On August 2, 1939, Jewish scientists Albert Einstein, Leo Silard, Edward Taylor, and Eugene Wigner wrote a letter to US President Roosevelt regarding the development of nuclear weapons, warning Nazi Germany that such devices might be manufactured.
1939年8月2日——犹太科学家阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦、利奥·西拉德、爱德华·泰勒和尤金·维格纳给美国总统罗斯福写了一封关于发展核武器的信，并警告纳粹德国可能会制造出这样的装置。
On August 13, 1942, the Manhattan Project was born in the pursuit of developing nuclear weapons. Scientists from around the world participated in the Manhattan Project.
1942年8月13日，曼哈顿计划在追求发展核武器的过程中诞生。来自世界各地的科学家参与了曼哈顿计划。
奥本海默Julius Robert Oppenheimer is known as the father of the atomic bomb
朱利叶斯·罗伯特·奥本海默被称为原子弹之父
On April 12, 1945, President Roosevelt passed away and his Vice President Harry Truman was sworn in as President. Someone briefly introduced him to this new weapon.
1945年的4月12日，罗斯福总统去世，他的副总统哈里·杜鲁门宣誓就任总统。有人向他简要介绍了这种新武器。
杜鲁门Harry Truman served as Vice President for 82 days before becoming President.
哈里·杜鲁门在成为总统之前担任了82天的副总统。
On May 8, 1945, after six years of fighting, Germany surrendered to the Allies and was marked as European Victory Day.
1945年5月8日，经过六年的战斗，德国向盟军投降，这一天被标记为欧洲胜利日。
世纪之吻On July 16, 1945, the Triad test was conducted in New Mexico, and three nuclear weapons were successfully detonated.
1945年7月16日，三位一体试验在新墨西哥州进行，三枚核武器成功引爆。
Jack Abby's still photo is the only fully exposed explosion color photo.
杰克·艾比的静止照片是唯一曝光完好的爆炸彩色照片。
With Germany's defeat, their hopes of building an atomic bomb were shattered, and 70 scientists involved in the project drafted and signed a petition demanding that atomic bombs not be used.
随着德国战败，他们制造原子弹的希望破灭，70名参与该项目的科学家起草并签署了一份请愿书，要求不要使用原子弹。
The sudden use of atomic bombs against Japan can certainly give us a military advantage and achieve the goal of saving American lives, but this will be offset by the accompanying fear of extinction and the wave of exclusion sweeping across other regions of the world, and may even split domestic public opinion. From this perspective, with the consent of all United Nations representatives, it is best to first display this new weapon on deserts or deserted islands. If the United States could say to the world, 'Look, what kind of weapons do we have, but we haven't used them?' it would create the best atmosphere for reaching an international agreement.
突然对日本使用原子弹当然可以让我们占据军事优势，也能达到挽救美国人生命的目的，但这会被随之而来的灭世恐惧和席卷世界其他地区的排斥浪潮所抵消，甚至可能分裂国内舆论。从这个观点来看，在联合国全体代表同意的情况下，最好先在沙漠或荒岛上展示这种新武器。如果美国能对全世界说:“你们看，我们有什么样的武器，但没有使用。”就能营造达成国际协议的最佳氛围。
If other countries join us and agree to establish effective international control mechanisms, we are prepared to abandon the use of nuclear weapons in the future The pacifist Albert Einstein regretted signing the letter to Roosevelt, as he was only concerned that Germany would be the first to manufacture nuclear weapons.
“如果其他国家加入我们的行列，并同意建立有效的国际控制机制，我们希望在未来放弃使用核武器。”和平主义者阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦说，他后悔在给罗斯福的信上签了名，他只是担心德国会首先制造出核武器。
However, not all those involved in the Manhattan Project hold this view. The establishment of the Provisional Committee is to make recommendations to the President on how to deal with nuclear weapons issues. Its primary task is to decide whether to bomb Japan. A scientific group, including Oppenheimer, has written a report on the use of atomic bombs. Our scientific colleagues have different opinions on the initial use of these weapons: their suggestions range from pure technical demonstrations to the best design for military applications to induce Japan to surrender. Those who advocate purely technical deterrence will want to declare the use of atomic weapons illegal and worry that if we use these weapons now, our position in future negotiations will be compromised.
