--- title: Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bombings: 7 Things to Know description: Explore the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with these 7 essential stories about the decision and the devastation canonical: https://time.com/4440722/hiroshima-7-stories/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-05T17:39:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T23:47:58.111Z article:section: History og:title: Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bombings: 7 Things to Know og:description: 7 essential stories about the bombing of Hiroshima og:url: https://time.com/4440722/hiroshima-7-stories/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f707139676a22ee/6988a1575f570f9cf6b221ab/1101850729_400.jpg?branch=production&width=400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 400 og:image:height: 225 og:image:alt: 1101850729_400 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bombings: 7 Things to Know twitter:description: 7 essential stories about the bombing of Hiroshima twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f707139676a22ee/6988a1575f570f9cf6b221ab/1101850729_400.jpg?branch=production&width=400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Is There Anyone Alive?': 7 Stories From Hiroshima and Nagasaki > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription.  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Aug 5, 2016 5:39 PM UTC  The July 29, 1985, cover of TIME The July 29, 1985, cover of TIME  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Aug 5, 2016 5:39 PM UTC _On Aug. 6, 1945, the United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Combined with a similar nuclear strike on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, the attacks helped lead to Japan’s surrender during World War II and the end of the conflict in the Pacific—and decades’ worth of debate over the choice._ _Here are seven_ TIME _stories about the_ _devastation and the implications of the decision to bomb the cities._ **Marching orders**: [See the operations orders](http://time.com/3980421/hiroshima-nagasaki-operations-orders/) given to Jacob Beser, the electronics specialist who had to make sure radio waves didn’t interfere with the device and “the only man to fly both atomic bomb missions.” These military documents are now part of the collection of The Museum of World War II in Natick, Mass. **The first reaction:** The[ Aug. 20, 1945, issue of TIME](http://time.com/vault/issue/1945-08-20/page/1/)—published just after that infamous week—not only explained who developed the technology and how it worked, but also how it would change diplomacy forever: --- > “” --- **An eyewitness account:** As part of TIME’s July 29, 1985, [cover package](http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19850729,00.html?iid=sr-link1) for the 40th anniversary of the bombings, Yoshitaka Kawamoto, the director of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, [described](http://time.com/3977924/hiroshima-atomic-eye-witness/) what it was like to be 13 years old and attending school near the site on that day: --- > “” --- **The ruins:** See [LIFE](http://time.com/3494421/hiroshima-and-nagasaki-photos-from-the-ruins/) magazine photos of Hiroshima and Nagasaki taken in the immediate aftermath of the bombings. One photographer on scene, Bernard Hoffman, wrote his photo editor that, “most of us felt like weeping; not out of sympathy for the Japs but because we were revolted by this new and terrible form of destruction. Compared to Hiroshima, Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne are practically untouched.” [_Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter_](http://time.com/newsletter) **President Obama’s historic visit:** This year, [President Barack Obama](http://time.com/4324538/barack-obama-atomic-bombings-hiroshima-nagasaki/) became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima. President Gerald Ford, the first sitting U.S. president to visit Japan, had earlier been advised not to go because some at at the White House “felt that such a visit would be adding a dose of negativity to an otherwise positive trip, and that it would risk opening old wounds.” **Was the bomb necessary?** Knowing Obama’s visit would reignite debates about whether the bombings could have been avoided, historian David Kaiser [evaluated new theories](http://time.com/4346336/atomic-bombs-1945-history/) on the use of the bomb while explaining the original rationale behind the decision: --- > “” --- **What remains:** See photos of the[ Genbaku Dome](http://time.com/3978544/hiroshima-dome-photos/) convention center, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the only building left standing after the 1945 bombing. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4440722/hiroshima-7-stories/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4440722/hiroshima-7-stories/"},"headline":"'Is There Anyone Alive?': 7 Stories From Hiroshima and Nagasaki","datePublished":"2016-08-05T17:39:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:47:58.111Z","description":"For the 71st anniversary of the nuclear strike","url":"https://time.com/4440722/hiroshima-7-stories/","keywords":["conflict"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f707139676a22ee/6988a1575f570f9cf6b221ab/1101850729_400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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