Next year, humanity will mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, which showed many examples of unprecedented cruelty, when entire cities disappeared from the face of the earth within a few days or even hours and hundreds of thousands of people, including civilians, died. The most striking example of this is the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the ethical justification of which is questioned by any sane person.

Japan during the final stages of World War II

As you know, Nazi Germany capitulated on the night of May 9, 1945. This meant the end of the war in Europe. And also the fact that the only enemy of the countries of the anti-fascist coalition remained Imperial Japan, which at that time was officially declared war by about 6 dozen countries. Already in June 1945, as a result of bloody battles, its troops were forced to leave Indonesia and Indochina. But when on July 26 the United States, together with Great Britain and China, presented an ultimatum to the Japanese command, it was rejected. At the same time, even during the time of the USSR, it took upon itself the obligation to launch a large-scale offensive against Japan in August, for which, after the end of the war, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands were to be transferred to it.

Prerequisites for the use of atomic weapons

Long before these events, in the fall of 1944, at a meeting of the leaders of the United States and Great Britain, the issue of the possibility of using new super-destructive bombs against Japan was considered. After which the famous Manhattan Project, launched a year earlier and aimed at creating nuclear weapons, began to function with renewed vigor, and work on the creation of its first samples was completed by the end of hostilities in Europe.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki: reasons for the bombing

Thus, by the summer of 1945, the United States became the only owner of atomic weapons in the world and decided to use this advantage to put pressure on its longtime enemy and at the same time ally in the anti-Hitler coalition - the USSR.

At the same time, despite all the defeats, the morale of Japan was not broken. As evidenced by the fact that every day hundreds of military personnel imperial army became kamikazes and kaiten, directing their planes and torpedoes at ships and other military targets of the American army. This meant that when carrying out a ground operation on the territory of Japan itself, the Allied troops would expect huge losses. Exactly last reason Today, it is most often cited by US officials as an argument justifying the need for such a measure as the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. At the same time, it is forgotten that, according to Churchill, three weeks before I. Stalin informed him about the Japanese attempts to establish a peaceful dialogue. It is obvious that representatives of this country were going to make similar proposals to both the Americans and the British, since the massive bombing of large cities brought their military industry to the brink of collapse and made capitulation inevitable.

Selecting goals

After receiving agreement in principle to use atomic weapons against Japan, a special committee was formed. Its second meeting took place on May 10-11 and was devoted to the selection of cities that were to be bombed. The main criteria that guided the commission were:

• mandatory presence of civilian objects around a military target;
• its importance for the Japanese not only from an economic and strategic point of view, but also from a psychological one;
• a high degree of significance of the object, the destruction of which would cause resonance throughout the world;
• the target had to be undamaged by bombing for the military to appreciate the true power of the new weapon.

Which cities were considered as targets?

The “contenders” included:

• Kyoto, which is the largest industrial and cultural center and the ancient capital of Japan;
• Hiroshima as an important military port and city where army depots were concentrated;
• Yokahama, which is the center of the military industry;
• Kokura is home to the largest military arsenal.

According to the surviving memories of participants in those events, although the most convenient target was Kyoto, the United States Secretary of War G. Stimson insisted on excluding this city from the list, since he was personally familiar with its sights and was aware of their value for world culture.

Interestingly, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not initially covered. More precisely, the city of Kokura was considered as the second target. This is evidenced by the fact that before August 9, an air raid was carried out on Nagasaki, which caused concern among residents and forced the evacuation of most schoolchildren to the surrounding villages. A little later, as a result of long discussions, backup targets were selected in case of unforeseen situations. They became:

• for the first bombing, if Hiroshima fails to hit, Niigata;
• for the second (instead of Kokura) - Nagasaki.

Preparation

The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki required careful preparation. During the second half of May and June, the 509th Combined Aviation Group was redeployed to a base on Tinian Island and exceptional security measures were taken. A month later, on July 26, the atomic bomb “Baby” was delivered to the island, and on the 28th, some of the components for assembling “Fat Man” were delivered to the island. On the same day, who at that time served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, signed an order ordering nuclear bombing to be carried out at any time after August 3, when weather conditions were suitable.

First atomic strike on Japan

The date of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki cannot be stated unambiguously, since nuclear strikes on these cities were carried out within 3 days of each other.

The first blow was struck in Hiroshima. And this happened on June 6, 1945. The “honor” of dropping the “Baby” bomb went to the crew of a B-29 aircraft, nicknamed “Enola Gay,” commanded by Colonel Tibbetts. Moreover, before the flight, the pilots, confident that they were doing a good deed and their “feat” would be followed by a speedy end to the war, visited the church and received an ampoule of s in case they were captured.

Together with Enola Gay, three reconnaissance aircraft took off, designed to determine weather conditions, and 2 boards with photographic equipment and devices for studying the parameters of the explosion.