然而，并非所有参与曼哈顿计划的人都持这种观点。临时委员会的成立是为了就如何处理核武问题向总统提出建议。它的首要任务是决定是否轰炸日本。包括奥本海默在内的一个科学小组撰写了一份使用原子弹的报告。我们的科学同事对这些武器最初使用的意见并不一致:他们的建议从纯粹的技术演示转变到军事应用，以诱使日本投降。那些主张纯技术性威慑的人将希望宣布使用原子武器为非法，并担心如果我们现在使用这些武器，我们在今后谈判中的地位将受到损害。
Others emphasize that the immediate use of nuclear weapons may save American lives and believe that doing so will improve international prospects, as they are more concerned with preventing war rather than eliminating this specific weapon. We find that we are closer to the latter viewpoint, and we cannot propose any other argument that could end the war. We believe that there are no acceptable options other than direct military use.
另一些人则强调立即使用核武器有可能挽救美国人的生命，并相信这样做会改善国际前景，因为他们更关心的是防止战争，而不是消除这种特定的武器。我们发现我们更接近后一种观点，我们不能提出任何其他可能结束战争的论证，我们认为除了直接用于军事用途之外，没有其他可接受的选择。
Both the committee and Truman agreed on this position. At that time, the United States did not even have enough uranium to produce a third nuclear bomb, only two. If Japan still refused to surrender, one would be wasted. Minister of War William Shockley estimated that the death toll in the US military was 1.7 to 4 million, while the death toll in Japan was 5 to 10 million. The atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki resulted in at least 129000 deaths.
委员会和杜鲁门都同意这一立场。当时美国甚至没有足够的铀来制造第三枚核弹，只有两枚，如果日本仍然拒绝投降，一枚就会被浪费掉。战争部长威廉·肖克利(William Shockley)估计，美军死亡人数为170万至400万，日本死亡人数为500万至1000万。广岛和长崎的原子弹爆炸造成至少12.9万人死亡。
So, the reason why the atomic bomb was used in Japan instead of Germany is because the target of the atomic bomb, Germany, has already been defeated. Bombing Germany now has no meaning, and attacking Japan would delay the war and take the lives of millions of people.
所以，原子弹之所以用在日本而不是德国，是因为原子弹的目标德国已经战败，现在轰炸德国没有任何意义，而且进攻日本会拖延战争，夺走数百万人的生命。
美国网友迈克•肯尼的回答
Because, although the atomic bomb was originally intended for use in Germany, by the time the United States successfully tested the first atomic bomb at the Trinity Test Site on July 16, 1945, Germany had already surrendered on May 8, and the European War had ended. In fact, Truman remained completely unaware of the Manhattan Plan during his tenure as Vice President until he was informed of it after Roosevelt's death on April 12, 1945.
因为，虽然原子弹最初是打算用于德国的，但当美国于1945年7月16日在三位一体试验场成功试验了第一颗原子弹时，德国已经于5月8日投降，欧洲战争结束了。事实上，杜鲁门在担任副总统期间一直对曼哈顿计划一无所知，直到1945年4月12日罗斯福去世后才被告知这件事。
President Truman was attending the Potsdam Conference, discussing with Stalin and Churchill (as well as Clement Attlee) how to manage a defeated Germany, when he learned from his own people that the atomic bomb test had been successful. He immediately notified Churchill of this matter, as Churchill had already learned about the Manhattan Plan.
杜鲁门总统正在参加波茨坦会议，与斯大林和丘吉尔(以及克莱门特·艾德礼)一起，专门讨论如何管理战败的德国，当他从自己的人民那里得知原子弹试验已经成功时。他立即把这件事通知了丘吉尔，因为丘吉尔已经知道了曼哈顿计划。
Although Stalin was an ally, he was excluded from the "insider" of atomic bomb research and development. Both leaders did not disclose this news to Stalin in Potsdam until they received assurance from Stalin that he would send Soviet troops to participate in the war against Japan.
斯大林虽然是盟友，却被排除在原子弹研发的“圈内人”之外，两位领导人都没有在波茨坦向斯大林透露这个消息，直到他们从斯大林那里得到保证，他将派苏联军队参加对日作战。
After finally obtaining these guarantees, on July 25th, Truman took Stalin aside and quietly told him that the United States had "a powerful new weapon," but did not reveal that it was an atomic bomb. According to reports, Stalin's reaction was cold, as if he had already known. According to reports, he said, "I hope you can make good use of the assassin's weapon of this Allied arsenal." In fact, Stalin has already received information about nuclear bombs from his spies in the Manhattan project.
