Why isn’t Hiroshima a Nuclear Wasteland?

[@kylehill]

*Thanks for watching.* This is our first footage from Japan. The rest will be a series of videos about Fukushima, where we stayed for a week exploring the Exclusion Zone and the Daiichi Power Plant.

[@mememachine3451]

Oooooooo that will be an interesting video

[@classicalextremism]

"There would be no leaflets dropped" This is wrong. There were leaflets dropped. It was all part of SOP to drop leaflets on major cities ahead of a bombing - and not just the target so the opponent wouldnt know where to expect you. Those leaflets were dropped about a week in advance. World War Wings has photos and translations of the leaflets.

[@calebb5106]

thank you Kyle for making this series of videos, we need more of these. i love this series and love learning things my schools never thought about or dared teaching

[@SuperSaiyaGinge]

Did you have a chance to meet some other content creators based in Japan? Chris Broad would have probably liked to have met you.

[@patricknez7258]

Thank you for awesome vid and content Science Thor ⚡⚒

[@MH-yx2pk]

As a Japanese born and raised in Hiroshima, I really appreciate how this video handled such delicate topic with respect. Every August 6th 8:15am, we pray a minute of silence with the sound of siren hoping no one will suffer with enormous, awful pain that Hiroshima ever had🕊️ If you interested in visiting Hiroshima, I absolutely recommend to add Atomic bomb dome, peace memorial park and museum to your itinerary. (And you MUST try Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki:)

[@Newspaper2007]

I visited Japan and Hiroshima last year. The okonomiyaki was very good. I liked it better than Osaka.

[@L33tSkE3t]

May I ask you a question, and I mean no ill will as this is just out of curious inquiry. Do you feel there could have been a less destructive or devastating way to ending the war in the pacific or do you think that dropping those Nukes was necessary to force a Japanese surrender. I’m still unsure how I feel about it all. Obviously I wouldn’t want any people from any country to have to experience such a hellish weapon but, do you feel as through the sheer power of the bombs expeditiously forced Japan, a country built on Honor, into surrender. I’m genuinely asking and I hope my question doesn’t come off as hostile or insensitive as that is in no way my intention I hope to Visit Japan soon as I have such love for the extraordinary kind and hospitable people and the culture of your beautiful nation. It is truly an island gemstone on planet Earth. I hope for a long continued alliance between our countries 🇺🇸❤️🇯🇵

[@yusufbektas1961]

Would you mind telling me the name of the august 6th ritual?

[@jakevongxay1258]

@@L33tSkE3tI remember this debate in history class, a lot of my class voted that the Nike was the best option and that they were given warnings to leave so it was fair

[@gtlover2011]

I visited Nagasaki and Nanking few years ago. And I strongly recommend y'all to pay a visit to both places. It's like only visiting Russia if they get nuked afterwards but not paying a visit in Ukraine which is absurd.

[@tristanjff]

Visited the museums in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Easily many of the most humbling and harrowing images I have ever seen. I think so many people just know that the bombs happened, but have zero awareness about what they actually did.

[@Slenderslayer351]

​@@InquisitorXariusIt's instantaneous Edit: I was referring to it being instantaneous when you're close enough to Ground Zero now please stop telling me otherwise

[@mazoku112]

Eh idk about that the misery caused there was frankly just as horrific and instantaneous. War in itself no matter what side you are on is a horrific act. Murdering innocents no matter which side is not right.

[@Outland9000]

It really struck me when arriving in Hiroshima after visiting Kyoto and Osaka was the lack of any older buildings across a large section of the city. It was abundantly clear that this whole city had been rebuilt after a cataclysmic event.

[@juslitor]

@@InquisitorXarius At a suitable distance from the explosion the suffering you would experience would be no different from Nanking or Unit 731

[@juslitor]

@@mazoku112 Alas, indiscriminate murder is in the human nature.

[@cordeg6724]

Tsutomu Yamaguchi, an engineer with Mitsubishi, was on a business trip to Hiroshima when the bomb was dropped on August 6th. He had been walking to the train station about 1.5 miles from ground zero. He suffered ruptured eardrums, radiation burns, temporary blindness, and numerous body injuries. He managed to find his colleagues Akira Iwanaga and Kuniyoshi Sato, who had also survived, and they spent the night in an air raid shelter. He managed to return with them to his hometown, received medical attention for his injuries, and returned from his trip to work at his office on August 9th. He was trying to explain to his boss what happened in Hiroshima, but his boss could not believe that one bomb could destroy a whole city, and Japanese authorities had suppressed the news to avoid destroying morale. As he was arguing with his boss at the office -- in Nagasaki -- the second bomb was dropped about 2 miles away, and Tsutomu saw the flash through the office windows. He received his second dose of radiation, leading to many days of radiation sickness, but escaped additional serious injuries. Although he had long-term skin issues, he went on to lead a relatively healthy life for nearly 65 *more* years, raising three children, before being diagnosed with leukemia and dying of stomach cancer in 2010.

[@bunnylebowski4465]

What a horrific experience to be apart of TWICE 😭😭😭

[@ChrisBrengel]

Incredible story! I had heard something about it, but thank you for all of the details.

[@jonnyfromdonny5000]

should be a movie about this man

[@wokecults]

I remember reading about this story before. Amazing.

[@Meatriderphobic]

Yeah I heard about this. Still shocks me like the first time I heard it.

[@MaVerik1727]

I never knew that only 1 gram was actually used in the atomic bomb. The full force of the first one probably would have knocked out half of Japan, and the fact that we have ones that are hundreds of thousands more efficient is pretty scary.

[@McJethroPovTee]

That's a misunderstanding, only a gram went to fission but the bomb contained kilograms of it.

[@MaVerik1727]

@@McJethroPovTee I meant that only one gram had it's energy used in the fission, like you said

[@McJethroPovTee]

@@MaVerik1727 oh my bad. I can see that now.

[@skymed3095]

Does any one know exactly how much more damage would have been done if the full weight of the bomb was used in the fission?

[@derpysquid1741]

@@skymed3095 Hard to say, but your comment got me curious so I did some math. According to google, about 0.7g of uranium was dissolved in this explosion. That means the full 64kg would have been about 91,428 times more mass if involved in the explosion. Since E = mc^2 and c is a constant, that means this same factor of energy would have also been released. So, the bomb would have released about 91,428 times as much energy. According to one article I found, the radius of the shockwave increased by a power of 5 as the energy increases linearly (by a power of 1). Thus, the radius increases by energy to the power of 1/5. So, 91428^0.2 = 9.8 as the factor that the radius would increase by. The maximum radius of the explosion of the actual bomb was (according to google) about 1 mile. So, this hypothetical bomb would thus have had an explosion radius of a little under 10 miles. Another way of thinking about it would be that the (assumed circular) surface area it covers on the ground would be about 100 times larger (since area of a circle is pi * r^2). Make of that what you will lol.

[@26acorn34]

I’ll never forget visiting there. I was wandering around the park looking at the paper crane displays when a Japanese man approached me and asked where I was from. I hesitated for a minute-not wanting to admit it in this place-but then told him that I was American. He proceeded to welcome me to the country and thank me for visiting, and we had a nice conversation. In that moment, I felt more hope for peace than I ever had. It’ll stick with me for the rest of my life.

[@artstation707]

I thought you were going to say he said no atomic bomb dropped, but instead it was just firebombs.

[@antoniolim762]

Imagine if it was not an American but those who come from a nation who were abused by the Japanese during the war that visited there tho...The People of Japan...they would still welcome you with respect and hospitality, no 2 ways about it...the Japanese thrive on polite tradition and never really directly apologizing in words for the war time misgivings...their actions (in their nation and around the world...post war) have been more than enough to know how real and meant are their sorrows and unspoken apologies...unlike other loud apologist nations that never took real actions but continued the abuses.

[@VeganSemihCyprus33]

The truth shines no matter how much they try to cover it 👉 The Connections (2021) [Short documentary] 👈💖

[@__Mr.White__]

@@antoniolim762 "unlike other loud apologist nations that never took real actions but continued the abuses" like who?

[@ali94hn]

To be fair, you being american has nothing to do with the then "dictator" or president of America's decision, so you have no responsibility for that, and the Japanese man probably wasn't alive when it happened, so it doesn't affect him either... Kinda like how some black people now, are mad at white people now, because their ancestors used to be slave-owners... That has nothing to do with the white person of today, or the black person of today, that was the past...

[@winterfellwhall9934]

I swear Kyle is no doubt the most respectful science communicator that talks about these sensitive topics. He never goes the deviated way, he just wants to educate his audience and that's amazing.

[@BiggerBossN313]

Imagine one day he just flips and starts lying blatantly

[@michaelbobic7135]

I think Mr. Hill's success is because he respects us and doesn't treat us like comic fodder. He's a model for social media educators.

[@danielmartin4596]

@@BiggerBossN313 As cool a turnabout as it would be I dont think that would work though, so much of his audience are the kind of people who go " oh thats interesting" and start doing more research into whatever it is.

[@collingalanos1783]

@@BiggerBossN313 Then, he could become The President.

[@kentallen6328]

Kyle is CIA, the US dropped the bombs to flex on the soviets. You don’t need to invade mainland Japan to end a war against an island with no navy or fuel left

[@joeylandry4933]

My aunt was Japanese and she as a young woman suffered radiation poisoning from one of those bombs. I can’t remember which city she was near but she and my uncle who met her when he was in the army during the Korean War never were able to have any children of their own. So she spoiled my sister and my uncle would take us boys with him in his tractor trailer. She went through so much pain and suffering but was always happy or positive and kept the cleanest home you ever saw.

[@lolololloggbroooo12]

@@topsuperseven7910 ?

[@viscountdominus806]

@@topsuperseven7910Guh

[@salamandergamer2063]

We can't even fathom all the unseen consequences like this in war. Economic strain (and the divorces that come with it), generational fatherlessness, malnutrition and disease, generational ethnic hatred etc. Good to hear she didn't let it get her down

[@topsuperseven7910]

@@lolololloggbroooo12 That didn't happen.

[@solar0wind]

​​@@salamandergamer2063lso generational trauma not just from the war itself, but also from e.g. the mass-r*pes committed by most parties of the war. I'm German, and we grow up hearing about the atrocities Germans committed at school, but at home we also hear personal stories about the things the Allies did to German (and also other!) civilian women, especially the Soviets and partly the Moroccans in the French army. I mean traumatising things that my grandparents and people they know actually experienced when they were children. Of course, the Germans were worst by far, but still most of the Allies were at least partly horrible. The only people who were actually decent were the British. There's a wholesome story where a guy who served in the SS as a teenager was held captive in Scotland and actually became life-long friends with the people in the neighbouring village because they treated him so well, and when he died a few years ago he left all his money to the village.