The bombing itself went completely without problems, since the Japanese military did not notice the objects rushing towards Hiroshima, and the weather was more than favorable. What happened next can be seen by watching the film “The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki” - documentary, assembled from newsreel footage taken in the Pacific region at the end of World War II.

In particular, it shows which, according to Captain Robert Lewis, who was a member of the Enola Gay crew, was visible even after their plane flew 400 miles from the bomb drop site.

Bombing of Nagasaki

The operation to drop the “Fat Man” bomb, carried out on August 9, proceeded completely differently. In general, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the photo of which evokes associations with well-known descriptions of the Apocalypse, was prepared extremely carefully, and the only thing that could make adjustments to its implementation was the weather. This is what happened when, in the early morning of August 9, a plane under the command of Major Charles Sweeney took off from the island of Tinian with the “Fat Man” atomic bomb on board. At 8:10 a.m. the plane arrived at the place where it was supposed to meet the second, the B-29, but did not find it. After 40 minutes of waiting, the decision was made to carry out the bombing without a partner aircraft, but it turned out that there was already 70% cloud cover over the city of Kokura. Moreover, even before departure it was known that the fuel pump was faulty, and at the moment when the board was over Kokura, it became obvious that the only way to drop the Fat Man was to do it while flying over Nagasaki. Then the B-29 headed towards this city and made a drop, focusing on the local stadium. Thus, by chance, Kokura was saved, and the whole world learned that the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had occurred. Fortunately, if such words are at all appropriate in this case, the bomb fell far from the original target, quite far from residential areas, which somewhat reduced the number of victims.

Consequences of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

According to eyewitness accounts, within a few minutes everyone who was within a radius of 800 m from the epicenters of the explosions died. Then fires started, and in Hiroshima they soon turned into a tornado due to the wind, whose speed was about 50-60 km/h.

The nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki introduced humanity to the phenomenon of radiation sickness. The doctors noticed her first. They were surprised that the condition of the survivors first improved, and then they died from the disease, the symptoms of which resembled diarrhea. In the first days and months after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, few could have imagined that those who survived it would suffer from various diseases throughout their lives and even give birth to unhealthy children.

Subsequent events

On August 9, immediately after the news of the bombing of Nagasaki and the declaration of war by the USSR, Emperor Hirohito advocated immediate surrender, subject to the preservation of his power in the country. And 5 days later, the Japanese media spread his statement about the cessation of hostilities to English language. Moreover, in the text, His Majesty mentioned that one of the reasons for his decision was the presence of “terrible weapons” in the enemy’s possession, the use of which could lead to the destruction of the nation.

Contentarticles:

• The leadership of the commission put forward the main criterion for attack targets

The United States, with the consent of the United Kingdom, as provided for in the Quebec Treaty, dropped nuclear weapons on Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. This happened during the final stage of World War II. The two bombings, which killed at least 129,000 people, remain the deadliest use of nuclear weapons in warfare in human history.

The war in Europe came to an end when Nazi Germany signed act of surrender May 8, 1945 of the year. The Japanese, faced with the same fate, refused to surrender unconditionally. And the war continued. Along with the United Kingdom and China, the United States called for the unconditional surrender of the Japanese military in the Potsdam Declaration of July 26, 1945. The Japanese Empire ignored this ultimatum.

How it all began: the background to the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Back in the fall of 1944, a meeting between the leadership of the United States and the United Kingdom took place. At this meeting, the leaders discussed the possibility of using atomic weapons in the fight against Japan. A year before, the Manhattan Project was launched, which involved the development of nuclear (atomic) weapons. The project was now in full swing. The first samples of nuclear weapons were presented during the end of hostilities on European territory.

Reasons for the nuclear bombing of Japanese cities

In the summer of 1954, the United States became the sole possessor of nuclear weapons throughout the world, causing catastrophic damage to the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This weapon became a kind of regulator of relations between the long-time rival of the United States of America - the Soviet Union. This was despite the fact that in the current situation in the world, both powers were allies against Nazi Germany.

Japan suffered defeats, but this did not stop the people from being morally strong. The Japanese resistance was considered by many to be fanatical. This was confirmed by frequent cases when Japanese pilots went to ram other aircraft, ships or other military targets. Everything led to the fact that any enemy ground troops could be attacked by kamikaze pilots. Losses from such raids were expected to be large.
To a greater extent, it was precisely this fact that was cited as an argument for the use of nuclear weapons by the United States against the Japanese Empire. However, there was no mention of the Potsdam Conference. At it, as Churchill said, Stalin negotiated with the Japanese leadership about establishing a peaceful dialogue. For the most part, such proposals would go to both the United States and the United Kingdom. Japan was in a situation where the industry was in a deplorable state, corruption was becoming something inevitable.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki as targets for attack

After the decision was made to attack Japan with nuclear weapons, the question arose about choosing a target. For this purpose, a specialized committee was organized. Immediately after the signing of Germany's surrender, at the second meeting of the committee, the agenda of the meeting was the choice of cities for atomic bombing.

