I don't know how many tribute videos had aired on mainstream news television stations previous to this one, but I'm going to assume that this is one of the more in depth ones . I think NBC decided to air it in 1995 because it was 50 years since the bomb was dropped. This provided an 'anniversary', except in the negative connotation. It seemed to me like NBC was trying to take the blame off of the US, almost. I got that feeling from the news casters "post note", in which he talked about how the US has decreased its nuclear research as well as their nuclear production. They also had a veteran who talked about how many people they may have saved by dropping a nuclear bomb.
On the other hand, they did focus a lot on the survivors stories (from the Japanese perspective), which seemed to balance it out. As a final note, I still think that NBC did not dwell enough on how this bomb added to the US's pending imperialism. The US essentially bullied the Japanese into surrenduring, making the "ends justify the means", and doing things "for the greater good".

Was it right or was it wrong

I tend to believe that dropping the Atomic Bomb was the right decision, although after watching the video it is very hard to stay to my initial beliefs.  Although by dropping the bombs, it brought instant success to the US, I don't think everything was taken into consideration.  I think the correct decision would have been to destroy the bomb and just hope that it never comes back again.  Atom bombs have just created another thing to worry about.  Another thing that should have been taken into consideration is were they should have dropped the bomb.  I do agree that a secluded island is better than mainland japan, but a large military camp seems like it would be much more fitting that some random islands.  I'm sure there is some reason as to why the chose Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it just seems cruel to bomb two what seem like residential islands.  Ultimately, I think the right choice would have been to do away with atom bombs which would probably have been an almost impossible decision for them to make at the time.  If a world power is in a time of war, and they realize that they have a ground breaking discovery in the field of weaponry, it is almost impossible for them to not exploit it, even if it would be better if they didn't, or at least better for the good of the world.  

Two Sides

Even 50 years later, the effects of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima were still being felt. Even today they are still being felt. NBC aired this piece five decades after the devastating event because it still carried an impact on the world. As was said in the video, "The effects [of the atomic bomb] are still being felt", "…the damage is immeasurable in some ways". Even after the initial causalities, radiation poisoning causes sickness and genetic effects for long after a nuclear weapon is dropped. Today, the bomb is still present in our thoughts. There is no way that something causing damage of such magnitude could ever leave our minds entirely, and people still struggle with the right/wrong debate of dropping the atomic bomb. Americans are divided on this issue: veterans defend the dropping of the atomic bomb as the only option while others cannot get past the horror of it—how anyone could have lived with themselves after having a hand in the dropping of the bomb. The NBC video is well done because it really points out what causes this divide. When the bomb was dropped, Americans were not told of the destruction it caused Japan—only that the war was finally ending. Looking back on it 50 years later is a very different matter. The NBC broadcast included interviews of survivors in order to make sure the real story of what happened that day in Hiroshima was told. However, it also defends the American people, essentially saying that they were completely ignorant to the extent to which the bomb would violate the ethics of "decent people". President Truman is in effect blamed for the atomic bomb. He is only mentioned in the video when he is relieved by the test atomic bomb detonation going well and when he gives the "go" order for the bombing of Japan. The video describes his reaction as "exaltation". The video clearly shares the bias of many other people, favoring the opinion that dropping the bomb was the wrong decision. But overall, I think the video did a good job of retelling the event with a different tone than it was told with right afterwards, as well as also presenting a defense for the decision of battle-weary America.

After The Drop: A Test for Moral Thinking

I believe it is no coincidence that this piece was created half a century after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. To commemorate the bombing of Hiroshima -- a delicate subject in itself -- is to call upon emotions of pride, but also sorrow. When watching this documentary and thinking about the thought process leading up to the drop, my moral values could not help but be tested. Call me a murderer, but I feel the Manhattan Project and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were necessary, especially when examining the context of the time. Moreover, it is unfair for us, students of the 2000's, to criticize the decisions made over 60 years ago by the government, especially a government under the stresses of war. The decision to drop the bomb was not one backed by rash thinking, but instead by the moral values of the heads of our government. As an American citizen, knowing that a bomb's fate is controlled by our president may be surreal and uncomfortable for most, but at the time of the bombing no civilian had any notion of what was to come. Shortly after though thousands were celebrating across the U.S., and very few held regrets. 