在最终得到这些保证后，7月25日，杜鲁门把斯大林叫到一边，悄悄告诉他美国拥有“一种强大的新武器”，但没有透露这是一颗原子弹。据报道，斯大林的反应很冷淡，好像他已经知道了，据报道，他说:“我希望你好好利用这一盟军武器库的杀手锏。”事实上，斯大林已经从他在曼哈顿计划中的间谍那里得到了关于核弹的消息。
The next day, the United States, Britain, and China issued the Potsdam Proclamation, outlining the conditions for Japan's unconditional surrender. Although it did not mention the atomic bomb, it warned Japan that unless it surrendered, it would face "rapid and complete destruction".
第二天，美国和英国、中国发布了《波茨坦公告》，概述了日本无条件投降的条件。虽然没有提到原子弹，但它警告日本，除非它投降，否则它将面临“迅速和彻底的毁灭”。
The leader of the British Labour Party, Clement Attlee, attended this meeting because Britain held a general election on July 5, 1945. However, due to the delayed counting of votes, the winner (Attlee) will not be known until July 26th. Churchill had proposed that the wartime alliance should continue until Japan was defeated, but Attlee refused. Therefore, although Winston Churchill arrived in Potsdam as British Prime Minister, he left as an ordinary citizen.
英国工党领袖克莱门特·艾德礼参加了这次会议，因为英国在1945年7月5日举行了大选。然而，由于计票推迟，获胜者(艾德礼)要到7月26日才能知道。丘吉尔曾提议，战时联盟应一直持续到日本战败，但艾德礼拒绝了。因此，尽管温斯顿·丘吉尔以英国首相的身份抵达波茨坦，但他离开时就是一个普通公民。
美国核政策专家保罗•赫辛格的回答
[Image: On May 7, 1945, General Alfred Yodel signed the surrender of the German Armed Forces at Reims, General Eisenhower's headquarters. Other Germans in the photo include Major William Orknenius (left) and Admiral Hans Georg von Friedburg (right) . If the United States allows these officers to go through so much trouble and use nuclear weapons to destroy their cities in a few months, it would be really inhumane, right? (Image source: Keystone/Getty Images)
[图片:1945年5月7日，阿尔弗雷德·约德尔将军在艾森豪威尔将军总部的兰斯签署了德国武装部队的投降书。照片中的其他德国人:威廉·奥克森纽斯少校(左)和海军上将汉斯·格奥尔格·冯·弗里德堡(右)。如果美国让这些军官经历了这么多麻烦，几个月后还用核武器毁灭他们的城市，那真是太没人性了，对吧?(图片来源:Keystone/Getty Images)]
On May 7, 1945, the Germans surrendered completely and unconditionally. On July 16, 1945, the United States tested its first nuclear weapon. So, using nuclear weapons against the Germans requires us to use nuclear weapons at least two months after their surrender.
1945年5月7日，德国人完全无条件投降。1945年7月16日，美国测试了第一枚核武器。所以，对德国人使用核武器要求我们至少在他们投降两个月后使用核武器。
On July 16, 1945, the mushroom cloud, codenamed "Trinity," was produced during the first nuclear weapon test in the United States. Shortly thereafter, scientists and engineers from the Manhattan Project delivered the first operational/deliverable nuclear device.
[图片:1945年7月16日，美国第一次核武器试验产生的蘑菇云，代号“三位一体”。此后不久，曼哈顿计划的科学家和工程师交付了第一个可操作/可交付的核装置。
I know there are many moral ambiguities about how countries launched wars during World War II, but I am certain that the consensus among humanity is that it is impossible to use nuclear weapons to attack people after they surrender. Even the forever belligerent General Curtis Leme would not obey orders and carried out a nuclear strike on Berlin or Munich in August 1945.
