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Tags: U.S. History; World War II; Atomic Bomb; Cold War; Weapons of
Mass Destruction; Human Rights
Overarching Question(s): What is an atomic weapon? Why did the United States use it?
Is the Atomic Bomb a triumph or tragedy?
Lesson Objective: Students will be able to argue whether they think the use of the
Atomic Bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
was a triumph or a tragedy.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki#section_1
Extension: Teachers can also encourage students to visit the website of the
Hiroshima Peace Memorial.
The link is here: http://hpmmuseum.jp/?lang=eng
Step 2: Body of Lesson Step 1: Students will read background information on the
atomic bombs, and why the United States decided to make and
use this technology.
Step 3: Conclusion and Students will write a reflection. They will take into account the
assessment testimonies from survivors, the point of view from the US
military, and historians. With the information learned, they will
be asked to answer the question: Was the atomic bombing of
Japan a triumph or a tragedy? The reflection should be around
a page in length.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki#section_1
Hiroshima Bombing: https://youtu.be/3wxWNAM8Cso
August 9, the day of the Nagasaki atomic bombing, I tried to reach home but did not arrive until
the dead of night.
Are they there?
Under the fallen debris
Under the light of the moon.
The following day I found my seriously injured wife and the corpses of two of my children at the
roadside and my wife told me about the death of the children (one and four years old).
Knowing only recently how to smile,
The baby smiles, dying,
At her mother’s breast.
Left on the ground
For lack of any shelter
The children attract swarms of flies.
Sucking a stick on the brink of death,
He says, this is good,
This is a piece of sugar cane.
My eldest son, a 7th grade student, dies in the air-raid shelter.
Under the burning sun
I set out in search
Of my son’s last earthly drink.
Creeping to his mother’s side
He smiles
And draws a final breath.
His last night of earthly form
He lies next to his mother
The moonlight touching his face.
The moonlight finds them dead,
Two outside
And one inside the shelter.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki#section_1
On August 11, I gathered wood to cremate my children.
A dragonfly
Stops for a moment
On the corpses of three siblings.
The fire rages and
Engulfs two children
Pressing up beside their older brother.
I collected the ashes early the next morning.
The morning mist
Washes over the ashes
Of three siblings side by side.
How lamentable
The ashes, like flower petals,
Of a seven-month old infant.
My wife died on August 13 (age 36).
The tomato in my kimono sleeve
Is for Hiro-Chan, says my wife
As she draws her last breath.
I cremated my wife on August 15, the day that Japan announced its surrender.
After losing everything
I stand holding
Four atomic bomb certificates.
Arousing myself from the summer grass
I stoke the fire
Cremating my wife.
The words of surrender
Mingle with the flames
Of my wife’s funeral pyre.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki#section_1
Student Guides
Look at the picture that is before the resources. Answer the following the questions:
What is this picture describing? How does the picture relate to World War II? What is your
opinion on this picture?
Warm Up Name:
What is this picture
describing?
Choose a side you are going to argue for before looking at the resources. Record any evidence
you think will help your argument while looking at the poem, article and watching the video.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki#section_1
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki#section_1
Reflection Prompt: Based on the information given from the video, poem, and the article read
plus your prior knowledge of World War II give your thoughts and opinions on the following
question. Is the atomic bomb considered a triumph or a tragedy? This reflection should be
around a page.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki#section_1