It is difficult to think of an atom bomb being dropped by the U.S. today, partially because the present war is incomparable to that of WWII, and because there is little respect for the higher decision making of our government...otherwise known as patriotism. What does this mean? With no chance of a bomb being dropped, the idea becomes that much more outrageous, altering our mindset on the matter, causing us to make claims similar to "I would not drop the bomb for we need to think about the innocent." Such a statement lies on the back of emotion, and relies  not on context, but sympathy.

Analyzing the context is a crucial process when looking at the history surrounding an event. One must clear the humanitarian emotions from their mind, and look at the facts when deciding to do something as significant as killing thousands of people. Today, it seems as if emotion has taken over and the facts are set aside in the decision making process. Nevertheless, our government made a choice in 1945 that was based on instinct and fact, rather than on humanitarian perceptions that would have led to more days of war.

If you have the backbone to say that you would not end a war as soon as possible, then talk to a WWII veteran or a Vietnam veteran or a Korean War veteran who got the chance to watch their brothers and dear friends be killed by the enemy.... this might give you the perspective I am trying to get across. Dropping the atomic bomb was the necessary thing to do, because even if we had not bombed Japan, the war would still have continued, amounting to a greater death toll -- both American and Japanese. The U.S. military would have likely invaded Japan, prolonging the end date of the war, and the total war would continue.

I ran a little astray from the original assignment but I could not help but see that some people had the audacity to say that ending WWII with the bombing of Hiroshima was not the best way to handle the situation. I accept most all opinions, but this is something I feel too strongly about, and I will bet you most every American soldier of WWII would agree with me. 

Nuclear Bomb

The documentary about how nuclear bombs were used in 1945 was used to broaden the understanding of the past for the viewers. As time passes the population of a country tends to look at its victories rather than at its losses when it looks back at its history. The population tends to forget the mistakes they made in past conflicts. This is due to the films/stories being showed or passed down to the new generation. Films about the loss of their country wouldn’t gain much revenue in the box office, therefore films that focus on the strength of the country tend to win over the minds of the people. It is also hard to people to talk about a loss, because they don’t want to seem weak or incompetent. They would rather talk about the time that they won some battle. This documentary snapped the reality back into the minds of the young generation. 50 years is a pretty big number, a new generation was born in those years. Much of this new generation has not had much information about the bombing of Hiroshima or Nagasaki. They old generation did not want to share this touchy detail with the young. The old generation did not want to seem inferior in the eyes of the younger ones. The learning from mistakes does not happen in this case. This is why this documentary was made-so people could learn from their mistakes.

Nuclear Warfare: a Thing of the Past

The reason why the documentary on the nuclear bomb was released on NBC in 1995 not only is because of the anniversary of the deployment of the bomb, but to remind us of the horrors of nuclear warfare. After the dropping of the nuclear bomb in 1945 came the Cold War, with the constant threat of nuclear bombing. But the Cold War ended in 1989, and with it, the threat of nuclear attack on the United States.

Back during the Cold War, children at school took part in nuclear bomb drills, where they would hide under their desks until it was safe to come out. The trauma and fear of the nuclear was always near them. Since then, my generation has really no idea what it's like to be under nuclear threat.

Clearly, then, the NBC video not only reminds us about how horrible nuclear warfare truly is, but serves as a way to prevent it from happening all over again. It does this through warning all the people who haven't had to deal it how widespread the devastation of the bombs is, and how unfair they are to the civilians who perished due to them.

The terror of the NBC video, the hundreds of school kids killed by the bomb, people who lost their best friends in the blink of an eye - this we will never experience. But through videos like the one on NBC, we can at least be grateful that we haven't had to deal with this yet in our lives.

