Oppenheimer’s Atomic Bombs and the End of World War II
In Oppenheimer’s Atomic Bombs and the End of World War II, host Andrew Marr describes how J. Robert Oppenheimer developed the technology to end World War II with two atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Before the bombs were dropped, Oppenheimer calculated how to drop them to create the most damage. After the war was over, Oppenheimer felt conflicted about the creation of the bombs. This video is excerpted from BBC’s A History of the World, a story of human history that uses reenactments, modern footage, and storytelling to explain history’s greatest achievements.
Lesson Express
Q: What was the goal of dropping the bombs on Japan?
A: The goal was to shock the Japanese into surrendering.
Q: What impact did the bombs have on Japan?
A: About one-third of a million people died immediately or later from radiation. Two cities were destroyed, and Japan surrendered.
Q: What did Oppenheimer think about the bombs after dropping them?
A: He considered the bombs evil and raised the question of whether science was good for man. He said he was haunted by the quote from the Bhagavad Gita: “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.”
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