[@travistolbert2647]

Just a slight criticism of the video when Kyle says that the atomic bomb program was the most expensive in history at the time as it was actually the second most expensive. The most expensive program at the time was the delivery system of the atomic weapons, the B-29 Super Fortress which was nearly 1.5 times as expensive!

[@carmenmccauley585]

The program includes delivery. Not much point in making a bomb u can't deliver.

[@NY-Vice]

Also two minutes in he says something about how the US did not drop leaflets and did not warn Japan which is completely false. Wish he took more care about the accuracy of his statements or at the bare minimum didn't touch on topics he was uneducated on.

[@xxlegitgam3rxx321]

@@NY-ViceHey, I get what you’re saying because I heard it like that at first too. But after listening again you can hear him say “this time” basically implying that they had dropped leaflets before, but this time (of dropping something) that wasn’t the case.

[@rohanofgondor]

@@NY-Vice Did Japan warn US before Pearl Harbor?

[@ivespoken8902]

@@rohanofgondor warning, what is that, do people think war is playing pickaboo lol

[@MrCrusher74]

One of my favorite things about kyle is the range with which he can capture our attentions. Whether its a lighthearted video about how physics in a video game would work in the real world, or a solemn video deep diving into real world accomplishments and tragedies stemming from the invention of nuclear power; Kyle captures your attention in a way that makes you forget you're actually learning something. One of my favorite "edutainers" to be sure

[@MegaFPVFlyer]

I guess you'd call it tonal dynamic range. He can go from telling real tragedys (with the respect they deserve) to a wacky video about getting stepped on by the resident evil lady.

[@starman2995]

And don't forget the memes in his community tab, that certainly broadens the range of "themes".

[@clusterstage]

a simple balance, unlike other channels overproud of their animations.

[@bigfunny6312]

It's actually why I don't watch. Scientific click bait, by definition.

[@patricknez7258]

Spot on Kyle super talented and has ton of range. Best science edutainer in the game imo ⚡💯

[@marthabest5131]

My father was a medic in the army that occupied first Hiroshima then Nagasaki. They slept on the ground. Even the US forces had no idea what had been unleashed. He died young from a rare form of cancer and my mother received a pension as an 'atomic war widow'. There actually were a lot of them. I am so glad that both cities are thriving and non-radioactive. As he would have been.

[@jogndidd9360]

I don’t believe you

[@Kamikaze-pilot.]

Your father died of curse...

[@planetcaravan2925]

​@@Kamikaze-pilot.Of course

[@sheekie127]

If we actually dropped nukes, those cities would be completely uninhabitable like Chernobyl or bikini atoll

[@VelvetRockStudios]

@@sheekie127 , so you are saying that you don't understand neutron activation and half-lives. Got it.

[@maxikle]

Imagine walking down a random road in a random city somewhere on earth. With a friend, your child or a parent... You hear a faint noise of a plane. 44,5 seconds after you heard it, something shatters next to you. You blink... and before you could open your eyes to see what happened, you died. Nothing you can do, nothing you could've done. No warning, just death. Evaporated. You and whoever stood by your side. Forever gone, never to be remembered by anyone else, because they, too, have died the same.

[@lunar2391]

and that’s if your lucky

[@Nephelis]

@@lunar2391 Exactly. Those who survived for a few hours, however... Man, just looking at the paintings and listening to the statements of survivors that got caught is horrific.Many rushing towards the rivers in pain, only to realize the water was boling; skin ripping to shredds and leaving bone exposed, and plenty of things that sound like they came out of a horror story.

[@AlexanderNash]

@@Nephelis There would have been a level of exposure where you still died but suffered for weeks

[@thegamesforreal1673]

As a physicist and teacher myself, I have massive amounts of respect for your clear and concise explanations of these topics, and the respect you show to these horrible past events. Great ending to an already great video, Kyle.

[@philosophy_bot4171]

Beep bop... I'm the Philosophy Bot. Here, have a quote: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world" ~ Mahatma Gandhi

[@AlCatSplat]

@@philosophy_bot4171 this ain't reddit bludshnawg 💀

[@YutubeBansALot]

@@philosophy_bot4171​​⁠ It was all a PsyOps, history was altered by Rothschild and Rockefeller they are going to destroy America ….WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY-EVERYTHING IS A RICH MANS TRICK

[@agagabagaga]

My family on my father’s side is from Hiroshima. My great-grandmother is still alive today, living in an care home designated for atomic bomb survivors, having been 8 living in the city during the explosion. She walked roughly 15 miles to a nearby town she knew she had family in. I can only imagine what she witnessed on that walk. My great-grandfather was in a tram during the explosion incredibly near to the epicentre, and miraculously was only blinded in one eye by shattered glass of the tram. I really appreciate this video, as so many people are shocked that Hiroshima ‘exists’ as a completely normal city.

[@NaisanSama]

Happy that she lived

[@The-Martian73]

We only can imagine !

[@jpierrot7224]

No 1 understands or are taught that it thankfully isn’t like Fallout games & movies of that kind.

[@beaufortboy77]

I grandmother grew up in Osaka, she talked about walking through Hiroshima a few weeks after it was hit with the bomb she said it just looked like a field with nothing in it. She died a few years ago but her stories have stayed with me and I always reflect on that one.

[@tarstarkusz]

No offense, but your family deserved it. You started a war and lost. Even when it was obvious you could not win, you refused to surrender. I do agree that the policy of "unconditional surrender" was evil and should never have been demanded. But those were the breaks. Really, were the residents of Hiroshima any worse off than the residents of Tokyo? The destruction of Tokyo was FAR greater. Almost every square mile of Tokyo was bombed and burned to the ground.

[@vijeolook]

Tsutomu Yamaguchi, a Japanese Engineer was in Hiroshima on business on Aug. 6th when the first atom bomb was dropped. Despite suffering various injuries including serious radiation burns, he returned to his home town of Nagasaki and reported for work on Aug. 9th. Whilst explaining to his boss, who refused to believe him, that a single bomb had destroyed a city the 2nd bomb was dropped. Miraculously he survived that too. For many years he remained silent about his ordeal out of respect for other victims of the bomb who were not so fortunate but later went on to actively campaign against nuclear weapons.

[@cl0271]

Probably one of history's "I told you so" moments.

[@Wikarian99PL]

I think he was the only one who was receiving double reparations(every citizen who survived atomic bomb) from government after war

[@GhastlyCretin]

​@@Wikarian99PLWhich government payed the reparations?

[@Wikarian99PL]

@@GhastlyCretin Japanese Now i found the name of it Search "hibakusha"

[@user-ij8ys5ru8r]

​@@Wikarian99PLman are you serious.....wth

[@GuidedByCompassion]

I'll just pause at 0:25... You say by now in the video that this beautiful place you're standing in is current Hiroshima? I just watched a video describing the true horrors that survivors witnessed in the aftermath of that bomb. To learn that that Hell on Earth eventually recovered to be this now warms my heart very deeply. 25 seconds in and you already have my like and comment, thank you. I will be honest, that made me so happy that it brought tears to my eyes.

[@kapt980]

The part where Kyle talks about the lack of efficiency left me speechless. I always thought the destructive power of those things was terrifying but sorta "okay" based on what we learn at school, but now knowing that is was effectively less than 1% of its power is mind-bending.

[@emryspaperart]

this. i never knew this bit and that makes modern nukes so so so much more terrifying

[@kapt980]

@@emryspaperart right? Just trying to imagine the destructive power of several thousand times Hiroshima is just crazy. Why did we even built those things to begin with? I'm all for nuclear energy but harnessing this kind of power as a weapon is not a path we should/should've walked upon.

[@theuncalledfor]

@@kapt980 They were built because others couldn't be trusted not to also build them. The mere possibility of these weapons existing, in the hands of people who do not have your best interests in mind, necessitates having them. It seems insane but it is frighteningly logical. If an enemy has nukes, and you don't, then you _have_ to surrender, or else they'll use them. If you do have nukes, you can threaten to use them if the enemy uses theirs. Also note that nukes can be used for peaceful purposes. The Orion Drive uses them for propulsion, and this is the only engine type that we could build with existing technology, that I'm aware of, that could potentially reach other star systems within a reasonable amount of time (a few decades instead of multiple thousands of years). Certainly, nukes are a mixed blessing. They can prevent wars, but they also could end our species and most large terrestrial life if someone ends up being crazy enough to start a nuclear war anyway. It's hard to quantify how much good and how much evil was caused by them, because we don't know how many wars were potentially prevented by them.

[@Yora21]

When you convert matter completely into pure energy, it's following E = mc². c is the speed of light. 300,000,000 m/s. Already a very large number. c*c is 300,000,000 * 300,000,000. Which is 90,000,000,000,000,000. A mind boggling huge number.

[@MarkLac]

@@theuncalledforthat’s the big part. Without any Nuclear Weapons, god only knows how many more wars would have followed. I have no doubt a Third World War would have happened not even years after the Second World War, especially as there was a major amount of distrust between The West and The Soviet Union.

[@DrLonePony]

I never really knew this, I guess part of me assumed there was reasons why it was less talked about with fallout articles or videos, but seeing you there really hit me with a dose of reality. The sadness, the history and the majestic will of a people to transform the city from such horrific sights. Thank you for educating me.

[@mral4381]

A miracle there seemed to be little to no long term effects.

[@totorosghost]

@@mral4381 Looks like it was planned that way. Imagine if it hit the ground and contaminated the soil. Knowing this makes it seem this was the most merciful way to use the bombs and end the war. Ground war would have been arguably worse.

[@bryanb7918]

That feeling when Kyle has been more dedicated to his Half-life series in just a few years, than Valve has in two decades

[@DOOT_II]

lmao

[@michaelthesanta3610]

wrong vid

[@kindlin]

@@michaelthesanta3610 get out of our amazing comment thread

[@LordPhobos6502]

Damn, that's a harsh burn. Accurate though!

[@RedLeader327]

Well played.

[@savagetravels1999]

Best documentary on this subject i have seen. Mostly because he remained humbled and solemn in its content. Very powerful.

[@nsbd90now]

7:25 "...less than a gram of matter converted directly into energy... an entire city obliterated... by the weight of a butterfly..."

[@PrestonGarvey69]

Absolutely terrifying.

[@OriruBastard]

A certain nuclear physicist quit his job after he realised it would be possible to fit a working nuke in to a suitcase.

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

Fleming used that idea in some of his James Bond 007 novels - "The man with the heavy suitcase". @@OriruBastard

[@UBZUKki]

Jeez

[@davidevans3227]

less than a gram!? jeepers...

[@Sempergrumpy441]

Not warning the Japanese wasn't entirely true, Truman actually sent a letter to the leaders of Japan a week before the first bomb. The problem was he VASTLY downplayed the significance of the bomb both in his letter and at the Potsdam Conference. This was largely the reason some people think Oppenheimer immediately regretted his invention. He had no ill feelings towards the bomb, he just realized the people now in charge of it were woefully incapable of understanding it. Effectively handing a gun to a baby.

