The Aftermath of Hiroshima

This year marks 70 years since the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After Germany surrendered to the allies in May of 1945, The United States, China and Great Britain demanded that the Japanese unconditionally surrender as well, or be subject to "prompt and utter destruction." Japan refused those demands.In early August of 1945, the United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which remain the only times that the atomic bomb was used to fight a war. The destruction in Japan was widespread, and up to 240,000 people were killed in the first four months. Many more succumbed to illness from radiation in the following years. On August 15, Japan surrendered.
Shown here are two photographs from a collection at Vintage Everyday that illustrates the horrors of such nuclear devastation. Be warned that a few of the photos show injured people. Such images are an important testament to the terror of war and a cautionary tale against the use of nuclear weapons.