Created for Empathy

It is obvious that the video about the atomic bomb shows the world that Americans now have serious remorse about the decision to murder an innocent city (or two). It is easy for us now to judge the government for making that choice and to judge the rest of the country who were proud to be Americans after winning the war. It doesn't take much thought to declare how awful it was that the United States obliterated two entire cities. However, I believe that the video was made partly so people now can understand what both our government and the Japanese citizens had to go through. I can't imagine facing the responsibility of deciding the fate of hundreds of thousands of people, both Americans and Japanese. Am I saying that they made the right decision? Or that I would have done the same thing too? No, not necessarily. That video, though, was created to make us realize what a different time it was back then. Not one of us knows what it must have felt like. And who are we to announce what we would have done instead? We cannot until we are truly faced with the same situation.

Nuclear Bomb Documentary

I think that NBC aired this piece for both informative and commemorative purposes. Because it was aired exactly 50 years after the attack, it makes sense that it was aired in memory of those who died. There are interviews with those who experienced the attack and those who's lives were affected by it. There were statistics about how many died. In that way, it is clearly commemorating those who died. The documentary is not biased either for or against the US's decision on dropping the nuclear bomb. It explains in chronological order the process of the decision to drop the bomb. There are interviews from people from both the Japanese and American sides. The decision of dropping the bomb is still very controversial and I think that the documentary serves as something to simply answer questions on both sides. 

Winners are created by creating losers.

210,000. That's a big number isn't it? You could fill up a classroom with 210,000 pennies. You could buy a mansion in Texas with $210,000. You could buy (not counting tax) 42,000 five-...five-dollar-footlongs. You could fill up three or four good-sized football stadiums with 210,000 people.

You could kill 210,000 innocents to end a war. It's quite a mind-boggling number- two hundred ten thousand is. But alas, the United States of America did just that in 1945.

It is understandable- somewhat, at least- to bomb locations of specific military affiliations (army bases, etcetera), but to vaporize 210,000 innocent, unsuspecting in the name of reducing the number of military casualties is... well, there are no words.

Just to put this into perspective, you may remember hearing in the video about what appeared to be a elementary or middle school that was "affected" (I use this term very loosely) by the bomb. By affected, I mean that four hundred kids went to school that morning, expecting to come home, and never made it back. Their parents probably were in no position to know that either, seeing as they were kind of...y'know...dead. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, one student somehow survived the cataclysmic blast, and lived with the knowledge that, in less than one second, four hundred of his classmates were gone. Poof. Bye-bye.

War is a sad thing. I believe that NBC chose to show this video in 1995 in order to remind us of this fact. As society approached the new millenium, technology advanced in leaps and bounds. Technology such as nuclear weapons, which had by then reached nearly-apocalyptic power. The video served as a reminder that, quite simply put, nuclear weapons are terrible terrible things, and that war only creates losers. Even if you win, you had to have lost something (usually your morals or dignity).

In war, even the winners are losers.

The Easy Way Out

I believe it is obvious that NBC chose to air this piece for commemoration purposes, as it had been 50 years since the bomb was dropped. This demonstrates the overall ill-effect the atomic ultimately had on the world's memory of WWII, as the end of the war became a moral crisis rather than a time of celebration and closure. In the irrational act of dropping the atomic bomb, the U.S. chose the easy way out in a situation that was too delicate for the action that was called for by president Truman. What is most disappointing is the knowledge the government had previous to the atom bomb's destruction: that Japan was on the brink of surrender, invasion pending or not. Eisenhower was aware of this and attempted to dissuade those in charge from such deadly force. Lastly, the use of this bomb will certainly come back to bite America, for we have set a standard for the use of atomic bombs, one that has been raised higher than it ever should have. And only because we rushed the end of an already decided war.

