomb?

How many were civilians?

Answer 1

• 70,000 people were killed at Hiroshima.
• 36,000 people were killed at Nagasaki.
• Nearly all were civilians.
• Clearly, this was a huge loss of “innocent” lives.

Question 2

What was the impact of radiation sickness from the atomic bomb?

Answer 2

• By 1950 radiation sickness had increased the number killed at Hiroshima from 70,000 to 200,000.
• Radiation sickness was still killing people 40+ years after the event.

Question 3

How might the bomb have contributed to start of the Cold War?

Answer 3

• Some said the USA used the bomb to show their military superiority over the world, especially to the Soviets.
• This made many suspicious of the USA, and contributed to the start of the Cold War.