[@braxon]

We all know that the U.S. warned Japan to surrender or face destruction from the air. If you play close attention to what Kyle Hill was saying, he prefaced it with "no leaflets". Interpreting his statement within the context of the other things he said, as you should, he was referring to warnings to the populace of the city, not the war leaders of the country. Other cities had received preliminary runs with leaflets warning about bombings before they happened. Hiroshima did not.

[@hxhdfjifzirstc894]

The question of 'warnings' of any kind is ridiculous on its face. Japan literally did a sneak attack on America, without even declaring war, first. Japan STARTED the war. What kind of a beeyatch starts a war, and then complains when they get their azz kicked? Don't start #$&*, and there won't be any #&(!.

[@watchingperson5357]

To add to this: Truman and some of the military brass *DID* know about its destructive power. They deliberately did not choose Kyoto because they knew it would destroy a location with high cultural importance. So instead of a baby, they were handing a gun to a teenager that was too eager to test it out.

[@watchingperson5357]

@@Golfin-s1u That fact is still disputed to this day, considering the Russians (Imperial Japan's lifeline) was preparing to declare war on Japan. Either way, the use of the atomic bomb was definitely rushed - they could have saved even more victims if they had spread leaflets, they could have waited for Russia's declaration to see if a surrender was now negotiable, they could have chosen a demonstration instead of flat out terror bombing.

[@seanmcloughlin5983]

I feel terrible for the victims and people of Hiroshima and Nagaski, but it was 100% the fault of the Japanese government who’d spent the last decade trying to take over Asia and refusing to accept the terms necessary for surrender. They’d lost, it was over, but they just let the bombs keep dropping in hopes either the Americans would lose heart or the Soviets could mediate a more favorable peace And they were wrong on both accounts.

[@someguy-vk5pl]

My grandpa, who is still living today, was a 9 year old boy living in Tokushima prefecture. He saw the mushroom cloud with his own eyes. I've never spoken to him directly about the experience, but I can only imagine what that would have been like.

[@owenevans3703]

Wow that’s insane. Wish we could get an interview with him

[@obi-wankenobi8446]

Probably not as bad as what his parentage did in Nanjing

[@johnny7238]

Ask him if would have picked the spear they were going to give him and his mom

[@SAB4554]

I read 'Grandma was a 9 year old boy' and was like wait... What!!??

[@kaylielewis4871]

@@obi-wankenobi8446 Wow, what a kind and insightful thing to say about someone's trauma.

[@hilaryavera9391]

I went to Japan just recently and visited both cities. Nagasaki was my favorite city from the whole trip, nestled in this beautiful little valley. It made me smile to see how resilient the human spirit is. To not abandon, but to rebuild. To remember.

[@maryellenthorp7831]

I lived in Japan and went to Nagasaki, it was life altering. It’s in a valley and to view the aftermath you needed to go up on a trolley and at that point you could see the Before/after/now of Nagasaki looked/looks like. The museum at ground zero was unbelievable. I was in my early 20’s and for some reason felt like “this should not happen - something like this should not be something you can ever recover from.” It was so intense I can’t express it enough. 🙏❤️

[@dancox6509]

I thought it was interesting that in the Nagasaki Peace Museum, the Japanese took responsibility for the war and the US dropping the atomic bombs. Yet when the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington DC was set to display the Enola Gay the original plaque proposed exhibit script, was perceived as an attack on America's conduct during the war.

[@Traderlife123]

Extinction of living being will be by the hands of humans!

[@lamia197]

@@dancox6509 "Japanese took responsibility for the war" Meanwhile Japan denying they committed any atrocities ( Apologies they made were contradicted later on). Hiding the fact that 10% of the deaths in the bomb were Koreans and Chinese they dragged into forced labor. Yeah.....took responsibility....

[@notthatinnocent86]

​@@dancox6509Dropping an atomic bomb on two cities full of civilians isn't exactly the best conduct of war, however justified. But that's war for you

[@DVDRAR]

​@@notthatinnocent86 I would rather be vaporized than a Nanking resident

[@franciscoguinledebarros4429]

The ratio of how much material actually underwent fission is actually insane, an entire city cracked under the might of a pinch of matter, you "could" have all the uranium that actually exploded on the palm of your hand Really puts not only the might of the atom into perspective, but also e = m × c² as a whole

[@edwardscott3262]

There's pictures of people holding the first bomb cores. People forget that radioactive isotopes with really long half lives aren't that radioactive. You can also find pictures and videos of people handling reactor rods with their bare hands and just rubber gloves. You could quite literally hold all the U-235 that underwent fission in your hand and not suffer from it. The plutonium too. Most of people's fears come from intentionally cultured paranoia. A good example. There were nearly 100 open air tests in Nevada. We nuked our own country way more than any other place on earth. It just rarely gets mentioned. Nobody flying over the south west ever looks out their plane window and says "OH MY GOD LOOK AT THAT NUCLEAR WASTELAND!" It doesn't glow, there's no giant mutants, or anything else people have come to expect. If nearly 100 open air nukes and nearly 1,000 total nuclear tests in the same relatively small test site didn't do that nothing will. As a bonus people are allowed there once or twice every year and can see it for themselves. On another note Chernobyl stayed a functioning nuclear power plant for years after the one core melted down. I think it was 14 years but check for yourself on that. Either way people worked there long after what people saw on the special. Just regular day to day drudgery.

[@Phrygid]

c is an absolutely massive number, well beyond what human beings are capable of understanding intuitively. Nearly a third of a billion meters per second. And then you square it for this equation. In that perspective, it makes total sense that something so small could contain so much energy.

[@robertoroberto9798]

Well said. It still amazes me just how powerful atoms are, and how unbelievable that we did all of this almost a century ago.

[@DenethordeSade.90]

​@@Phrygidit is still awe inspiring to imagine though, it almost wants disbelief.

[@fastst1]

That's why the original scientists thought the first test might ignite the entire atmosphere, they did the math for the entire mass, now that's scary

[@DashBranaghan]

I remember my trip to Hiroshima in 2008; I went to the memorial and as I walked out, there was a film reciting some of the tales of the survivors or their children; one woman takes a glass of water and puts it on altar in the park every year because her father, severely injured in the blast, kept asking for water until he died in her arms; there was none for her to give him, no comfort or salvation. Another story came from the diary of a soldier who was part of the first response - his commanding officer, himself, and another soldier survived the blast, and his commander ordered the three of them out to survey and calculate the damage, including loss of life. The ground, according to the diary, was fiery hot, even through their boots, and as they walked through the destruction, a woman came up to them with her baby, who was severely burned, and said, "Mizu kudasai" (water please), and the soldier reached for his canteen to offer it to her, but his commander ordered him to stop, explaining that giving them water would shock their system and kill them almost instantly. The soldier obeyed, and as they worked in the radioactive environment, he was eventually forced to drink water that was radioactive; he would eventually develop throat cancer, which he noted in his diary was a fitting punishment for his refusal to help the woman and her baby. Watching the videos and hearing the stories told moved me to tears right there, and still moves me to tears even now as I write this out.

[@roberthiggins6401]

That's made me really well up too. Shocking and humble.

[@VedantinKK]

🫂🫂🫂

[@ah2522]

yup, it's better if jews were in their place

[@laurenfarmer4527]

I met a nurse who served in wwii in Japan during the war. Such an interesting history that is so close to being out of living memory

[@fahimfaisal7571]

"An entire city, obliterated, by the weight of a butterfly" That sent chills down my spine.

[@geoms6263]

oh ye? read what atrocities comited imperial Japan....🤮🤮🤮🤮

[@NightGhost1400]

@@geoms6263 Atrocities do not excuse other atrocities.

[@fahimfaisal7571]

@@geoms6263 I didn't say the line to point to any atrocities. I was simply pointing out that we, as a species, are capable of such immense destruction from such a tiny amount of matter. In a way, it also represents the power we hold. We are tiny humans, nothing in compared to the earth, but we have the ability the obliterate the whole planet multiple times over with a push of some buttons.

[@gabrielgingras814]

@@geoms6263 Way to completely misinterpret his statement.

[@Mr.Incrediblis]

@@NightGhost1400massive wisdom resoect

[@anudderrudder6880]

I visited Hiroshima earlier this year for the first time. Incredible city, and warm, fantastic people. I wasn't prepared for how harrowing and humbling my visit to the Peace Memorial would be. It's so important to preserve it for future generations. Thank you for making this video.

[@bezerker2173]

I would love to go to the memorial, and I hope I never do. Standing in the spot where tense of thousand of people died, for a crime their government had committed, I dont know how bad I'd react. But I know I'd feel terrible for weeks at least

[@arktheball]

Make sure to go visit the memorials the japanese keep to what they did to Nan King... or Batan... Oh... wait... those dont exist...

[@lt2660]

I dont think calling hiroshima residents "warm" is quite a good idea

[@SpaceTimeSorcerer]

@@arktheball If such memorials did exist, would they not be in Nan King or Batan?

[@TheSkcube]

​@@arktheballneither of those are in Japan. That is like asking the US to create memorials in Vietnam for it's use of agent Orange.

[@lsdzheeusi]

Kyle, you left out one of the most important facts: Typhoon Ida hit Japan and Hiroshima in September, 1945. The massive rainfall had the side effect of flushing away and out to sea much of the surface contamination. Truly an example of a dark cloud having a silver lining!

[@riograndedosulball248]

Also, this typhoon would have absolutely wrecked the allied fleet that would be landing on the Japanese mainland at the time, had the bombs not been dropped

[@Michael-bn1oi]

​@@riograndedosulball248 Japan has a history of being saved from invasions by giant storms.

[@nullprop]

​@@Michael-bn1oiSusano'o is real and you can't convince me otherwise. Lol

[@firesonic1010]

Checkmate atheists

[@grahamstrouse1165]

Right, and a katana can cut through and engine block. Go pound sand.

[@c8Lorraine1]

I visited Hiroshima in 1989. Went through the museum and peace park. I cried like a baby.

[@marylou3995]

Did you know it was a Catholic town. ( So I’m told )

[@ozinvesting6517]

Important to also note: The little boy bomb contained 64kg of fissile material. Fat man contained 6kg. The RBMK-1000 reactor at Chernobyl contained almost 200,000 kg. You’d need 3125 little boy bombs or 33,000 fat man bombs to match Chernobyl when it comes to the amount of fissile material, the dirty bomb analogy is a good one and most accurate (short term isotopes vs long term isotopes).