NBC Nuclear Bomb

This film and footage was released in 1995 to clarify the facts and reasons behind the dropping of the nuclear bomb. Fifty years later and the topic was still controversial. No one was sure who to blame nor did people know what to think, so this film attempts to portray the Japanese and American points of view. Americans need this clarification because dropping the bomb seemed so inconsistent with our attempt to be a "decent people". This film doesn't necessarily justify our actions, for it shows the devastation it inflicted on Japan. However, it gives us the truth and all the facts needed to formulate our own opinions. 

WWII Memories with the Help of NBC

Ending a war usually lifts our spirits, because we know that we have ended the killings and violence.  It is when we know we have accomplished something by saying that this calamity will never happen again.  We celebrate the end of a war, because we have no regrets about ending it. However, to this day the memory of the end of the war does not quite match that of the past.  Today we are thankful that we ended the war, yet there is still a small sickening feeling to look back at what we had done.  I found the video very shocking and informative.  Even before seeing the video, killing thousands of innocent people seemed like the wrong option to end a war.  I accepted it, though, because like many people, I thought this was our only option to end the war.  After viewing the video, however, the new found insight to the situation really shocked me and altered my perspective.  It showed that there were clearly other ways to cease the fighting - a simple act of telling Japan they could keep their emperor could have been the necessary step towards reconciliation.  From my point of view, the systematic killing of any group of people is unjust - especially when they are innocent.  The US is a symbol of everything our founding fathers strived to achieve.  We must lead by example, choosing the better option, rather than one that one that stains our acclaimed honor with the thousands of lives we took that day. 

When only taking into account what NBC stated, not releasing the bomb seems like the just option.  However, history is about viewing the story from all angles in order to have a deeper understanding of why the event took place.  Given the information that Japan was prepared to surrender earlier, we seem to question the actions; but, seeing it without this information gives us a much different facet to the situation.  In any given situation, it is humanly impossible to correctly predict the exact thoughts, plans, future tactics, and agenda of a separate entity.  This is partly because we cannot read minds, and partly because it is constantly changing.  By dropping the bomb to end the war, we lost thousands, but saved millions.  In the end, its the greater good that matters most.  We are able to celebrate the end of the war knowing that we have strived to do what is right.  Even in the hardest of times, when right and wrong have blurred into grey, we have risen to a situation with clear values and good intentions for a better future.

Never Forget/Remember the Titans

I think that NBC aired the program on the 50th anniversary almost as a change of pace.  We are always hearing and remembering U.S. events and all of the good and bad things that have happened for and to the U.S.  It is not often that we remember something bad/negative that we have done.  Among the many, there are events that we should probably remember more than we do and they thought (probably rightly) that this should be one of them that should be remembered more.  I thought the way that they showed relived how the dropping was good for the subject.  Since it is highly controversial, they just gave the facts and backed up why the Americans were happy.  This backup is almost a saving of what the U.S. did and why we were so happy, by showing how pivotal these giant bombs were to the U.S. war effort.  Even so, they still do give all of the death tolls making sure that the bad isn't forgotten.

Quick Note: They also show it like historians, and show the affects today and what has been done in Japan to commemorate the event and the consequences of it.

Atomic Bomb Video

The video NBC aired about "The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb" was aired because  the bomb was dropped half a century ago, so the video is once again bringing up the controversial issue of the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima. Now, in 1995 the decision to drop the bomb is  split but in 1945 the decision was unified. The direct accounts of Hiroshima survivors were very personal and touching, and the pictures add a more real affect so I was able to relate what they were saying with the pictures immediately shown after. I think NBC is trying to show a more real account of what happened in Hiroshima than what others may have guessed, or of what the media portrayed of the event in 1945. I think I was clearly able to realize that Hiroshima still seems affected today by what happened, and kids are now taught at a young age about the details of what happened. The memorials with soldiers walking around seems to me like the issue still haunts them, especially when the young girl at the end said something along the lines of, when I see an American plane I wonder if they are going to drop a bomb on us. This video was very informative and offered a whole new perspective to how I view the incident, and the direct hearings from the survivors made the event so much more real and powerful. The tales of the survivors were shocking and the evidence and pictures were much worse than I expected to see. Overall, a very powerful and moving video. 

