History Teaching, Vol. 33 No. 1, 2022.
Conference paper
'NOW I AM BECOME DEATH, THE DESTROYER OF WORLDS'- THE INVENTION OF THE ATOMIC BOMB: MILITARY, MORAL AND POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS
Melita Jesih Matić
orcid.org/0009-0001-0949-3783
; Women's Gymnasium of the Sisters of Mercy Zagreb
Abstract
The quote of the famous physicist, the inventor of the atomic bomb, Robert Oppenheimer, which he uttered when he saw the consequences of his invention, served as the idea for the intriguing and multidisciplinary topic of the project carried out at school. How to approach it from the perspective of a high school history teacher? The text explains and analyses how Oppenheimer's statement became synonymous with one of the greatest war tragedies of modern times, caused by the atomic bomb dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The text contains a brief overview of the creation and operation of the atomic bomb from cause to effect, as well as a review of the life of the "father of the atomic bomb". The atomic bomb was created by the Allies during the war, by using the discovery of nuclear fission and the splitting of the uranium nucleus. The project of its creation was approved by the US President Roosevelt under the name Manhattan Project (1943-1945). With Oppenheimer as the project's scientific director, the first atomic device exploded in the New Mexico desert in July 1945. This test, called "Trinity", ushered the world into the nuclear age. On July 25, 1945, the new US President Truman authorized the atomic bomb to be dropped on Japan. Germany capitulated, and the Japanese did not want to give up their goals. The atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki took place on August 6 and 9, 1945, marking the first time in history that nuclear weapons were used in a war. Japan subsequently surrendered on August 15, 1945. About 250,000 residents of Hiroshima died immediately after the explosion or within five years of radiation-related illnesses. Survivors suffered major psychological and physical consequences that continued for generations.
Keywords
atomic weapon; atomic bomb; Robert Oppenheimer; Manhattan Project; Trinity; Hiroshima; Nagasaki; Harry Truman
Hrčak ID:
294368
URI
Publication date:
31.12.2022.
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