On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, during World War II. The aerial bombings killed 150,000 to 246,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only uses of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict. Japan announced its surrender to the Allies on 15 August, six days after the bombing of Nagasaki and the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan and invasion of Manchuria. The Japanese government signed an instrument of surrender on 2 September, ending the war.
The atomic bomb explosion over Nagasaki 1945 mushroom cloud
Wide Road Acting As Fire Break - DPLA - d1993e429c2cc2f98971ada71b934a3b
Buildings Destroyed By Blast - DPLA - 0e357cc859af533ff4c1257fac4388f9
Minor Blast Damage - DPLA - 65f51eb7d51e756b1b8dd5d251bf686c
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Buildings Destroyed By Blast and Fire - DPLA - 5e37c6cbca67677875c9c10d9873a345
First leaflet which was dropped on Japanese cities in conjunction with the Atomic Bomb
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Amid the wreckage of a prison in Nagasaki, three Manhattan Project specialists use Geiger counters to measure residual radioactivity. Left to right: Captain Henry Barnett, Robert Serber, and Captain Harry O. Whipple.