我知道关于二战期间各国如何发动战争有很多道德上的歧义，但我很确定，人类的共识是，在人们投降后再用核武器攻击他们根本不可能。即使是永远好战的柯蒂斯·勒梅将军也不会听从命令，在1945年8月对柏林或慕尼黑实施核打击。
Regarding the ideological trends in Japan, Bruce Lee's book "The Order to March" depicts the thinking process of the Japanese, where extremist elements of the Japanese army want to bury civilians and fascism throughout Japan:
而关于日本方面的思想动向，布鲁斯李《行军命令》一书中描绘了日本人的思维过程，日军极端主义分子想着让全日本平民和法西斯主义陪葬:
Minister Suma announced for the first time that Japan must be willing to carry out a hundred million pieces of jade and not hesitate to fight the war until the national destruction. In his view, this "fearless attitude... will dispel the enemy's doubts about the indestructible spirit of Japanese soldiers
“须马大臣首次宣布，日本必须愿意进行一亿玉碎，将战争打到民族毁灭也在所不惜。在他看来，这种“无畏的态度……将消除敌人对日本士兵坚不可摧的精神的怀疑。”
I tell everyone that our country, with 100 million patriots, has never experienced failure in 2600 years. We will turn ourselves into flesh and blood bullets, believing that we will ultimately defeat the enemy; we must have this spirit
“我告诉大家，我们这个拥有1亿爱国者的国家，2600年来从未经历过失败，我们将把自己变成血肉的子弹，相信我们最终会打败敌人;我们必须有这种精神。”
The Japanese have no intention of surrendering unconditionally, as this was discovered by cracking their intelligence.
日本人绝对无意无条件投降，这是通过破解他们的情报发现的。
The estimated number of deaths (non casualties) in the United States is as high as 800000! Some of their armies want to fight to the end.
美国死亡人数估计(非伤亡人数)，高达80万! 他们的一些军队想要战斗到底。
Others believe that they will cause such high casualties and deaths that Americans will lose confidence in the war and agree to 'negotiate surrender'.
另一些人则认为，他们会造成如此高的伤亡和死亡，以至于美国人会对战争失去信心，同意“谈判投降”。
Even after dropping the second atomic bomb, Japan still had strong surrender resistance. After the Emperor's surrender on radio, military personnel attempted to launch a coup and detained the Emperor for protective purposes.
即使在投下第二颗原子弹之后，日本仍有强烈的投降抵抗。天皇广播投降后，有军事人员试图发动政变，将天皇“保护性拘留”。
So bombing is absolutely necessary, and the Japanese deserve it.
所以轰炸是绝对必要的，日本人活该如此。
德国网友约翰•博格斯的回答
Roosevelt allowed the manufacture of atomic bombs because there was evidence that the Germans were attempting to weaponize atomic reactions, so making the same attempt was a logical military decision. If you have read Joseph Farrell's "Black Sun Empire", you will understand a secret that few people know: the Germans had already detonated several fission bombs by the end of 1944 and kept delaying until a facility in Norway could extract enough "heavy water" (hydrogen isotopes containing neutrons) to produce high yield fusion weapons, hydrogen bombs, and numbers told them that they could destroy New York. A specialized bomber was tested 50 miles off the coast of the United States.
罗斯福允许制造原子弹，因为有证据表明，德国人正试图将原子反应武器化，因此，做出同样的尝试是合乎逻辑的军事决定。如果你读过约瑟夫·法雷尔的《黑太阳帝国》，你就会明白一个很少有人知道的秘密:德国人在1944年底已经引爆了几枚裂变炸弹，并且一直在拖延，直到挪威的一个设施可以提取足够的“重水”(含中子的氢同位素)来制造高当量的聚变武器，氢弹，数字告诉他们可以摧毁纽约。一架专门的轰炸机在距离美国海岸50英里的地方进行了测试。
However, the Allies were well aware that Norway's factories were crucial for the development of Germany's secret weapons, and a series of sabotage and air strikes (such as Operation Groupe and Gunnerside) weakened its functionality and hindered the achievement of its goals. If Germany cannot be defeated in time, this will be its last resort. If Germany obtained the atomic bomb and the Allies did not, the war would immediately fail.
然而，盟军很清楚挪威的工厂对德国秘密武器的研制至关重要，一连串的破坏和空袭(Grouse行动、Gunnerside行动等)削弱了它的功能，阻碍了其目标的实现。如果德国不能及时被击败，这将是它最后的手段。如果德国得到了原子弹，而盟军没有，那么战争就会立即失败。
Even the Japanese successfully tested a simple fission bomb near the current Sino Korean border, but it was only a few days earlier than the Hiroshima explosion and deployed too late. The Emperor decided that the best solution was to negotiate surrender.