[@melissahesse2041]

It as a "fire bomb" never nuclear. The secret joke is nuclear bombs don't exist and never will. Can I prove this? yes. Get the book "Deliberate Destruction Of America Whos Doing It And Why" by Dr. Lorraine Day. Us as truth seekers have to admit we have been lied to sense birth, so now what ? m

[@realTrealT]

Chernobyl wasn’t a bomb and it was that big in comparison sheeesh 😮

[@sheekie127]

That's a good way of explaining it. I've always assumed that we just lied and used very large bombs because how else could people still live there? I'm gonna have to do some more 'investigating' now that you've opened my eyes up a little bit so thanks !

[@trutherx3440]

A friend of my mom was drafted to help during the Cheronbyl fallout. He had no protection and is still alive + like most russian he is a heavy smoker. Google nuclear scare scam and you will understand

[@goigle]

@@trutherx3440 what about all the others that did die? there's a difference between Uranium and the radioactive material released at Chernobyl

[@Abunai_Gaming]

I went to Hiroshima on my first ever trip to Japan when I was only an early teenager. It really was amazing to see this place I heard of that got hit so hard turn into a thriving vibrant city, that still held onto its history and used it as a teaching tool for future generations. The museum, while intense, is someplace I wholeheartedly suggest that people go to on their trip to Hiroshima. It's a good look into the past, with only minimal filter to show what that sort of power did. And once you're done with that, Hiroshima is also home to a top-tier street food scene, so if you're still hungry, you can get some good stuff to eat as well.

[@richardthetroll6758]

Have you ever masterbated thinking of all those who died.. 😊 very tingling feeling..

[@somerandomdude712]

If I do go to Japan as a tourist, I hope I can go to Hiroshima and pay my respects of those who died and wounded from the blast.

[@pajurr]

The museum is indeed amazingly interesting, and I suggest everyone to do it

[@Slugonthese]

Ah yes, war crimes and sushi

[@piouswhale]

Compare Hiroshima in 1945 to Detroit in 1945, then do the same in 2023

[@tobiasviby]

I was in Hiroshima at the 70th year mark since the bomb dropped back in 2015 as a part of a scoutcamp activity. I can still remember the quietness that washed over us when we first went into the museum and then the rest of the park. The gravity of what had transpired there, the pictures, shards of glass lodged into concrete and what scraps of what once where clothing... One of the most important experiences of my life, I can even still remember the pictures and I wouldnt have it any other way. History is important, this is important.

[@bryann25]

Yea it’s important but it’s misled they never used an atomic bomb it was a collection of fire bombs

[@supercellonova]

@@bryann25 Nah man. People died from radiation sickness, and it was a terrifying discovery when it happened. People who were expected to recover from burns, and other mild to moderate bodily injuries, suddenly died. It was a mystery at the time, and one that lead to a temporary truce to not use nuclear weapons. I say temporary, because nuclear weapons are being used as a threat by the powers that be, to push each other back, today. It's the damn cold war all over again

[@rain1956]

Report misinformation. No lies about the use and devastation of these horrible, civilisation-ending weapons.

[@MrNaicos]

@@bryann25that’s first time I’ve heard anyone deny the use of an atomic bomb. Any where I can read up on this statement ?

[@bryann25]

@@MrNaicos look up Marvin Minsky talking about it and the fact is Russia was going to invade Hiroshima and the rest of Japan but the US had to capitalize and shot a collection of fire bombs hence there’s no such thing as an atomic bomb.

[@momofnine199]

Thank you so much for your calm, clear explanation of this horrible moment in history. “Scarred but healed.”

[@TannerBraungardt]

This gave me a whole new perspective… very well done

[@Chillerll]

True, nuclear bombs are not that bad after all

[@CreatureOTNight]

@@Chillerll "a necessary evil" Imagine a weapon that could save many many servicemens lives, would you use it?

[@semajsga]

​@@ChillerllI really hope this is sarcasm

[@sdal_yt]

​@@Chillerll only as long as it doesn't get dropped over your head i'd figure? pretty ignorant take.

[@techtutorial9050]

@@Chillerll using your logic we should just let the Kim dynasty do as it pleases about the bomb

[@lilypads3033]

I have been curious for a long time as to why and how Hiroshima and Nagasaki is habitable when places like Chernobyl isn't. This video was highly informative!

[@Apebek]

Chernobyl is totally habitable, but it's used as a tourist attraction. It's a hoax to make money.

[@madride858585]

Bc nuclear weapons aren’t real.

[@jacobnebel7282]

Chernobyl IS habitable. Not only is the exclusion zone currently home to thriving animal populations, including endangered species, but people moved back within months of the disaster.

[@EvilDaveCanada]

​@@jacobnebel7282The Russian Invasion withstanding, I dare you to go and try to live in that zone for 12 months.

[@universenerdd]

@@jacobnebel7282 you are confusing habitable with "temporarily livable". Sure, you could probably live there, but youd die. Footnote: 0 People live in pripyat. It used to have a few people in it but they all died. Some choose to live in the exclusion zone but they tend to be on the very age where its sort of safe to live

[@fiascothe63rd]

I visited Hiroshima during a trip to Japan last summer, and had the sobering experience of walking through the museum and memorials dedicated to the event. Thank you for covering this the way you did, I think more people should know the details of what happened there.

[@devilhunterred]

I think more importantly, people should know about WHY it happened. Japan wouldn't have been nuked if it didn't invade China and started WW2. Not to mention the countless unspeakable atrocities and war crimes that Japan did which made the atomic bombs literally look like humane killings.

[@ModelLights]

' sobering experience ' Even more sobering, realize a lot of the leadership still didn't want to surrender. 'In late July 1945, the War Department provided an estimate that the entire Downfall operations would cause between 1.7 to 4 million U.S. casualties, including 400-800,000 U.S. dead, and 5 to 10 million Japanese dead.' So those 200K + people dying probably saved 25 or 50 times as many people, most of whom would have died in ways that were almost as bad. They were very lucky the Emperor was at least decent enough to make the military surrender.

[@Tethloach1]

@@ModelLights I don't know what to think, at least Japan and Germany are friendly nations of America. Things could always be worse, more people could get dragged into the meat grinder. I have herd all sides and realized it is a hot topic, too dark to bring up. I tried watching one scientific documentary on nuclear waste lands, as soon as I saw a leveled city I ended the documentary and focused on something else.

[@arcturionblade1077]

​​@@ModelLights The amount of Purple Hearts the DoD made at the time of WWII was insane (it was done in the belief that the casualties would be that high with a potential Operation Downfall following the invasion of the Japanese mainland). I believe they're still handing them out to this very day if they haven't just ran out recently.

[@davidswanson5669]

@@ModelLightsit’s easy to justify the use of the bombs by saying “if we didn’t do it then more would have died”. That’s a fallacy though, and it’s been used throughout modern history even to this day. This very week, the US is trying to make an excuse to use cluster bombs, something considered a war crime, but are justifying it by saying exactly what I just mentioned. I’m not debating that the atom bomb was or wasn’t justified. But I am saying that people ought to understand that indiscriminate destruction kills angels and demons alike. We should (certainly as an American) spend at least a little time contemplating the angels that were taken.

[@RalphTempleton-vr6xs]

Hiroshima and Nagasaki were airbursts, this limiting the amount of debris that was sucked up, irradiated, then distributed as fallout, as well as being "relatively small" bombs

[@nykia31]

The fact that it caused so much devastation while triggering a fraction of it's potential and detonating in the air, is terrifying.

[@frankb6313]

good

[@ASSASSINlutent]

right basically say "yeah we kinda held back ;)" today is so much more scary, rc drones that home in on the nearest enemy and blows them up with explosives attached dead and you never saw what killed you so there's no one to curse...terrifying

[@USAmerican100]

Air detonation maximized building destruction.

[@giordihero]

detonation in the air is actually more destructive, which was the reason it was done that way. They didn't know back then the air burst wouldn't cause less long term damage with the fallout.

[@DVDRAR]

​@@frankb6313 no, not good, but necessary

[@Gekayy]

Love all your content Kyle, but the half-life series just hits deep every time. Your dedication to your craft is unmistakable and awe inspiring. Keep on keeping on!

[@lurkingllama8364]

Kyle does a lot of great content, but the Half-Life Histories series is by far my favourite.

[@patricknez7258]

💯

[@totorosghost]

Haven't played half life much but I was shocked when I learned about Imperial Japan's biological warfare experimentation on live humans. Makes me think of Resident Evil and the Evil Within games from Japan. I wonder if Shinji Mikami thought anyone would make a connection.

[@channingwarrior8608]

It's so sad that people keep thinking to much pride much for usa , sorry another random American is making this video to profit from the destruction loss of japanese done by proud Americans who also ruined middle east

[@totorosghost]

@@channingwarrior8608 Many Americans hate their government. Islamic fundamentalists ruined the middle east. They drove out other religions. Japan's Imperial history deserves much more scrutiny in the West. Asia will not forget IJ's brutality.

[@euanflanagan812]

When I went to the museum in Hiroshima our tour guide told us that because of Japans relationship with the U.S they have removed many of the graphic images. It was sad to hear this because what happened was a lesson and shouldn’t be censored

[@immunetou2]

I appreciate your sentiment, but at a basic concept perspective, how could you have a peace park while horrific images are shown? The two are incongruent. It is impossible to move on from a tragedy if you constantly remind yourself of the horror of the actual tragic event. Removing most horrific imagery doesn't make you forget something happened. It would be like, "here, look at these images of mutilated bodies, let's hug and forgive each other." War is atrocious and horrible, it is hell and there really are no rules. At some point though, you have leave the horrid behind if you want healing. Otherwise, wars would never end...and maybe that is the point for some people. They never want wars to end (literal or personal wars), which continues the cycle of blame, anger, resentment and hatred. Those are not recipes for achieving peace. Keep the burned out buildings, memorials and books (that can be purchased containing horrific images), but children don't need to see displays of human horror every time they walk through peace park on the way to school.

[@Woodsaras]

​@@immunetou2gtfo with this bllsht comment. It's clear censoring.

[@PeekabooParrots]

@@immunetou2I visited Hiroshima with my family in the 80’s when I was 10. My dads family is from Hiroshima; mom is from Yokohama. The museum traumatized me. The skin falling off the people. Years later I always wished I didn’t see that, and wondered why they would let children in there without some warning. Then again, I was quite a sensitive child.

[@Dashitishere22]

​@@immunetou2Vietnam has done it. Vietnamese people are very accepting of Americans and they keep the graphic images in their "war remnants museum"

[@tincano-beans2114]

​@Dashitishere22 vietnam didn't start a war of aggression with the us and get nuked lol

[@jungwestfale98]

Never forget that history is written by the victors and that the use of the two atomic bombs is only described as necessary and without alternative for this reason. The use of these weapons is a crime against humanity.

