World War II ended when Japan formally surrendered on September 2, 1945. Soviet forces also invaded Japanese-occupied Manchuria in China that day, further crippling the Japanese military.įinally, on August 15, the Emperor of Japan issued an Imperial Rescript proclaiming his acceptance of the provisions of the Potsdam Declaration. After Japan failed to act, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb, “Fat Man,” over the city of Nagasaki on the morning of August 9. military’s use of this new form of weaponry and threatened future bombings if Japan did not surrender unconditionally as outlined in the July 26, 1945, Potsdam Declaration. Later that day, President Harry Truman informed the American people of the U.S. It was followed by intense heat that created a firestorm that engulfed the city and claimed even more lives. Those who survived the initial blast were hit with a powerful shockwave that leveled nearly every structure within a mile of the impact. As many as 70,000 people were killed instantly. On the ground, the city was alive with morning activity when the bomb detonated in a blinding explosion. locally, the B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb “Little Boy” on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
On August 6, 1945, at approximately 8:15 a.m. National Archives, Records of the Office of War Information “Photograph of the Atomic Cloud Rising Over Nagasaki, Japan,” August 9, 1945