The leadership of the commission put forward the main criterion for attack targets:
. Civilian objects also had to be located near military targets (which were supposed to be the immediate target).
. Cities should be important objects from the point of view of the country's economy, strategic side and psychological importance.
. The hit target should cause a great resonance in the world.
. Cities damaged during the war were not suitable. As a result of the atomic bombing, it is necessary to assess the degree of destructive power of the weapon.

The city of Kyoto was considered as a contender for the purpose of testing nuclear weapons. It was a major industrial center and, as an ancient capital, had historical value. The next contender was the city of Hiroshima. Its value lay in the fact that it had military warehouses and a military port. The military industry was concentrated in the city of Yokahama. A large military arsenal was based in the city of Kokura. The city of Kyoto was excluded from the list of potential targets; despite meeting the requirements, Stimson was unable to destroy the city with its historical heritage. Hiroshima and Kokura were chosen. An air raid was carried out on the city of Nagasaki, which provoked the evacuation of children from the entire area. Now the facility did not quite meet the requirements of the American leadership.

Later, there were long discussions about backup targets. If for some reason the selected cities cannot be attacked. The city of Niigata was chosen as insurance for Hiroshima. Nagasaki was chosen as the city of Kokura.
Before the actual bombing, careful preparations were made.

The beginning of the nuclear bombing of Japan
It is impossible to identify a specific single date for the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Both cities were attacked three days apart. The city of Hiroshima came under the first attack. The military was distinguished by its unique sense of humor. The bomb dropped was called "Baby" and destroyed the city on June 6. The operation was commanded by Colonel Tibbetts.

The pilots believed that they were doing it all for the good. It was assumed that the result of the bombing would be the end of the war. Before departure, the pilots visited the church. They also received ampoules of potassium cyanide. This was done to avoid the pilots being captured.
Before the bombing, reconnaissance operations were carried out to determine weather conditions. The area was photographed to assess the scale of the explosion.
The bombing process was not influenced by any extraneous factors. Everything went according to plan. The Japanese military did not see objects approaching the target cities, despite the fact that the weather was favorable.

After the explosion occurred, the “mushroom” was visible from a great distance. At the end of the war, newsreel footage of that region was edited to create a documentary about this terrible bombing.

The city that was supposed to be attacked is the city of Kokura. On August 9, when a plane with a nuclear bomb (“Fat Man”) on board was circling over the target city, the weather made its own adjustments. High clouds became a hindrance. At the beginning of nine in the morning, the two partner aircraft were supposed to meet at their destination. The second aircraft did not appear even after more than half an hour.

It was decided to bomb the city from one plane. Since time was lost, the above-mentioned weather conditions prevented the city of Kokura from suffering. Early in the day, it was discovered that the aircraft's fuel pump was faulty. Together with all the events (natural and technical), the plane with nuclear weapons had no choice but to attack the backup city - Nagasaki. The landmark for dropping an atomic bomb in the city was the stadium. This is how the city of Kokura was saved and the city of Nagasaki was destroyed. The only “luck” of the city of Nagasaki was that the atomic bomb did not fall in the place where it was originally planned. Its landing site was further away from residential buildings, which led to less severe destruction and fewer casualties than in Hiroshima. People located within a radius of just under a kilometer from the center of the explosion did not survive. After the explosion in the city of Hiroshima, a deadly tornado formed. Its speed reached 60 km/h. This tornado was formed from numerous fires after the explosion. In the city of Nagasaki, the fires did not lead to a tornado.

The results of a terrible tragedy and human experiment
After such a monstrous experiment, humanity learned of the terrible radiation sickness. Initially, doctors were concerned that the survivors were symptomatic with diarrhea and then died after severely deteriorating health. In general, nuclear weapons are widespread due to their destructive properties. If conventional weapons had one or two destructive properties, then nuclear weapons had an extended range of action. It contains damage from light rays that lead to skin burns, depending on the distance, until complete charring. The shock wave can destroy concrete floors in houses, leading to their collapse. And a terrible force, like radiation, haunts people to this day.

Even then, after the nuclear experiment in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, people could not even imagine the scale of the consequences. Those who survived directly after the atomic explosions began to die. And no one could cope with this. Everyone who was injured but survived had serious health problems. Even years later, the echo of the American nuclear experiment resonated with the descendants of the victims. In addition to people, animals were also affected, and subsequently gave birth to offspring with physical defects (such as two heads).