[@mistopraro666]

that and other many war crimes commited by the USA

[@theophanyy5698]

I love your half-life and nuclear series Kyle. You handle them with utmost care and respect to those who fell to these tragedies while informing us.

[@cail592]

After visiting the blast site and the near buy museum that shows the horrors of the explosion. I can tell you it was devastating and changed the world. And when you are there it's hard not to be emotional when visiting the monuments to the loss of life. But surprisingly to me, I did not see anything that blames the USA for all the death. It was viewed as the cost of war and how war should never get to that level of destruction ever again. And how Japan would never make or use such a weapon. A valuable lesson was learned and it's sad that people of today seem to forget some of those lessons. Perhaps more people need to visit Hiroshima. It really has been rebuilt into a beautiful city, an educational city.

[@Ekoperse]

True. Japan soldiers were doing so horrible war on their side against civilians that they couldnt take that blame back at them. Check for example: Unit 731 details.

[@sam-xq2jw]

Although sad if we didn’t drop this bomb, an atomic bomb would of been dropped somewhere maybe even on us eventually, it was just a matter of time, the US needed to show how powerful they are. Yes it was very sad but I think It just might of been necessary to do

[@pandemic_diesel]

Our generations privilege will never understand such a massive change to society. We should be grateful. But look at us now.

[@Zazzysylvester]

Both Japan and USA are countries responsible for some of the most horrific war crimes the world has ever seen. Unfortunately the mad men choices taken affects innocent civilians

[@JJ_5289]

Yup and many us veterans of the pacific war that wrote about their experiences felt the same way. There were no good options back then. Not using the bombs could have turned out to be far worse

[@LVmanatee]

My grandfather was on a supply ship that docked in Hiroshima after the surrender. He said his brain couldn't even interpret or believe the immense destruction he saw with his own eyes.

[@wilpri]

And yet they continue to want to create such deadly bombs. Wow...

[@nonameDman92]

@@wilpri I think those who want to create such bombs are not the most conscious of the destructive power of such bombs, they just see the numbers of the damages, do not feel the impact of such damages

[@peteman8160]

​@@wilpriAnd ones many times more powerful.

[@TheShamansQuestion]

@@nonameDman92 "not the most conscious" is an understatement

[@weatherphobia]

Dementia or Delayed Onset Trauma Syndrome D.O.T.S. 🤔💩

[@Phillipnoogen]

Hiroshima is a beautiful city that has risen up from the ashes. Visiting the atomic dome was a memorable and somber experience that i recommend anyone visiting japan to visit.

[@jaybanned580]

As someone who is Japanese I appreciate the way he tells it like it is; no sugarcoating, no favoritism, no downplaying or overexaggerating the events. Thank you for the amazing documentary, it was beautiful.

[@longiusaescius2537]

@jaybanned580 he did imply that Japan wasn't surrendering and that the bombings somehow ended the war on it's own (both militaries post war denied this btw, at most it was another thing on the scale rather than some decisive point)

[@aviationwingz9402]

Because to end a struggle between those in power , they killed thousands of innocent men women children and made the survivors have suffering deaths. While those in power just sat and watched the destruction unfold, it's just soo sad those people didn't deserve to die , what harm did they do to United States ?!! R.I.P to all of them.

[@123214matt]

You’re incredibly ill informed of you believe this. Imperial Japan was completely insane. The entire population believed Hirohito was a God. They were indoctrinated to believe death was preferable to surrender, that Chinese (and essentially anything not Japanese) was sub-human. Japanese people at this time we’re NOT like modern day people. The population fully embraced their superiority and cared little for the extreme and profound suffering their country inflicted on others. Look up what Japan did to China & the Philippines & then reconsider your statement.

[@__CaoDuyHung]

maybe they shouldn't killed 2 milions of Vietnamese people in ww2.

[@aviationwingz9402]

@@Jack-bs5kt Only Simple soldiers and normal people civilians suffer from war

[@FSAPOJake]

What's scary is how fast atomic bomb tech advanced after this. Little Boy was about 15kt and weighed 9,700 lbs. Less than a decade later, in 1953, the Upshot-Knothole Grable test was done. That was a cannon meant to shoot 15kt nuclear warheads. How much did those warheads, which had the same explosive yield as the 9,700lb little boy bomb, weigh? About 800 lbs.

[@xynonners]

fission-fusion bombs are insane

[@TheAntiburglar]

Not only is this an incredibly moving and important story that must be told, but it's something I've wondered about for many years. I knew that Hiroshima wasn't permanently uninhabitable, but I've never understood why. Thank you, Kyle, for your continual efforts to educate the public.

[@shewolfsiren]

I know why Hiroshima isn’t a nuclear wasteland. Only 2% of the atomic bomb actually went off! What would’ve happened if the whole thing had actually gone off?

[@firesoldier343]

@@shewolfsiren well it still wouldn't be a nuclear wasteland, just a hell of a lot more devastated at the end of the war

[@Mahlak_Mriuani_Anatman]

​​@@firesoldier343 Would be good for that time i guess

[@mral4381]

A miracle there seemed to be little to no long term effects.

[@firesoldier343]

@@mral4381 I wouldn't really call it a miracle, its just what's expected when you understand how those things work.

[@HaukeLaging]

Two important aspects are missing in the video: (a) The bomb on its own killed a lot of people. But the total destruction of the city was not the direct result of the bomb. Most of the buildings were erased hours later by the fire storm. Tokyo and Dresden showed that you do not need a nuke for that. (b) The number of casualties was especially high because many people were outside at that time, on their way to work, and (as due to never having been bombed before) were not afraid so many looked at the plane and thus were in direct line of sight of the explosion.

[@venrajful]

I visited the museum a couple months ago. And after reading the stories and seeing the exibits I had to sit a while in the section of the museum that looks out over the park with the dome in the distance to just process everything. Some of the stories are just so horrifying that it felt surreal that anyone survived. I cannot recommend the museum as a "fun" thing to do while in Hiroshima. However I feel it's something that anyone should do while in the city. The use of an atomic weapon is something that should never be repeated.

[@karalas]

Definitely a place to contemplate some heavy stuff. I remember seeing a new tree growing in side an old burnt out tree at the park. Not only did it make me marvel at the rebound Hiroshima made but how resilient life can be in general

[@kylehill]

Ridddle going to think the thumbnail is claiming a mile-high cherry blossom tree lmfao smh

[@Hit_by_a_Parked_Car]

Wait, who?

[@DenethordeSade.90]

The channel ridddle

[@bjh]

Bro nobody is talking about the thumbnail but it is so crazy and I love it

[@Woodesies]

A few of the survivors came to my high school five years ago and spoke to us about what they experienced. I didn't appreciate it at the time, but it blows my mind that I got to speak with and shake hands with some of the people who went through this.

[@arktheball]

Now go listen to the stories of the survivors of the Batan Death march, and the Rape of Nan King...

[@CampaignerSC]

Yeah and every last one of them would have preferred getting hit by a nuke over being taken captive by Japan's Unit 731.

[@jahimuddin2306]

​@@arktheball, People act like Japan was an innocent bystander in WWII.

[@wystrix439]

@@jahimuddin2306 Other people act like the citizens of japan during WWII *literally living under the rule of an empire* had any real control over the actions of their government

[@chrisd2536]

@@wystrix439 I mean, to them, putting everyone in the same basket is the norm. That's all they do anyway.

[@blublub6056]

11:02 the girl that this statue is of has such a sad story. She had radiation sickness and was bound to a hospital because of it. Her friend told her that if she made a certain number of origami cranes (i forgot exactly how many) then she could wish for anything. So, as she slowly approached her death, she folded and folded so that one day she could wish for peace, so that no such bomb could ever be dropped again. Genuinely heartbreaking

[@socialiism3583]

I went to Hiroshima during study abroad last semester. It was certainly a sobering sight, to see what was rebuilt and imagine how it was all leveled in less than a moment. I think the most striking picture of that fateful day was even through the aftermath of the bomb, the single white Torii gate stood among the rubble. That Torii gate belonged to a shrine on the grounds of Hiroshima castle, and to this day, it still stands there, as another reminder of the history of the city.

[@johnathanrmarsh]

This was beautifully respectful. You always treat this series with such care. Your passion to educate on this topic is absolutely capivating. Cheers, man!

[@guyindecatur]

Japan had all but completely surrendered before the nukes were dropped. Asia's largest church was the cathedral in Nagasaki which was used as the target for the bomb. After the war in Germany ended Eisenhower *literally* starved some one million German POWs in Germany - all illegally (Geneva Accords) and completely immoral. The US is a ZOG nation.

[@totorosghost]

@@lask007 Really? Maybe try to colonize Asia again? Japanese government downplays it's harm to Asia. They were arguably worse than their Nazi allies in treatment of POWs and civilians.

[@johnbash-on-ger]

@@totorosghost Strangely the same could be said about Christianity in Asia.

[@totorosghost]

@@johnbash-on-ger It's spreading in Asia, no doubt. Not anymore in the Middle East. Islam has a near complete lock down there. One is not like the other. Don't expect any pride parades in the ME anytime soon.

[@totorosghost]

@@lask007 Typical ignorant American response. My comments are not about your fairy tale comment.

[@justinecooper9575]

My father was on a US Navy ship that docked at the Hiroshima harbor after the bomb. He said that it looked like someone had taken a broom and swept the city away. The crew of the ship was allowed to leave the ship to look around but my father said that he could see all he needed to see from the deck.

[@isaackimball5635]

probably saved his life

[@mandograssable]

My Dad was a paratrooper who jumped into the bombed area as part of a cleanup crew. I always wondered why he never experienced any radiation damage from being there.

[@vrASMR180]

@@SteffanBlanco1 Wind can disperse radiation?

[@justinecooper9575]

@@SteffanBlanco1 I don't think that he thought it was life threatening to leave the ship but rather that he didn't want to see the devastation up close.

[@Zaeuh214]

@@vrASMR180the video said since it exploded in the air it didn’t attach to much of the so troubling area which then over some hours it was blown away by the air

[@janibeg3247]

my father-in-law was in a WW2 US Army engineering outfit. He had pictures of Hiroshima and Nagasaki taken when his outfit investigated those towns right after the war ended. He lived to age 97.

[@RHYD_]

My great grandfather was in Hiroshima for the aftermath to help with firstaid. Shortly after, he ended up with cancer of the mouth and was the first official patient to recieve a titanium jaw (atleast according to my grandmother). Just knowing that my great grandfather was there for about a week, then ending up with cancer not long after makes my stomach do backflips. Edit: I'm not great at expressing gratitude, and I didn't expect to get so many likes and kind words, but thanks. Seriously, it means a lot.❤🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@davelowets]

You don't get cancer "shortly after" being exposed to radiation. If he received enough radiation to cause a cancer shortly after, he would have died shortly after, from radiation sickness.

