Motion Picture MP2002-373
Administrative Information
Harry S. Truman is reading a script while seated at a desk. The topic he discusses is the choice between dropping the atomic bomb and fighting and losing a million men. He states, “We dropped the bomb.” He also discusses the Japanese military, the Emperor, and the Japanese people. Sound and picture.
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Shot List
- Reel 1
| 0:00 | Clipboard | |
| Harry S. Truman is seated at a desk, reading a script about the choice between fighting and losing a million men, or dropping the atomic bomb. "We dropped the bomb." | ||
| He talks about how we learned later that the Japanese cabinet met and divided between those who wanted to surrender and those who wanted to fight on. They asked the Emperor for his opinion. Still, the military was so strong they did not capitulate. We dropped the second bomb on Nagasaki, and they notified us they would accept unconditional surrender but asked to keep the Emperor. The Emperor broadcast a message, and it was the first time the Japanese people had heard their Emperor. The old Japanese military had such a hold on the country that dropping the two bombs was the only sensible thing to do. They would have fought on and 3 million more people would have died. |