After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet Union enters the conflict. The Americans achieved their goal. Japan announced its surrender, but subject to the preservation of the current government. Information appeared in the Japanese media about the end of hostilities. All of them were in English. The gist of the messages was that Japan's enemy had terrible weapon. If military operations continue, such weapons can lead to the complete extermination of the nation. And they were right, it is pointless to fight weapons of this scale if one bombing can destroy all living things within a kilometer radius and cause huge losses at a greater distance from the center of the explosion.
General results

After horrific consequences nuclear explosion in Japan, the United States continued to develop atomic weapons and their longtime enemy, the Soviet Union, became involved in this process. This was the beginning of an era Cold War. The worst thing is that the actions of the American government were carefully thought out and planned. When developing nuclear weapons, it was clear that they would cause enormous destruction and death.

The cold-bloodedness with which the American army prepared to assess the consequences of the destructive power of weapons is appalling. The obligatory presence of residential areas in the affected area suggests that people in power begin to flirt with other people's lives, without any twinge of conscience.
In the city of Volgograd, there is Hiroshima Street. Despite participation on different sides of the military conflict, the Soviet Union helped the destroyed cities, and the name of the street testifies to humanity and mutual assistance in conditions of inhuman cruelty.
Today, young people, under the influence of propaganda and unreliable facts, have the opinion that atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the Soviet army.

In the Archive foreign policy Russian Federation The Russian Foreign Ministry stores documents that previously only senior leaders of the USSR had access to. These are reports on the trips of employees of Soviet foreign missions to the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki shortly after atomic bombs, the latest weapons of mass destruction, were dropped on them on August 6 and 9, 1945. “Baby” and “Fat Man,” as the Americans affectionately dubbed them. More than 200 thousand people died during the bombing and died from wounds and radiation sickness in the next few months.

The nuclear bombings were a terrible tragedy for the Japanese. Official authorities initially did not realize the seriousness of the incident and even announced that these were ordinary charges. But very soon the scale and consequences of atomic explosions became clear.

But nuclear strikes could have been followed by the landing of American troops on the Japanese Islands. What would this mean for a country that has never been subject to foreign intervention? This danger really loomed over Japan the only time, in the 13th century, when the naval armada of the Mongol conqueror Kublai Khan approached its southern shores. But then the “divine wind” (kamikaze) twice scattered Mongolian ships in the Korea Strait. In 1945, the situation was completely different: the United States was preparing for a large and long-term (up to two years) military operation on the main territory of Japan, consecrated by religious covenants (according to the ancient chronicle "Kojiki", the entire Japanese archipelago was created by the ancestors of the Japanese emperor). Fighting for their country, the Japanese would fight to the death. The Americans felt how they can do this even during the battles for Okinawa.

One can only imagine what kind of human casualties the continuation of hostilities would have entailed if Emperor Hirohito had not announced on August 15, 1945 the acceptance of the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, and Japan had not signed the Act of Surrender on September 2 of the same year. At the same time, historical facts indisputably testify: it was not atomic bombs that ultimately forced Tokyo to lay down its arms. The then Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki admitted that “we experienced a huge shock from the explosion of the atomic bomb,” but the entry of the Soviet Union into the war put us in a “hopeless situation,” making its further continuation impossible.

Let us add: this step of the USSR helped save the lives of millions of ordinary Japanese.

The head of the Manhattan Project, Robert Oppenheimer, stunned by the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (he said that he felt blood on his hands), was not reassured by the words of US President Harry Truman: “It’s okay, it’s easily washed off with water.” Oppenheimer owns famous saying that “we have done the devil’s work,” and “if atomic bombs join the arsenals of the warlike world as new weapons, the time will come when humanity will curse the names Los Alamos and Hiroshima.” Albert Einstein, who once called on the US government to develop nuclear weapons, radically revised his views and called for them to be abandoned in his dying will.

But what did American politicians care about these insights?

The use of new weapons by the United States was dictated primarily political reasons. Washington demonstrated its power to the Soviet Union and the rest of the world, its claims to the role of a superpower that would determine the course of international development. The death of several hundred thousand civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not considered too high a price to pay for achieving this goal.

Members of the Soviet diplomatic mission in Tokyo were among the first foreign observers to see the consequences firsthand. nuclear disaster. Their personal impressions, the eyewitness accounts of the bombings they recorded, bring to us the echo of the tragedy, allow us today, 70 years later, to understand the depth and horror of what happened, and serve as a stern warning about the terrible consequences of the use of nuclear weapons.

We offer some of these documents, which are still difficult to read today, for publication to Rodina magazine.

Spelling and punctuation have been preserved.

Note from the USSR Ambassador to Japan

vol. Stalin, Beria, Malenkov,
Mikoyan + me.
22.XI.45
V. Molotov

Materials on the consequences of the use of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki; descriptions of our eyewitnesses and data from the Japanese press).

