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Dropping the Bomb: Hiroshima & Nagasaki

Shaun · 3.6M views · 2020-12-11 · 2:20:19

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Overview

A very long video essay by Shaun on the decisions and motivations behind the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with a detailed timeline and argument that they were not militarily necessary.

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HN recommends it as a thorough, nuanced account of why the bombings happened and what led Japan to surrender.

Recommended by 3 HN people across 3 months · HN mentions 2020–2025

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What people said

dairylee · 2022-02 · Strong recommendation

The Japanese Government didn't want an unconditional surrender as it would have meant the Emperor (Who was seen as quasi-divine) would have potentially been tried for war crimes and executed. They didn't care about their citizens, just the Emperor. Fantastic video which explains everything: [VIDEO]

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cyphar · 2022-10 · Recommendation

> Whereas Japan would’ve continued the war and brought it back to the US mainland eventually. This is simply ahistoric. Japan was on the brink of loss and everyone knew it (including all of Japan's military and political leaders) -- Japan was already suing for peace long before the bombs were dropped. The main sticking point was the conditions of surrender and the Japanese were deluded (partially by the US, intentionally or not) into thinking Russia could get them more favourable surrender conditions. These delays, combined with the use of the bomb being a foregone conclusion in the minds of the US leadership regardless of Japan's stance and what seems to be at least some wish to show America's might, lead to the bombings. No reputable historian (nor the statements made by several important military figures at the time) could make a credible argument that in 1945, Japan's loss was not already a foregone conclusion irrespective of the bomb, let alone suggesting that Japan would be able to even attempt to invade the US. If the US had explicitly stated they would not try the royal family for war crimes and keep the 帝 (emperor) alive, Japan would've surrendered (this is literally the only important condition they wanted, and it's what the US was planning on doing anyway). If you'd like to watch a very long video explaining the events leading up to the bombings with a very detailed timeline: [VIDEO]

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chagen · 2020-12 · Recommendation

Here's a thoroughly nuanced analysis of the causes and motivations leading to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: [VIDEO]

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Sources

Video by Shaun, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

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HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

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