Thanks Bob - and three days later the same scenes in Nagasaki (a total of some 220.000 dead). These scenes are shocking every-time they are shown. Hopefully, in the name of humanity, they tell present and future generations never to repeat the act again.

here!

Anders, you do know that the Japanese were frantically working on a scheme to produce an atomic weapon, planning to bomb the west coast of the U.S., right?
I hope the lesson learned is not in relation to the specific acts used to bring the war to a close, but instead not to use war as an instrument of statecraft to begin with. Unfortunately, it seems almost every generation has to relearn the lessons in one way or another.
Thank you Bob for posting this. For the first decade of the atomic era, planners, military strategists, etc. had no real understanding of what 'the bomb' would/could do, and still argued for localized use that seems insane in light of today's knowledge. And during most of the Cold War, both sides kept nuclear cannon shells at the ready... despite the fact that the blast danger area was within the throw range of the cannons. In other words, you fire a weapon that gets both sides.

Kombizz, I hope your headline is truly a question and not a statement. You could ask the same question about anyone who has had to kill. I have also heard that the aircrews didn't know what type of weapon they were dropping.

I have visited Hiroshima. And seen the lone remaining structure and the museum and cenotaph at the Peace Memorial Park. Since that time nations have learned how to make hydrogen bombs and,if you think about it, how to destroy our species. Japan has never re militarized. They learned firsthand the horrors of the Bomb.

It is insane that places like North Korea still seek to make these infernal instruments. And sell them to others. As to our guilt for having been the first country to use nuclear weapons,that is not for me to judge.

I was not in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa which were atrocious and I cringe at the thought of aninvasion of Kyushu as an alternative to surrender. The Memorial Park is a Peace Park. I don't think there is any room for nuclear weapons in this world. And I pray we never see or photograph the results of another one anywhere. There won't be anyone left to look at the pictures if that happens.

MUCH easier to view these photos from their root directory:

http://observatory.designobserver.com/media/slideshows/Hiroshima/images/

Very impersonal images--- 90% are just of the buildings damaged from afar to medium shots.

"Anders, you do know that the Japanese were frantically working on a scheme to produce an atomic weapon, planning to bomb the west coast of the U.S., right?"
That's a good try Thomas. The most hear "justification" has been that "The Japanese had demonstrated near-fanatical resistance, fighting to almost the last man on Pacific islands, committing mass suicide on Saipan and unleashing kamikaze attacks at Okinawa. Fire bombing had killed 100,000 in Tokyo with no discernible political effect. Only the atomic bomb could jolt Japan's leadership to surrender." Never heard of any reality behind your hints.
How hard we try, it is very difficult to justify any decision to kill more than 200.000 Japanese. However, this is the "Casual Photo Conversation" forum which is not an obvious place for agreeing on historical facts.

Anders, there is no 'try' to it. Simple declassified archive facts. The Germans sent the Japanese as much info and nuclear material as they could before Nazi Germany fell.
As far as justification goes, that's how war works. We also managed to firebomb the Germans into near oblivion in some parts of the country. And had worked on firebombing the Japanese into near oblivion. In wartime, you wage war until the other side gives up. Sorry, but regardless of what Star Trek preaches, we can't turn phasers on stun and be nice about it. If you are convinced that the U.S. was terrible for using the atomic bombs, well, you're entitled to your opinion and I don't care to attempt to dissuade you. Doubtless that falls into the range of opinion that holds that it was demeaning to have the Japanese sign the surrender documents on the deck of an American battleship sitting in the middle of Tokyo Bay.
Gerry, my father was a participant at Iwo Jima. The suicide planes took a big toll, and the fighting was difficult. He never wanted to talk about any of it except once, when he mentioned that the ship right next to his was sunk by a suicide plane while they were all lined up like in a parking lot.
I certainly don't much care for a nuclear weapons exchange. When it was Soviets vs. the West, at least there was a kind of parity and an agreement not to 'go there'. I suspect we won't expect to see such reserve from the North Koreans, and possibly even the Iranians, since they have already suggested annihilating some other countries.

Since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear weapons have saved millions of lives. The cold war wouldn't have remained cold for very long if neither side had nuclear weapons at their disposal. The very prospect of a nuclear attack is so terrifying that no-one except the most crazed individual would possibly wish to push the red button. Nuclear capability has now virtually wiped out any chance of India & Pakistan going to war over Kashmir. Even North Korea would never dare to use nuclear weapons. They want nuclear weapons capability for the exact same reason China starved millions of its own people for... "No-one listens to a powerless man"