September 1945

The USSR Embassy in Tokyo sent a group of employees to inspect and become familiar with the consequences of the atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima (Japan). The employees were able to personally inspect the site and results of the explosion of this bomb, talk with local population and eyewitnesses, visit the hospital where people who suffered from the atomic bomb explosion were being treated. These employees outlined everything they saw and heard, along with their personal impressions, in a special brief overview included in this collection.

The second group of employees of the Embassy and the Soviet Military Mission in Tokyo visited Nagasaki to familiarize themselves with the consequences of the use of the atomic bomb there. The group also included a Soyuzkinokhronika cameraman, who filmed the scene of the atomic bomb explosion and the destruction caused by this explosion. The report on the results of the inspection of Nagasaki is drawn up and must be presented from Tokyo by Major General Voronov.

The embassy collected and translated into Russian the most significant articles from the Japanese press about the atomic bomb. Translations of these articles are also included in this collection.

Ambassador Y. Malik
AVPRF. F. 06. Op. 8. P. 7. D. 96.

"Only personal impressions"

Report of a group of Embassy workers who visited Hiroshima

The atomic bomb and the destruction it caused made a huge impression on the population of Japan. Popular rumor picks up press reports, distorts them and sometimes leads them to the point of absurdity. A rumor even spread that even today the appearance of people in the area of ​​an atomic bomb explosion is associated with danger to life. We have repeatedly heard from both Americans and Japanese that after visiting areas exposed to the atomic bomb, women lose their ability to bear children, and men suffer from impotence.

These conversations were fueled by radio broadcasts from San Francisco, which stated that in the areas where the atomic bomb exploded, nothing living could exist for seventy years.

Not trusting all these rumors and reports and setting themselves the task of personally familiarizing themselves with the effects of the atomic bomb, a group of Embassy employees consisting of TASS correspondent Varshavsky, former acting military attache Romanov and naval officer Kikenin left for Hiroshima and Nagasaki on September 13. This condensed essay is limited to the recording of conversations with local residents and victims and summary personal impressions, without any generalizations or conclusions.

"He said it was safe to live here..."

A group of Embassy employees arrived in Hiroshima at dawn on September 14th. It was raining heavily continuously, which made it extremely difficult to explore the area and, most importantly, made it difficult to take photographs. The railway station and the city were destroyed to such an extent that there was even nowhere to shelter from the rain. The station chief and his employees took shelter in a hastily put together barn. The city is a scorched plain with towering 15-20 skeletons of reinforced concrete buildings.

Half a kilometer from the station we met an old Japanese woman who got out of her dugout and began to rummage through the fire. When asked where the atomic bomb fell, the old woman replied that there was a strong flash of lightning and a huge blow, as a result of which she fell and lost consciousness. Therefore, she does not remember where the bomb fell or what happened next.

Having walked further than 100 meters, we saw something like a canopy and hurried to take shelter there from the rain. We found a sleeping man under the canopy. He turned out to be an elderly Japanese man building a hut on the site of the ashes of his home. He said the following:

On August 6, at about 8 o'clock in the morning, the threat was lifted in Hiroshima. After 10 minutes, an American plane appeared over the city and at the same time a lightning strike occurred, they fell and died. Many people died. Then fires broke out. It was a clear day and the wind was blowing from the sea. The fire spread everywhere and even against the wind.

When asked how he remained alive while at home, which is located approximately 1-1.5 km from the place where the bomb fell, the old man replied that somehow it happened that he was not hit by the rays, but his house burned down, because The fire was raging everywhere.

For now, he said, it was safe to live here. On the outskirts of the city, several tens of thousands of people live in dugouts. It was dangerous for the first 5-10 days. In the first days, he noted, the people who came to help the victims died. Even fish died in shallow water. The plants are starting to come to life. I, the Japanese said, have cultivated a garden and expect that the shoots will begin soon.

And indeed, contrary to all claims, we saw how the grass began to turn green in various places and even new leaves appeared on some burnt trees.

"The victim is given vitamins B and C and vegetables..."

One of our group members was able to visit the Red Cross hospital in Hiroshima. It is located in a dilapidated building and houses victims of the atomic bomb. There are burned people and those who received other injuries, and among them are patients who were delivered 15-20 days after being wounded. This two-story building houses up to 80 patients. They are in an unsanitary condition. They mainly have burns on exposed parts of the body. Many received only severe injuries from glass. Those who were burned predominantly suffered burns on the face, arms and legs. Some worked only in shorts and caps, so most of their bodies were burned.