[@joshuamarler6398]

Cool

[@VaughanMcCue]

Maybe he just talked too much and wore out the joints.

[@RHYD_]

@@VaughanMcCue I've seen the only pic of him in Hiroshima, and I don't think it's a coincidence that he ended up with cancer a short while after being there. He served in the Royal Air Force and had been sent to Hiroshima a day or two after the bomb was dropped - his jaw literally started to rot away, hence the surgery (not sure if he actually was the first to have a titanium jaw, but that's what my gran says).

[@VaughanMcCue]

@@RHYD_ Besides the possibility of radiation damage, he may have been a smoker AND talked too much. As a party trick, consider that he opened beer bottles with his teeth, and the titanium enhancement would be a bonus in the military canteen. The chief cook and bottle opener could have been a promotion.

[@christ8048]

my only complaint about this video is that it wasn't longer. this entire series is fantastic.

[@blitz3391]

What's also crazy is that when you visit Hiroshima with a guide who knows their way around, there are things you can still see if you know where to look at. For example you can visit an old school where the walls are still covered in medical counting from right after the bomb, you can visit the bank with its vault where people took refuge, you can still see the traces of the flower pots imprinted on the pillars of the bridge, walls still blacked and imprinted in alleys.. Something interesting to note as well which isn't that much shown in this video (and i'm absolutely not diminishing the horror of this event), is that the blast of the bomb was rather small compared to the whole city. If you look at the map in the museum, you see that in reality, "only" the city center was wiped out. When you get about 1km away, you had way more buildings still standings. Just a few days after the bomb, people were already getting back to work, and the tram system was running again. And the craziest thing is that when you read witnesses of that time, they were shocked by the horror, but after the bombing of Tokyo which made way more victims, they didn't really..worry about it. It was just an other weapon. Nagasaki was also relatively spared, with the blast relatively contained inside the bay and mountains. It's almost like the shock factor was greater abroad than inside Japan at the time.

[@ttulinsky]

More people died in the firebombing of Tokyo. Pictures of the aftermath look the same- a vast plain with a few skeletons of concrete or steel buildings. The wounds and suffering were just as horrendous.

[@harikeshg3823]

If I am correct, the dropping of bombs had two factors to it, one was the unconditional surrender of Japan and the other was to show the soviets, the bomb,

[@ChrisBrengel]

One of the main reasons, the US dropped the nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and nagasaki was to show the Soviets that we had this huge new weapon and were perfectly willing to use it in time of war.

[@ChrisBrengel]

I have heard that the dropping of the atomic bombs on Haresma and nagasaki did not have as much of an effect on the unconditional surrender As you might think. Things were very confused at the end of the war in Japan The government (as well as everything else) was in shambles. And, Understandably, a description of the Dropping of the nuclear bombs didn't really make sense to people who hadn't seen it. Very important Lee Soviet Union had declared war on Japan a couple of weeks earlier and was in the process of occupy the country from the North, working its way down South. Russia still owns those islands. Apparently, the very real and understood threat of the Soviets invading Japan from the North had more of an impact than the nuclear weapons that no one had ever seen before.

[@blitz3391]

@@ChrisBrengel Mostly yes. The bombs where horrible but at the time, it wasn't worst than what had happened in tokyo. The fear of the USSR had a bigger impact on their decision.

[@cyanimation1605]

4:02 Captain Robert A. Lewis broke the silence with "Well... _that_ just happened."

[@IProHeadhunter]

I've visited Hiroshima, as well as the Peace Museum. The park is incredibly beautiful and the museum is undoubtedly harrowing. I walked into the museum thinking I was the kind of person to shrug it off and think of it, I left extremely awestruck and humbled. Incredible to see how bustling and thriving the city is now.

[@lamia197]

The Peace Museum hides the fact that 10% of the deaths in the bomb were Koreans and Chinese they dragged into forced labor. They will not tell you this unless you ask, and even then they are reluctant to tell you. Also rebuilding was helped by Japan selling supplies to the allies during the Korean War. Japan is partially responsible for Korea being split in half.

[@Shadow.cyrohzin]

Glad you did a video on this, was always a mystery to me, like, I figured Hiroshima bouncing back but Chernobyl not bouncing back had to be either the amount of radiation, or a failure in the Soviet will to recover

[@paulleonard7038]

Or the 40+ year difference of time....

[@loloholmes2793]

Chernobyl can thrive again too once GB & the US destroy Russia & strip it of all its wealth in natural resources.... If you recall the fall of the Soviet Union wasn't long after Chernobyl, Ukraine was no longer under the Iron Curtain, so why didn't the oligarchs running Ukraine clean up Chernobyl? Maybe it's because Ukraine is one of the most corrupt countries in current existence

[@Annokh]

I apologise for being that guy, but "Failure of will to recover" sounds like "someone didn't clap their hands and didn't believe hard enough". Although I have to admit that I probably didn't understand what you meant by that. That aside, even if people could actively contribute to the process of recovery, the state was already about to collapse at the time, and have done so shortly. Most of ex-Soviet republics did not bounce back from that even to this day, if comparing their GDP dynamics with various other countries' dynamics across recent 30 or so years is of any real indication of anything. Not sure if a will to actively do anything would really have translated into anything significant when the material/economical state of affairs is like this.

[@skepticalbadger]

This is answered in the video.

[@Michael-bn1oi]

​@@Annokh You absolutely didn't understand that incredibly common phrase. Having the will to do something has nothing to do with prayers and belief. It's about making the commitment and the effort on individual and state levels. You are *very* defensive.

[@DeathSpread]

This video, despite being uploaded an hour ago, deserves millions of views. You did one of the best jobs I've ever seen at describing, summarizing, and getting across so much information, both emotional and scientific. Be proud of this, seriously. Astounding job

[@brianweaver327]

Up to 265k as of this posting... those millions are coming!

[@johnfaker8424]

2:17 they literally dropped leaflets to Hiroshima. Thats a very googable thing.

[@spineonthepine4933]

Impressive handling of the thorny question that always gets raised around should we have used the weapon or not. Very appreciated as a history guy.

[@jeffk1482]

The biggest “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” in history, I think.

[@RealAICCl]

@@jeffk1482??? Damned if you dont in what way??? Theres no damning us if we dont do a total invasion on an embargod japan

[@thedyingtitan1247]

Compared to the two potential plans for invading Mainland Japan is the Nukes were mercies. The first was estimated to kill millions and its opening was going to be like a dozen nukes to break the defensive lines for the ground forces to follow. The second wasn’t so much of an invasion plan as an extermination one. The plan was to break Japan utterly from the air over about 5 years with an estimated 90-50% of the Japanese population dead, the islands effectively rendered uninhabitable and the remaining population rendered back to the stone age. For that plan if it grew it got poisoned, if it moved it got bombed and it if was built it would but burned to ashes. Are nukes good? No I’m not saying that, they are atrocious weapons. But compared to the alternatives? Nukes: 1. Broke the cycle of once generational global wars 2. Allowed roughly 85 years of relative peace and stability globally that we haven’t had before, sure its not perfect but the biggest wars since WWII aren’t killing significant percentages of the global population every 20 years, wasting all those resources every 20 years, and allowed for relative peace and cooperation. We are living in a general global golden age because of nukes. Is it perfect? No but it would have been so much worse without.

[@saturationstation1446]

they should have used it on europe tho. wasted it all on the least damaging of the worlds people and now we're in the same situation, where europes corruption has destabilized civilization and their oligarchs are craving another massacre of the working class so that they may retain their hoarded power and wealth.

[@juslitor]

Fact of the matter is, if yanks hadnt done it first, someone else would, probably the russians. The world needed to see the result of a nuclear weapon used in anger.

[@teruterujasu]

I had just visited hiroshima when I was in japan last month, and being as uninformed as I was, I had wondered if it was safe to be there....but god, the museum is incredibly designed, and did such a good job of educating and displaying the remains of the tragedy. Thank you for this video 🙏 I would've lost my mind if I saw you while I was there :')

[@morganghetti]

Do they have a museum showing all the war crimes they committed leading up to those bombs?

[@Literallyryangosling777]

​​@@morganghettihey invented anime, so 2 bombs maybe werent enought

[@Teuwufel]

@@morganghetti Do your glorious ''freedom country'' has museums dedicated to the atrocities they commited not only in Japan?

[@delfinenteddyson9865]

@@Teuwufel I don't know but I would believe they have

[@grast5150]

Question, Did the museum also show the all the war crimes Japan committed ruing the war. You know starvation, medical experimentation, dismemberment, beatings, rape, chemical weapon testing, and lots of other deplorable actions? Oh right, the museum just shows a sympathetic view of what happened regardless of the pure aggression, atrocities, and pure evil which Japan itself committed against China, Korea, Russia, Philippians, and the US. It does not explain that actions in all of its horror actually saved Japanese lives.

[@chestersnap]

When I was 14, I did a 2-week trip to Japan with a bunch of other students. We spent a day in Nagasaki and visited the Atomic Bomb Museum. It was horrifying. They had glass with the bones of a human hand melted into it. Bocks of concrete with shadows burnt into them. Clothing of people miles away with burn holes pock-marking them, and plenty of the pictures Kyle wasn't able to show on KZbin. Our visit also coincided with a Q&A with one of the survivors of both bombings. I still tear up thinking about it

[@franciskirby85]

Maybe they shouldn't have bombed pearl harbor.

[@__CaoDuyHung]

maybe they shouldn't killed 2 milions of Vietnamese people in ww2.

[@lordoftherings999]

​@@franciskirby85Exactly. And they shouldn't have fared worse than Vlad the Impaler in China, Philippines, Borneo ... what they did is 10000 times worse than atomics and any other crime in history.

[@ether9533]

@@franciskirby85 They didn't, it was an invented excuse so the US could experiment with their disgusting nuclear weapons without being that "judged"... Something americans and most of the world don't take into account is that even if the Pearl Harbor attack wasn't a lie, well, compare the magnitude of both tragedies, and one was directed to a Harbor (wich is pretty small compared to not only one but two cities) where the army that did fight and kill japanese people were located and the other one was thrown over two cityes full of inocent non-conflicting civilians. And that nuclear shit does not affect only a city, country or continent, it affects the whole world for generations.

[@ether9533]

@@franciskirby85 They didn't, it was an invented excuse so the US could experiment with their disgusting nuclear weapons without being that "judged"... Something americans and most of the world don't take into account is that even if the Pearl Harbor attack wasn't a lie, well, compare the magnitude of both tragedies, and one was directed to a Harbor (wich is pretty small compared to not only one but two cities) where the army that did fight and kill japanese people were located and the other one was thrown over two cityes full of inocent non-conflicting civilians. And that nuclear shit does not affect only a city, country or continent, it affects the whole world for generations.