Another Propaganda Source

It's not extra credit (this week) but it is way cool. If you go take a look, report back here on what you see and – more importantly, of course – what you think.

Japanese Internment Camps: Remind You of ANYTHING?

When people in the U.S. are asked to think about WWII and to bring up images in their mind there are definetly a few popular images. The first may be a picture of Hitler giving a speech to thousands of brainwashed Germans. ---------------------->

Another may be of Uncle Sam wanting you for the U.S. Army. This poster is one of the most famous pieces of propaganda in U.S. history. --------------------------------------------------->

You might even remeber the horrific day December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor.---------->

I too would have pictured these heart wrenching images before I saw and learned about the Japanese internment camps. The picture to the right shows a Japanese internment camp that was created to contain the "evil Japs."---------->

To quickly summarize who were we (the U.S.) fighting in WWII. Hitler right? And what was he doing in Germany? He was taking Jews rounding them up and first putting them in ghettos then moving them to concentration camps where millions of innocent Jews were killed. When I saw this image it truly changed my perspective of the U.S. government during the late 1940s. They were fighting a war against a man who decided that he could oppress and annihilate an entire race. Although Hitler's situation in Germany was far more extreme, the Japanese internment camps were not a soft topic. During WWII the U.S. government relocated around 120,000 Japanese Americans. The ironic thing is that nearly two-thirds of these Japanese Americans were American citizens. This relocation was the largest relocation of any nationality throughout U.S. history. I want to make sure that everyone knows I do not think that this and the situation in Germany at this time are equivalent because they are far from it. However there are a few similarities between the two. In both cases a certain group is targeted as dangerous or impure and are forced to leave there homes. If the war continued and more American land was bombed, it is quite likely that the situation could quickly escalate into one similar to Germany. I may sound like a broken record because I often use the word imagine to get my point across, however I feel that it helps the reader truly understand the situation. Imagine your family getting taken away from your house just because of race. Even if you are an American citizen you rights count for nothing and you are sent away to an internment camp. Some described the living space as ''tar paper-covered barracks of simple frame construction without plumbing or cooking facilities of any kind.' The spartan facilities met international laws, but still left much to be desired." To conclude, I think it is important to think about these Japanese American Internment camps and how they are similar to Nazi Germany. We must also consider how our government controls situations in the future and that it never classifies an entire race as an "Alien race." Finally, although many important events happened during WWII such as Pearl Harbor, D-Day, V-J Day, and others we must also recognize the smaller events because everything played a key role in the entire realm of WWII.

More Propaganda (and Photos of the War)

Among the many pictures that caught my eye, there were three that stuck out in different, and yet similar ways.  Although that sentence may be a bit hard to swallow, if I looked at the pictures, it struck an odd cord in me.

                        

These first two pictures, are two classic war propaganda posters.  The one on the right, which has become a huge symbol of the U.S. shows the classic patriot, Uncle Sam, calling on the average American to join the war.  To show how huge of an icon it is and was, between 1917 and 1918 over four million copies were printed for World War I.  The one next to it, of Uncle Sam rolling up his sleeves with his hat knocked off, wielding his wrench to finish off the "Japs" is set to inspire Americans for the end of World War II, and asks them to help in ending it.  This was a good poster for the time, because, in running from 1941-1945, it started just after the Germans were starting to wind down with their surrender at Stalingrad in 1943 and ran until the Japanese surrendered in 1945.  There was that period between where we switched focuses and this poster does a great job of saying that we will defeat the Japanese like we did the Germans in finishing "the job."  "The Job" is a curious term as well because it implies that the war is just a job, or that we are working for something.  This could be effective because there are so many things that could go into what the job is trying to accomplish, that it can apply to many different people.