The body of those burned is dark brown with open wounds. They are all wrapped in bandages and smeared with a white ointment reminiscent of zinc. The eyes are not damaged. Severely injured people with burned extremities did not lose the ability to move their fingers and toes. Many were injured by glass, they had deep cuts to the bone. Individuals exposed bareheaded experienced hair loss. Upon recovery, hair begins to grow on the exposed skulls in separate tufts. Patients have a pale waxy complexion.

One injured man, 40-45 years old, was at a distance of 500 meters from the bomb falling. He worked at some electrical company plant. He has up to 2,700 white blood cells left in one cubic cm of blood. He came to the hospital on his own and is now recovering. We were unable to establish the reasons why he could have been saved at such a close distance from the bomb site. It was only possible to establish that he was working with electrical equipment. He has no burns, but his hair has come out. He is given vitamins B and C and vegetables. There is an increase in white blood cells.

AVPRF. F. 06, op. 8, p.7, no.96

"The doctor believes that protection against a uranium bomb is rubber..."

On the railway station, our attention was attracted by a man with a bandage on his arm, on which was written “help for the victims.” We asked him a question, and he said that he was an ear, nose and throat doctor and had gone to Hiroshima to help victims of the atomic bomb. This Japanese doctor named Fukuhara told us that three atomic bombs with parachutes were dropped on Hiroshima. According to him, he personally saw three parachutes from a distance of 14 km. Two unexploded bombs, according to the doctor, were picked up by the military and are now being studied.

Fukuhara arrived at the rescue site on the second day. After he drank water, he began to have diarrhea. Others fell ill with diarrhea after a day and a half. He said that the rays of the atomic bomb caused, first of all, a change in the composition of the blood. The doctor said that in one cubic centimeter of blood of a healthy person there are 8,000 white blood cells. As a result of exposure to an atomic bomb, the number of white blood cells is reduced to 3000, 2000, 1000 and even 300 and 200. As a result, severe bleeding from the nose, throat, eyes and, in women, uterine bleeding. The victims' temperature rises to 39-40 and 41 degrees. After 3-4 days, patients usually die. Sulfzone is used to lower the temperature. When treating victims, they resort to blood transfusions, and glucose and saline are also administered. When blood transfusion is carried out up to 100 g. blood.

The victims who drank water or washed themselves with water in the area where the bomb fell on the day it exploded, the doctor further said, died instantly. For 10 days after the bomb exploded, it was dangerous to work there: uranium rays continued to be emitted from the ground. Now staying in those places is considered safe, the doctor said, but this issue is not being studied. According to him, protective clothing against a uranium bomb is rubber and all kinds of insulators against electricity.

During our conversation with the doctor, an old Japanese man turned to him for advice. He pointed to the burnt neck that was not yet completely healed and asked if it would heal soon. The doctor examined my neck and said everything was fine. The old man told us that at the moment the bomb exploded, he fell and felt acute pain. I didn't lose consciousness. I continued to feel pain until recovery.

AVPRF. F. 06, op. 8, p.7, no.96

"The children sitting on the trees in the foliage survived..."

On the way to Nagasaki we got into conversation with two Japanese students. They told us that one girl, a relative of one of them, a few days after the bomb exploded, went to Hiroshima to find out about her relatives. After a long time, on August 25, she fell ill, and two days later, i.e. She died on August 27.

Driving around the city by car, we bombarded the Japanese driver with questions. He told us that there was no rescue work on the first day because the fire was raging everywhere. Work began only on the second day. No one was left alive in the area closest to the bomb explosion. The deaths were prisoners of war, mostly Filipinos working at the Mitsubishi Heiki munitions plant and Japanese workers at the Nagasaki Seiko plant. The atomic bomb, the driver said, fell in the area of ​​the university hospital (Urakami area). The remains of the hospital have been preserved. All the hospital patients, along with the staff, doctors and director, died.

There is a strong cadaverous smell in the area where the bomb fell: many corpses have not yet been removed from the ruins and the fire. The driver told us that there were cases when children sat on trees in the foliage and remained alive, while those who were playing on the ground nearby died.

AVPRF. F. 06, op. 8, p.7, no.96

American's opinion: "The Japanese greatly exaggerate the effectiveness of the atomic bomb..."

Most Japanese claim that the bomb over Hiroshima was dropped by parachute and exploded at a distance of 500-600 meters from the ground. In contrast, the chief of the medical service of the American Fifth Fleet, Spruence, Commander Willicutts, with whom we traveled back to Tokyo, argued that the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were dropped without a parachute. He also denied any possibility of an atomic bomb falling without exploding. He argued that after the bomb exploded, the area where it fell was safe. In his opinion, the Japanese greatly exaggerate the effectiveness of the atomic bomb.

AVPRF. F. 06, op. 8, p.7, no.96

"Even moles and worms in the ground die"

Reports about the effects of the atomic bomb that appeared in the Japanese press
"Mainiti" 15.8.