[@JohnCillis]

My Dad entered Japan with the occupation forces in '45, and I was in Japan only traveling to the outskirts of Narita airport seeing the lovely Mt.Fuji on a business trip to Guam in '92. He later became a Staff Sergeant called up in Korea. As a family, we hated war, and to this day I have never owned a lethal weapon. But I respect what Truman had to do, to end that war, which saved millions of lives and allowed the greatest, brightest people on the planet to contribute to our world economy. I am old enough now having six decades under my belt to know my spirit will leave my body someday, but thru all six decades of my life and travels to former battlegrounds I wonder why we fight for the land our Creators intended for all of us. I celebrated peace with two Aussie sisters and a Japanese young man they picked up at the infamous Hofbrauhaus in Munich Germany in '87, I was only 26, and it was one of the best moments of my life, traveling all the way from the USA, remembering that old enemies create young friends, as we were then. There are a gazillion ways we leave our bodies to return home with our ancestors or probe space and the ocean seas. War should not cause that, but our history shows us it happens.

[@rambo191c]

Another brilliant entry, and a damned terrifying quote. “…an entire city obliterated…by the weight of a butterfly. Todays nuclear weapons are thousands of times more powerful.” - thank you again Kyle and team

[@MayaPosch]

The city of Fukushima is far removed from the Fukushima Daiichi plant. It was never at any risk. Even the surrounding towns near the Fukushima Daiichi plant were essentially safe for continued habitation, assuming shelter-in-place and iodine tablets being distributed. The 2012 and subsequent Diet reports paint a very clear picture of just how unnecessary, harmful and lethal the evacuation of nearby towns was. Pripyat is the only case where full-scale evacuation was warranted, due to the poor safety design of the RBMK reactor, yet the nearby city of Chornobyl remains mostly evacuated to this day as well, which is a lot more questionable.

[@velzekt]

Right because people in the 1940s were supposed to know how unnecessary it was to evacuate areas around a completely unknown and massively destructive weapon that caused hundreds of thousands of deaths 🙄

[@alexandervlaescu9901]

@@velzekt He is talking about the fallout after the tsunami hit the Fukushima Daiichi plant..... Read twice before you make a fool out of yourself...

[@Ulquiorra_..]

@@velzekt read friend, they are talking about Fukushima you know the more modern nuclear power plant failure after a tsunami. Not Hiroshima and Nagasaki the city's that got nuclear bombs dropped on them

[@joshuaortiz2031]

Pripyat was screwed because the soviets decided to skimp and cut corners and didn't build massive durable containment structures to house the reactors. Stupid decision. Here in the west a containment building is necessary.

[@rmsgrey]

One of my personal favourite statistics from the Fukushima incident is that they evacuated regions where the radiation peaked at three times the normal background - which brought them up to the incredibly dangerous levels normally found in... London (and a lot of other places around the world). That ties in with another anecdotal statistic - because of international radiation level requirements on the area in proximity to nuclear power plants, there are plants where the first thing they had to do was put down a bunch of shielding to reduce the natural background levels for that area - you get less radiation standing close to one of those plants than you do a mile away, exposed to the natural background radiation for the area...

[@barryjdwyer]

I finished up a 2 week trip to Japan in Hiroshima last month. Standing by the 'blast dome' I realised I was standing in the exact spot where the entire world changed forever nearly 80 years before. I wasn't expecting it to be so emotional. The memorial and the museum visit thereafter were both incredibly harrowing and moving in equal measure. I don't think any of our group of 26 spoke over our 2+ hours there.

[@Ordoabchao-x9k]

Your nation committed one of the greatest crimes against humanity and then you go as a tourist to that place and pretend to be soooooo sad? You wonder why the world hates you?

[@totorosghost]

Head on over to China and Korea on your next trip for balance on why ending the brutal reign of Imperial Japan was a good thing. Learn about more than one side of this tragedy. You can't rely on the US and Japanese governments to give a proper history of the extent of atrocities.

[@holdinmuhl4959]

@@totorosghost , Japan capitulated when the Soviet Union entered the war and destroyed the Kwantung Army and not after the atom bombs. The bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were dedicated to impress the Soviets and were the first bombs of the Cold War.

[@barryjdwyer]

Yep, I know. I've heard the stories about unit 731 etc.

[@totorosghost]

@@barryjdwyer And colonization and attempted destruction of Korean language and culture. A handful of Americans know about it. The government and media could care less.

[@NY-Vice]

"There would be no leaflets dropped" But... they did drop leaflets in Hiroshima?

[@TayoEXE]

Thank you for treating the subject with more delicacy. My grandmother witnessed the Nagasaki bomb, and now that I understand it was an airburst, it makes a little more sense out of her story... Her father was working in Nagasaki at the time, and he survived it, even without radiation poisoning. She described what happened as the windows of his office shattered, and the force of the blast literally ripped his shirt right off of him. This makes more sense why there wasn't as much debris and actual huge damage to the buildings and structures than if it was detonated closer to the surface. Without lingering in the area after that, he must have escaped the major problems from fallout. Years later after she came to the U.S., I'm now living back in Japan quite close to where she witnessed that, and it's such a haunting memory, and yet, beautiful how this area has recovered at the very least. All I can say is that people here just want peace and hope this never happens again... so education on the effects it has had is important. Edit: For those who read this with a one-sided argument about something I was never arguing about, this was a personal story. I have lived in both countries, have ancestry from both sides, and I don't care what you justify. I stand by what I say and do not condone the atrocities committed by any country's corrupt military and/or government. Civillian deaths and personal experiences because of the actions of war, their own government, enemies, whatever, is tragic, should be listened to, and should not be treated as some reason to point fingers. My whole point in sharing what I said is that the new generations should understand and learn that the death and destruction of war shouldn't be repeated and the lives lost because of it shouldn't be used as a spring board for blaming and preaching justified hate. And no matter how you see it, the new generations in the U.S. are no more responsible for the acts of their ancestors (I'm sure I don't need to explain this) than the new generations in Japan are responsible for the actions of their old military. Either way, take from this what you will, disagree, fine. My words were just meant to be my personal thoughts and account. Many people, including women and children, died that day and didn't deserve it. If you can't feel any sympathy for that, then I'm sorry we can't see eye to eye. It doesn't mean I'm unsympathetic to the other innocents who lost everything or their lives because of these stupid conflicts enacted by our governments. There's two or more sides to everything, especially if the way we learn history is only in our native language, culture, etc.

[@kawardt6784]

They would want peace especially after that incident which is a lesson learnt the hard way. It's undeniable of what Japanese did to other asian countries. Until this day, my dad still remember what the Japanese did and felt nothing about the bomb. Even the tsunami around 2011, a lot people call it a karma. All I can take away from this is what American and Japnese did was terrible, but the American's action was justified.

[@TayoEXE]

@kawardt6784 Now hold it there... I still can't say it was justified. The crimes against humanity of the Japanese army and their invasion of nearby countries is out of the question, but it's one thing to blame the corruption of the Japanese government and military, and another to target civilians. Japan is the only country in the world to have been atom bombed in war. If factors had been even slightly different, or my grandmother and her family were just a little closer, I wouldn't even be here. It's arguable that Americans wanted revenge instead of just ending the war. Revenge... for the crimes of their government and military carried out on many many innocent people? Much debate can be made about whether it would have been better to target military camps. Either way, be very careful about your choice of words. If your dad didn't feel anything about the bombing, that's his feeling. But justified or not, I wish more people would look at the victims of this story as well and feel something. If it was necessary, it should haunt them for years to have to make that decision.

[@windystick7347]

@@TayoEXEhow is the atrocities that they commit “out of the question”? Do you just pick and choose what to feel sympathy over? Everyone has this bias when it comes to Japan vs every other Asian country and it shows. Do you think the thousands of people imperial Japanese tortured were soldiers? Get a grip, they had it coming for them

[@cl-jp3uv]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@TayoEXEJapan is not innocent bruh. Yeah civilians shouldn’t be targeted during war but to act like Japan didn’t kill tons of civilians themselves? I dont like taking sides but you can’t say what Japan did is “out of the question”

[@batman_diaries]

​@@cl-jp3uvyeah. So how TF is the USA any different from Japan. Both did the same shit.

[@dukesanddaggers]

I was in Hiroshima on Friday. So heartbreaking to see the remains of the atomic bomb dome and witness photos and remnants of the devastation in the museum. It’s scary to think that soon after the power of the atomic bomb was dwarfed by the invention of the hydrogen bomb. Imagine how much destruction today’s bombs can do, all at the push of a button.

[@thetau4866]

The Largest one we ever made could vaporize half of New York The largest ones the russians made could level new York city

[@tarpanc34]

pearl harbor.. never forget... why we did... what we did.. .. usa florida resident .. love my country and my florida state even more..

[@TheBlackNarrative]

@@tarpanc34 the U.S. killed 70,000 civilians. as many countries the US invades, if one of them did the same to us, you would be calling it "foul and evil".

[@TheBlackNarrative]

@@tarpanc34 and never forget, the US, your own govt, sacrificed their own citizens and allowed Japan to attack Pearl Harbor so they could enter the war. They saw Japan miles away on radar and could've stopped them.

[@tarpanc34]

trump had world peace 4 whole years.. the democrats and republicans hated that shit,, no money in peace..

[@baldytalkinnerdy3462]

See, this is what I love about Kyle’s videos. The respect with which he treats the subject matter, the balanced and unbiased perspective. No kitschy attempts at “lightening the mood”, no dramatic music. An an ending which features only a somber, quiet piano. Never change dude. Never change.

[@Jack_Stafford]

I heard dramatic music throughout. Also, I think one can be fair while also giving complete context. The Japanese swore they would defend the home islands, arming and sacrificing the last women and children if necessary, a complete disregard for their own people. Ending the war nearly instantly not only saved 100s of thousands if not millions of lives, but keeping the damage isolated to two cities rather than every single major and minor city and piece of infastructure being firebombed to the ground made it much easier for the United States to support Japan after the war, and to build it into the economic powerhouse it became in short order. Losing the war meant it didn't have to pay Harley anything for its own defense which was guaranteed by the United States so they were able to invest in super modern infrastructure and so many other things while the United States continued to spend trillions of dollars to protect both Europe and Japan and has never been paid back. America could have been a much worse victor and turned Japan into colony and taken by force things that instead and imported and bought which term Japan into an economic powerhouse that is one of the most powerful in history. We saw a number of times how Japan treated countries that it defeated and they were not nearly so charitable. With the war over in Europe, the Allies would have dumped everything in their entire arsenals on Japan without needing to fight a two-front war any longer and Japan would have been absolutely devastated. The alternative would have been a destitute and utterly defeated country that would be so far behind the times, like East Germany was or like North Korea still is. The job of the U.S. president is to defend the country and its people, and his solution saved an awful lot of American lives as well as many Japanese lives as a byproduct, those are just facts. No one likes death and destruction especially on a target that also affect civilians, but if Hiroshima had been firebombed like Dresden there may have even been more casualties, multiply that by every other major city in Japan and as hard as it is to swallow, two hard knockout hits are better than being stabbed with a million daggers. The vast majority of Japan wasn't even touched and Japan used to admit that considering the alternative, that this was the lesser of two evils. War is hell, but when you decide to start one then you have to be willing to use everything at your disposal to win. And prioritize your own people over the enemy when necessary. Don't poke the tiger and expect it to purr.