The final picture needs a little context before you can grasp what it means.  This store was owned by a Japanese-American and graduate of the University of California, and was closed (and sold (it looks like))due to Evacuation Orders (The Evacuation was when most if not all of the Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast were moved to camps, being forced to sell all of their things along the way: Houses, items).  In the window the owner put up the sign "I AM AN AMERICAN" signifying that even though he/she was taken away she wanted to make it known that he/she completely disagreed with what was going on and that he/she is still American.  This image is interesting because in commemorating the hardships of the Japanese-Americans, it almost contradicts the two Uncle Sam posters and what America is.  Although is does show some of the American Patriotism spirit in that is was an American who stood by who he/she was and even tried to change things/revolutionize what was going on. (Ironically, you would think that moving all of the Japanese-Americans and forcing them to go through such hardships, they would want to fight back more)

Quick Note:  While trying to search the "Finish the Job" poster, I saw one that had "Mr. Peanut Goes to War"  which I thought pretty weird, although interesting.

Nuclear Power: Dangerous, Powerful, and Effective

It's hard to know exactly where to start after seeing a video that describes one of the most horrific days in the world's history. Thousands and thousands of people died on that day and thousands and thousands died later from the radiation. Imagine if all of a sudden a bomb hit Menlo Park, Atherton, San Carlos, Redwood City, Burligame, and San Mateo all at the same time. Imagine the majority of your friends dead. Not being able to go back to school because not only are the majority of your teachers dead but also your school has been flattened. It is important to understand our nation's past struggles and also the struggles of other nations. It is hard to believe that our government decided to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Truman had to have realized that he would change the world forever with the decision to drop the bomb. He had to have realized that thousands of people would die. Thousands of innocent civilians. Many people during this time would greatly disagree with my opinion. At the time people celebrated this day and this day lead to what was known as V-J Day (Victory of Japan). I discussed this topic with my great uncle E.G. "Bud" Siemon. He said that in his town there was great celebration when news came in of the bomb dropping. I think that NBC decided to air this piece in 1995 simply because early in our history we were proud of this moment. It was only until later that we began to notice the harm that the bomb truly did. Not only did it kill thousands on impact, yet it continues to eat away at innocent Japanese civilians. The U.S. felt that they needed to end the war abruptly and also that they still needed to get revenge after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Not only did the U.S. harm the Japanese in Japan but they also harmed the American Japanese in the creation of the Japanese internment camps. These camps were also known as "War Relocation Camps" and their main purpose was to move all Japanese men, women, and children into camps because many believed after Pearl Harbor that the Japanese were trying to completely take over the west coast. Later President Ronald Reagan rid these horrible camps and apologized for the nation. It seems like this movie is almost like a small version of what Reagan did. Now after sixty-four years it seems like we finally have been able to understand the true dangers of the nuclear bomb and the affects it has on the human body. To me it seems as if there is two distinct perspectives of WII. The people that lived during this time may still believe that the U.S. did the right thing seeing that the bomb did end the war. The other perspective is of the people born after or during the war who sympathize with the victims of the brutal nuclear bomb. I hope that as a nation we have learned the true power of the nuclear bomb and think long and hard before we decide to use another one.

Why Now? (1995) Because I said so

NBC Video

I think that important moments in American History should always be accessible, particularly with the simplicity of the internet. It is good that NBC aired this episode, because too many people are ignorant and have no idea what has happened in our past, not completely excluding myself. I'm not trying to be harsh, but I just think that a lot of people have no idea what happened in this event, and the chaos that it caused. It's very meaningful to have insight from people who were a direct part of the incident, from both sides. Overall, I think that it is a good thing for a major news organization to air something like this. I learned a lot.

"The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb" Response

By showing this movie on the atomic bomb in 1955, I think that people were able to learn the history of the bomb as well the affects that it still has on Hiroshima. NBC was smart in airing this video, I think it is important for the American people to see what happened in our history, and see the changes we have made from that day. The last remarks of the video pointed out the changes that we have made in our country on nuclear weapons. Hiroshima is a perfect example of a place that is still suffering from what happened years ago. In addition, it points out how an even that occurred in history, can still be an on going problem today. In relation to the memory of WWII I found it interesting that the video had veterans, and survivors of the bomb talking, and how today they still believe in what they fought for, or what they believed in from the war.