This study was compiled by Professor Asada based on a report from a committee of experts. The following are available characteristic features radiation, there is much evidence that the rays emitted are ultraviolet rays.

The people behind the glass windows were injured by the blast wave, but did not receive burns. This is because ultraviolet rays do not pass through glass.

Cloth white did not burn, however, for persons dressed in black or khaki clothes, this clothing burned. At the station, the black letters of the train schedule were burned, while the white paper was not damaged. Further, three people who were in a reinforced concrete building located at the site of the explosion and were holding aluminum plates in their hands received very severe burns to their hands, while there was no damage to other parts of the body. This can be explained by the position of the window, in which only this part was exposed to the rays, and the rays were reflected from the aluminum surface.

In the clear water river, the backs of the fish were burned, and many dead fish floated around two days later. This is apparently explained by the fact that ultraviolet rays pass through a water layer of several tens of centimeters.

The treatment of burns is exactly the same as the treatment of regular burns. As a rule, vegetable oil or sea water diluted by half or three times helps. Particular attention should be paid to the fact that staying for a long time at the site of an atomic bomb explosion has a very bad effect on the body due to the radiation that occurs.

AVPRF. F. 06, op. 8, p.7, no.96

Four death radii

The destructive power of the atomic bomb
"Mainiti" 29.8.

In Hiroshima, all people and animals, as well as all living creatures, were destroyed, killed or injured within a radius of 5 km. from the site of the bomb explosion. As of August 22, the number of people killed in Hiroshima is more than 60,000. The wounded are dying one after another, and this figure is increasing more and more. Most of the wounded suffered from burns, however, these burns are not ordinary burns: they destroy the blood cells due to the special effect of uranium. People who receive this kind of burns gradually die. The number of victims currently stands at more than 120,000 people; this figure decreases as these people gradually die.

Even moles and worms in the ground die; This happens because uranium penetrates into the ground and emits radioactive rays. Those who appear in the affected area even after the raid experience some disturbance in the body. As a radio broadcast from the USA says: “Not a single living creature will be able to live in Hiroshima and Nagasaki even after 70 years.”

1. Within a radius of 100 m from the explosion site.

Casualties among the population. Those outside were killed, their entrails fell out, and were burned. Those who were inside the premises: inside wooden buildings - killed; in reinforced concrete buildings were seriously injured (burns, bruises, cuts from glass fragments); in poorly made shelters - killed.

2. Destruction within a radius of 100 meters to 2 km.

Casualties among the population: those who were outside the premises were killed or seriously wounded, some had their eyes out of their sockets. Many people suffered burns. Most of those inside were crushed and burned in their houses; with an iron frame - many were injured by glass fragments, received burns, some were thrown out into the street. They remained safe in the shelters, but some were thrown away along with the chairs they were sitting on.

An area of ​​partial destruction within a radius of 2 to 4 km. from the rupture site.

Casualties among the population: those outside the premises received burns, those inside the premises received minor injuries, those in the shelters remained unharmed.

AVPRF. F. 06, op. 8, p.7, no.96

Dead tram

Episodes of the consequences of the bombing.

"Mainiti" 15.8.

In addition to official reports about the destructive power of the atomic bomb, descriptions of a number of episodes appeared in the Japanese press, where various moments of the bombing and its consequences were given.

“Not far from the explosion site there is a charred shell of a tram. If you look from a distance, there are people standing inside the tram. However, if you come closer, you can see that these are corpses. The beam of the new bomb hit the tram and, together with the blast wave, did its job. Those Those who sat on the benches remained in the same form, those who stood hung on the straps that they held on to while the tram moved. Of the several dozen people, not one escaped death in this narrow tram car.

This is the place where people's volunteer detachments and student detachments worked to demolish buildings intended for dispersal. The rays from the new bomb hit their skin and burned through it in an instant. Many people fell in this place and never got up again. From the fire that then broke out, they burned without a trace.

There was a case when one group, wearing iron helmets, began to fight a fire. At this place one could then see the remains of helmets, in which bones of human heads were found.

One burned out a famous person. His wife and daughter ran out of the house, which was destroyed by the blast wave. They heard the voice of their husband calling for help. They themselves could not do anything and ran to the police station for help. When they returned, pillars of fire and smoke were rising from the site of the house.

AVPRF. F. 06, op. 8, p.7, no.96

"Until death, the wounded retain full consciousness..."

Correspondence from Hiroshima special correspondent" Matsuo

"Asahi", 23.8

At Hiroshima Station, considered one of the best stations in the Tsyugoku area, there is nothing, only the rails shine in moonlight. We had to spend the night in a field in front of the station; the night was hot and stuffy, but despite this, not a single mosquito was noticeable.