甚至日本人也成功地在现在的中朝边境附近试爆了一枚简单的裂变弹，但它只比广岛爆炸早了几天，部署起来太晚了，天皇决定最好的办法是谈判投降。
For President Truman, considering his choices and consequences, using an atomic bomb was a wise decision. Analysts estimate that over 1 million American soldiers died during the war against Japan. It is not difficult to imagine that every civilian and remaining soldier is prepared for battle. Just take a look at the battles of Guadalcanal Island and Okinawa. The soldiers were already starving to death, but they still fought tenaciously for the United States. People can only imagine how difficult, lengthy, and expensive it would be to defeat the entire Japan (in terms of finances and human life) without the government's extensive estimation capabilities.
对杜鲁门总统来说，考虑到他的选择和后果，使用原子弹是一个明智的决定。分析人士估计，在与日本作战期间，有超过100万美国士兵死亡。每个平民和剩下的士兵都做好了战斗的准备，这不难想象。看看瓜达尔卡纳尔岛战役和冲绳战役就知道了。士兵们已经快饿死了，但他们仍然为美国而顽强战斗。人们只能想象(没有政府广泛的估计能力)，打败整个日本需要多么艰巨、漫长和昂贵(在财政和人命方面)。
Considering this, what would the American public think if Truman decided to launch an attack at the cost of so many lives and then told the public that they had a weapon that could easily end the war, causing hundreds of thousands of Japanese deaths, while Americans suffered almost no casualties? The number of casualties has exceeded 500000, which is not a wise decision for the President or any leader.
考虑到这一点，如果杜鲁门决定发动进攻，以那么多人的生命为代价，然后告诉公众他们有一种武器，可以轻易地结束战争，让数十万日本人死亡，而美国人几乎没有伤亡，美国公众会怎么想?伤亡人数已经超过50万，这对总统或任何领导人来说都不是一个明智的决定。
As the head of state and guardian of American citizens, Truman was right to use the atomic bomb. He was responsible to the people, and at that time, the lives of Americans were more important than the lives of enemies.
作为国家元首和美国公民的守护者，杜鲁门使用原子弹是正确的。他对人民负有责任，在当时，美国人的生命比敌人的生命更重要。
For Japan, this is also a good idea in the long run. If the atomic bomb had not been used, Japan would not have surrendered. There is evidence to suggest that Japanese civilians believe that Americans are demons and need to fight against them to achieve victory.
对日本来说，(从长远来看)这也是一个好主意。如果没有使用原子弹，日本就不会投降。有证据表明，日本平民相信美国人是恶魔，需要与之战斗并取得胜利。
Many Okinawans commit suicide due to fear of impending atrocities by Americans. (Note, we did not engage in violence. We provided them with food and clean water, and treated them kindly. The American attack will begin, and more Japanese people will be taken away, because every inch of land will be fought with blood and steel. As every building and sidewalk continue to advance, cities will be destroyed. The United States will ultimately have the upper hand with superior logistics and military equipment, but this is an expensive generation for both the United States and Japan.) Price.
许多冲绳人因为害怕美国人即将到来的暴行而自杀。(注意，我们没有施暴，我们给他们食物和干净的水，并善待他们。美国的进攻会开始，更多的日本人会被夺走生命，因为每一寸土地都将用鲜血和钢铁进行战斗。随着每座建筑和人行道的不断推进，城市将被毁灭。美国最终将凭借优越的后勤和军事装备占据上风，但这对美国和日本来说都是昂贵的代价。
Hundreds of thousands of Japanese died due to two atomic bombs, which is a heavy price for the unconditional surrender of the people, but ultimately a necessary price, and more importantly, military bastards who want to fight due to self-esteem issues.
数十万日本人因两颗原子弹而丧生，这是人民无条件投降的沉重代价，但最终是必要的代价，更重要的是，那些因为自尊问题而想要战斗的军事混蛋。
At present, there are nuclear powers with a total of thousands of 'world destroying' nuclear bombs, but this is not bad. No one is foolish enough to use them based on the principle of mutual assurance of destruction.
目前，有核国家总共拥有数千枚“毁灭世界”的核弹，但这还不错。没有人会愚蠢到因为相互保证毁灭的原则而使用它们。