The Impact of the Atomic Bomb

NBC decided to air this piece in 1995 to show how our views on it and the morality behind it have changed over time. One of the most interesting points it brought up was that the American people supported the dropping of the bomb, because to them, it finally ended the war. There was soon to be no more worrying about being bombed or about dying sons and husbands. Also, they had little idea of the devastation it caused; of course, the government would never allow such information to be released. They just knew that Japan had surrendered. Today, we tend to forget these things and wonder how could moral people have celebrated such a travesty to humankind, but it is impossible for us to put ourselves in their shoes. While I don't personally believe that dropping the bomb was the just thing to do especially since it still may have effects on the population today, we can't judge people of that time for being happy that the war was almost over. We can never really know what would have happened if the bomb had not been dropped - who knows maybe there would have been more casualties, maybe less.
The fact that NBC aired this piece in 1995 also shows that it still has an impact on the world today. The memory of World War II has not faded from our minds, and the controversy of the atomic bomb still reigns on. That girl in elementary school who still fears that a bomb will be dropped on her shows that not only is this controversy still around, but the fear that the bomb instilled in the citizens of Japan continues on. World War II is not old history that has disappeared from our everyday lives, but an event that still affects us to this day.

second-guessing the Bomb

I think that NBC decided to show a special on the atomic bomb because by its fiftieth anniversary many peoples attitudes on the decision of the only time atomic weapons have been used in war. It showed that people are willing to take another look at the decisions that were made at the time. The video shows the darker side to the bomb dropping, with victim's tales and account of the devastation. It reveals a lurking guilt that some people feel, afraid that America had added yet another atrocity to the list of WWII. However, it also shows the side taken by many veterans of the fact that you can't know what would of happened otherwise. Whatever the case, the flashback to the dropping atomic bomb is intended to show that the debate rages on, long after even the radiation has faded.

nUNclear

The video from NBC seems to reflect first hand experiences of Japanese people more than the reasons behind the actual bombing. 50 years after the fact marks a moment of memorial, so perhaps the purpose was to enlighten American people of their country's actions, especially because apparently they were not even aware of the means that their country took to get Japan to surrender. I have been to Hiroshima myself a few years ago and walked through the museum and several memorials. The Japanese views in the video are represented accurately, they were very graphic with the affects of the bomb...there was even a wax display of people's faces melting off in burning scenery. I thought I'd just post a few images of the memorials I saw... it was amazing how quiet and serene the town was... (click on images to enlarge them)

Nuclear Division

By showing an update on a controversial issue, NBC was able to show that the world had changed in the way it viewed moral issues. The host explains that at the time, winning the war had gotten to people, and that the end justified the means. This eventually led to the bomb being dropped, with the public enthusiastically supporting this move by the government. But the host also explains that in 1995, 50 years later, attitudes were divided about dropping the bomb, which was the intended impact of the video. NBC chose to show this video to explain that attitudes towards morally correct things in the past change, and that this example is no different.

My Textbook

If I were to write a textbook the section of WWII would probably be more in depth to certain sections than our current text book is. I would have four basic sections: prewar, war, holocaust, and post war. In the prewar section I would include how each country situation led them to war. This would include certain economic, political and social situations. In the war section I would include a complete layout of all of the battles and events that happened during the war and explain each one in chronological order. This would include leaders, their motives, their strategies and their successes (or failures). I would then have a very large section on the holocaust. This section would be very specific on what actually happened. Besides stating what effects it had on the areas addressed, I would also explain how this affected the overall war turnout. Finally I would have a section explaining the post war situation. Something that I also find important and would like to include are primary resources like letters and other journals. These would be dispersed throughout the chapter and would give what was going on more meaning and increase the severity of the situation.