The next morning we inspected the potato field located at the site where the bomb exploded. There is not a leaf or grass on the field. In the city center, only the skeletons of large reinforced concrete buildings of the Fukuya department store, bank branches - Nippon Ginko, Sumitomo Ginko, and the editorial office of the Chugoku Shimbun newspaper - remained. The remaining houses were reduced to piles of tiles.

The affected parts of those who received burns are covered with red ulcers. The crowds of people fleeing the fire site resembled crowds of the dead who had come from the other world. Although these victims received medical care and drugs were injected into the outer parts of their wounds, they still gradually died due to the destruction of cells. At first they said that there were 10 thousand killed, and then their number increased more and more and reached 100 thousand, as they say. Until death, the wounded remain fully conscious, many of them continue to beg “kill me quickly.”

AVPRF. F. 06, op. 8, p.7, no.96

"The wounded cannot be healed..."

"Asahi", 23.8

Since the burn occurs due to the action of ultraviolet rays, it is not felt at first. After two hours, water blisters appear on the body. Despite the fact that immediately after the bombing, medicines were sent from Kure and Okayama and there was no shortage of them, the number of deaths is still constantly increasing. American radio at the time announced: “Hiroshima has become an area in which neither people nor animals will be able to live for 75 years. Actions such as sending experts to this area are tantamount to suicide.”

As a result of the destruction of uranium atoms, countless particles of uranium are created. The presence of uranium can be easily detected by approaching the affected area with a Geig Muller measuring tube, the needle of which shows an unusual deviation. This uranium has a bad effect on the human body and is the reason for such an increase in deaths. A study of red and white blood cells established the following: the blood of soldiers engaged in the restoration of the Western military training ground (at a distance of 1 km from the site of the bomb explosion a week after the bombing) was examined. Among the examined 33 people. 10 people had burns, the burned people had 3150 white blood cells, the healthy ones - 3800, which is a large reduction compared to 7-8 thousand white blood cells in a normal healthy person.

As for the red blood cells, the burned people had 3,650,000, the healthy people had 3,940,000, while normal healthy people have from 4.5 to 5 million red blood cells. As a result, the wounded cannot be healed because they are in Hiroshima. They experience headaches, dizziness, poor heart function, lack of appetite, poor taste in the mouth, and retention of natural bowel movements. The presence of uranium deals a major blow to the reconstruction of the city of Hiroshima.

AVPRF. F. 06, op. 8, p.7, no.96

"The brutal nature used by American aviation is visible..."

Article by Professor Tsuzuki University of Tokyo.

"Asahi", 23.8

From the editor. The article below shows the brutal nature used by American aviation in Hiroshima. The luminary of our medical world could not save the life of the young artist, the wife of the famous artist Maruyama, who was touring with his traveling troupe in Hiroshima. Of the 17 members of this troupe, 13 died on the spot, the remaining four were taken to Tokyo University Hospital.

“The patient was a very healthy woman about 30 years old. She was admitted to the hospital on the 10th day after being wounded. During these 10 days, except for an extreme lack of appetite, there were no pronounced signs of illness. She was wounded in Hiroshima, and was at 2 - floor of a building in the Fukuya building area, close to the site of the atomic bomb explosion. During the collapse of the house, she received a slight wound in the back, no burns or fractures. After the injury, the patient herself boarded the train and returned to Tokyo.

After arriving in Tokyo, the weakness increased every day, there was a complete lack of appetite, the patient drank only water. After she was admitted to the hospital, a blood test was carried out and large changes were found. Namely, an extreme lack of white blood cells was identified; as a rule, it should be 1 cubic meter. mm. from 6 to 8 thousand bodies, however, only 500-600 were detected, only 1/10 of the norm. Their resistance was significantly weakened. On the 4th day of admission to the hospital, just two weeks after the injury, the patient’s hair began to fall out. At the same time, the abrasion on the back suddenly became more complicated. A blood transfusion was immediately given, other assistance was provided, and the patient became quite vigorous and healthy.

However, on August 24, on the 19th day after the wound, the patient died suddenly. As a result of the autopsy, remarkable changes were discovered in the insides. Namely, the bone marrow, which is the apparatus that produces blood globules, the liver, spleen, kidneys, and lymphatic vessels, are significantly damaged. It has been determined that these damages are exactly the same as those resulting from the strong use of X-rays or radium rays. Previously it was believed that the effect of an atomic bomb was twofold: destruction from the blast wave and burns from heat rays. Now the damage caused by the action of radiating substances is added to this.

AVPRF. F. 06, op. 8, p.7, no.96

A year after the trip of Soviet diplomats, in September 1946, another Soviet representative visited the site of the tragedy. We publish fragments of written and photographic reports from an employee of the Soviet representation in the Union Council for Japan - senior assistant political adviser V.A. Glinkina.

(AVPRF F. 0146, op. 30, p. 280, d. 13)