Textbook Unfairness

Our textbook invariably went through many, many revisions and edits before being published, and that included the chronology of the chapters. I am sure that a lot of discussion went into how to split up the information into separate topics and what information should deserve its own chapter. And yet somehow, despite hours and hours of meetings and thinking, they still got it wrong, because in our textbook, the Holocaust gets described in a grand total of a page and a half.
The Holocaust was the most gruesome example of ethnic cleansing in human history. More than 10 million people died within ten years because of Hitler’s dream of an Aryan race. Because of this event, the Jewish community has lost a huge part of its culture and population. This was one of the most morally wrong events in human history. So why do Duiker and Spielvogel think that we don’t need to learn about it?
This textbook has more than thirty pages about World War 2, and there is a lot of information packed in there, so it is understandable to think that there is not much space to talk about the Holocaust in a certain page limit. Also, there is not enough information solely about the Holocaust to make an entire chapter about it, without delving into relatively unimportant filler for the chapter. In these ways I can see why the editors chose to instead have the Holocaust be just a part of the whole chapter on World War 2.
But despite these logical arguments, the space given to the Holocaust just isn’t enough. The stories of those tem million people deserve more respect than that. A whole chapter is unreasonable, but a sub-chapter is more acceptable. Currently, the chapter is split into 6 parts, each about a different facet of the political or physical struggles of the involved countries. Just one area needs to be devoted to the emotional struggles of the people of Europe, entitled, “The Genocide”, to explain solely about this horrible piece of history.

A Picture Worth A Thousand Words

The picture of all the men crammed in these "shelves" really grabbed my attention because usually we are learning about death camps, where as labor camps. I was quite interested in learning how the conditions here are just as bad and the death tolls are quite astonishing themselves. This picture I found shows slave laborers in the Buchenwald concentration camps in squished together in horrible conditions. Buchenwald was a Nazi concentration cam established on the Etter Mountain, located near Weimar, Germany. This was one of the first and biggest camps within Germany. Prisoners incuded Jews, Poles, criminals, homosexuals, religious prisoners, and many more. They came from countries all over Europe; most of the political prisoners were from anti-Nazi countries. Even though Buchenwald was a labor camp and not extermination, there were many deaths from mistreatment, malnutrition, human experimentation, and execution. On April 4, 1945, the first german concentration camp was invaded by U.S. troops. Four days later, the Germans partially left Buchendwald. On April 12, 1945, the U.S. 80th Infantry Division took control of this camp. 

Put it in Its Place

I think that chronological order is important in a textbook, but I believe that in the case of World War II since it has so many facets, it should be broken down by subject matter rather than date. I think that there should be 4 chapter covering the events leading up to, the war, and post war events/life. To start with events leading up to the war I think that there should be a chapter about the Holocaust and the Japanese/German/Russian rise to power. Also I think that the chapter should be divided with the holocaust on one side and the rising powers on the other with each separate topic laid out chronologically. For the chapters on fighting the war I think that it should be divided with one chapter on Europe and one on the Pacific. The last chapter should be about the events post Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Within all of the chapters I think that chronological order sounds like a good way to lay it out except for the first one.

arragement of the textbook

I think that the textbook could be in a better order. I would break it down into a couple main sections; pre-war, war, and post war. Then, from those 3 categories I would explain each country individually- the conflict and reason for war and what every countr's motives were. Then, explain the war. Explain the many years and all of the different developements in chronological order. It shouldn't be country by country, it should strictly be in chronological order. This section should explain what happened from when the first gun fights started, till when the war ended. Finally, explain post war. This section should be a mix of chronological order and simply divided by countries. In this section it is not crucial to our understanding that it is either chronological or broken down country to country.

*Also, I would make a bigger emphasis on the halocaust. I think that the book is lacking many crucial deatails. The halocaust can almost be its own chapter in the book. The halocaust only gets a page and a half.