[@discoj7112]

​@@Jack_StaffordI think you have fallen victim to our own propaganda. American history books and textbooks are full of the idea that the atomic bombs saved lives and ended the war more quickly. Spreading this idea is in the best interest of anyone whose goal is to promote America, the American government, and the American military, and it is also comforting. It is incredibly difficult to consider the possibility that such unimaginable horror might have been even slightly unnecessary, but the reality may be even darker than that. I would highly recommend the in-depth documentary the KZbinr Shaun did on the dropping of the atomic bombs, as I think it shows a different and unfortunately much more sad reality. I haven't watched it in a little while, so I don't want to summarize here. But if you are interested in questioning the American propaganda, the information is there. Also, one of the reasons Hiroshima and Nagasaki were chosen is that all the major cities and industrial areas in Japan had already been destroyed by firebombing raids. The firebombing of Tokyo is the most infamous, since the destruction and loss of life there rivaled the atomic bombs, but all of the major cities in Japan had already been bombed. Around 1/7 of all urban areas in the whole of Japan was already destroyed, with hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths. There were more square miles destroyed in Japanese cities than in the whole of Germany during the war.

[@Daniel-po8eb]

Kyle is a whimp.

[@sirridesalot6652]

@@Jack_Stafford Why did Japan resist for so long? Perhaps they feared they'd be treated the same way they had treated countries they took over?

[@jbouma7551]

There's nothing unbiased about his videos.

[@TheTwitchyBrownGuy]

I visited the museum in Hiroshima years ago. The images and emotions were harrowing and horrific, but I genuinely recommend all to go and experience it. Nothing quite puts humanitys terrible power, and responsibility into perspective, as a visit to that place.

[@JadeinDavis]

Kyle, never stop making informative, interesting videos like this. Things like this need to be talked about, especially in times like these.

[@Tury1799]

I’ve had the honor of being able to visit both Hiroshima and Nagasaki with both cities being beautiful. Both of their museums are different but have the same powerful message of how terrible atomic/nuclear war is. It’s amazing how it appears how nothing ever happened to those cities. RIP to all those affected on those days and to those the suffer from the aftermath

[@TheChipmunk2008]

I think the memorials and the fact they have not been forgotten is VERY important to prevent it happening again

[@mral4381]

A miracle there seemed to be little to no long term effects.

[@1Jason]

@@TheChipmunk2008Why do you have the Ukraine flag as your picture?

[@1Jason]

@@SirCessation They are starting WW3. They are corrupt

[@TheChipmunk2008]

@@1Jason because I'm not a Russian troll

[@johngal56]

I can't quite believe that you took almost 3/4 of the video to give the viewer a history lesson, which most of the audience already knew, before you actually got to the point of how the city has recovered and thrived.

[@stevencramsie9172]

Is your attention span so short that you couldn’t watch the first nine minutes?

[@johngal56]

@@stevencramsie9172 No it isn't short at all, but I think we all know the circumstances behind the decision to use the weapon. My point is that you don't actually get to the point until near the end.

[@kriegtiger]

My grandfather was a member of the crew that flew weather missions that gave the green light for the Enola Gay. It feels odd and spooky to be connected to history this way, when I sit down and consider the details like this.

[@slugoo6474]

He’s a hero.

[@countdooku3373]

No he didn't.

[@kriegtiger]

@@countdooku3373 - Yes, he did. KZbin won't let me paste direct links, so go Google 'hiroshima nagasaki weather mission +spectrumlocalnews' and read the first result. Then google 'enola gay weather reconnaisance +nuclearmuseum'.

[@pathetic.waffle]

My brain can't fathom the point of wars but I'm half German and my great grandpa was a big fan of the freak in power. His wife's second husband found the Russians pretty nice for taking good care of him in prison. At least your grandfather isn't the mad man who ordered to the same operation one two cities for one harbour. He probably got drafted, checked the weather and the rest is uncomfy history. Fun fact, Hitler's maternal grandmother and paternal grandfather might've shared the family name "Hiedler". Some sources argue the maternal grandmother's name was "Hütler". Others question the grandfather's genealogy because cheating can indeed happen.

[@kriegtiger]

@@pathetic.waffle - In all honesty I didn't know history that well back when he told me that detail, and the telling never stuck in my head with regard to his emotional state about the events; ie I don't remember him being particularly proud or upset with his participation in it. It's only now, decades later, that it really sinks into my thoughts and makes me quiet for a while as I contemplate the enormity of it.

[@justicefool3942]

""Spending time at Pripyat is not as dangerous as you might think" I mean, kind of true. Right now, the biggest danger around Pripyat isn't radiation.

[@tanostrelok2323]

Safest place in Ukraine right now

[@AckeeDJ]

This march I had the pleasure of traveling all over Japan, with Hiroshima being a must-see. What I thought was going to be a cool look at a historical site quickly got turned on its head as you see names and faces of 140,000 people that died/went missing, images too horrifying to describe and recordings of people retelling what they witnessed that day, the days after, and its consequences. It is 100% worth going and seeing but for the love of god come mentally prepared that what you are going to see is very raw and emotional.

[@perniciouspete4986]

Yeah, the Japanese people are pretty loud about their own suffering, but they go mum if anyone brings up Nanking, etc, or what they were trained to do to American troops if there had been an invasion.

[@totorosghost]

If you get a chance, travel through Korea and talk to the locals about Japan's long time colonization of Korea. I suspect you will get some raw and emotional responses considering how they would not be speaking Korean if Japan had their way.

[@Anonymous------]

What happened in Hiroshima in WW2 was nothing in comparison to what the Japanese had done to 35 million Chinese people in China. If you don't care about the deaths of 35 million Chinese then think about how Japanese tortured and beheaded 10,000s of American troops in Southeast Asia.

[@markweber4854]

@@perniciouspete4986 - Or what they DID do to any American POW's! Japan started the Pacific war and I feel that the United States was justified in ending it by any means possible! The tragedy... like in ALL wars are the civilian casualties.

[@FirstLastOne]

@@perniciouspete4986 Shill much for the CCP? You do know that Mao killed WAY MORE of his own people all in the name of his EGO? Around 45 million people died in Mao's great leap backwards.

[@maryseflore7028]

When I was in high school, a Hiroshima survivor had come to give a talk about his experience. There was photo gallery set up, all black and white pictures, but uncensored and showing every detail. That never leaves you. Seeing this man and hearing his story, and seeing those pictures, were the best lessons about the horrors of war. It definitely changed me as a person. Sadly, today, if this was shown to students, their parents would riot.

[@Potte]

Hiroshima is a vibrant little city, and one of my favorites in Japan to visit. It's awe inspiring and humbling to be in a place where such a terrible world changing event took place, but in spite of that, or perhaps because of it, its easy to appreciate how much life and culture it has now. I've never seen such a passionate, excited crowd as I did after a Carps game, and I'm from Boston. We shouldn't forget what happened there, but we also shouldn't forget that Hiroshima is a living, breathing city, not just a chapter in a history book. Much love Kyle, I hope you enjoy your trip as much as I did mine.

[@FreeAimDog]

its kind of amazing to think how noble the united states was when it went down, at the time japan wanted to take over the world and they attacked the united states carriers and so the united states decided to bomb them as a warning and well the japanese stood down and so the united states spared them. if the shoe was on the other foot and japan had the atom bombs i dont think it would end well for the entire world, at the time the united states were the only ones with an atom bomb at the time. maybe russia too although i may be confusing that with nukes.

[@idminister]

@@FreeAimDog USSR didnt develop atomic weaponery until after WW2 from the german scientists they took, like the US did with operation paperclip. that being said WW2 germany was close to atomic achievement, part of the reason why the US focused germany first instead of japan, the nation that attacked the US. US had it during WW2 thanks to german defectors and as horrendous the tragedy of the two atomic bombs were, it was necessary for the survival of the human race. w/o mutually assured destruction would not have been a compelling concept and the Cold War would've been instead the Hottest War. something not always mentioned, is how clueless even the nuclear scientists were about radiation at the time, or how the US sent fully crewed military plan thru the mushroom cloud of the first test bomb to get measurement data

[@helenHTID]

@@idminister The Germans had never been close to producing nuclear weapons. But they were very advanced into rocket and missile technology, The United States used those captured German scientists and their work for their military and later NASA projects after the fall of Berlin in 1945. The Manhattan project had started a few years before then, And it kick started with the UK handing over their research and success in splitting the Atom to the US. The project was a joint effort involving US UK and Canada with US at the forefront, And the original target for a successfully produced weapon was Germany.. But the war in Europe had ended by that time, And then US decided to... The rest his history. The US also decided they were to be the only ones to have this newly formed weaponry after the project was completed, But that later changed anyway as we know. The UK already had the know how and eventually did it themselves, Russian intelligence stole from the project and beat UK to it.

[@thorpizzle]

I went to Hiroshima in 2019. I was only there for a few days. But the whole time, the weight of history was on the back of my mind. It is hard to go anywhere in the city and not imagine what it looked like on that day and the days after. It really is like a phoenix in the way it returned to life.

[@joshsinglefooter]

Yeah pearl harbor was nice before they bombed us. They should have thought about that before they did it. Sorry! USA!

[@janboniface4857]

Just got back from Japan. All I can say is that a visit to Hiroshima, Japan should be on everyone's bucket list. Things to see include the Peace Memorial Museum, Peace Memorial Park, Peace Memorial Hall, and the A-Bomb Dome. It is a sobering experience.

[@lanthanumlanthanium6373]

Japan will seek revenge on Israel.

[@wilgerdes3240]

...have you ever visited Pearl Harbor?

[@yoon2700]

Meh. I’m more interested in the stories of the survivors of the nanjing massacre, Japanese colonization and torture of Koreans, murder of Millions in the rest of Asia and the survivors of Pearl Harbor.

[@d4rk0v3]

A close friend of mine was a nuclear tech in the Navy when Fukushima happened. He was directly involved with the cleanup efforts. He has said on numerous occasions that the impact of the incident was far overblown by media and individuals spreading misinformation. It will be interesting to see your series about it. One thing I can trust from you, Kyle, is that you will present the information without exaggeration or sensationalizing what happened. My grandfather flew photography aircraft for many nuclear tests, including Bikini Atoll.

[@Mr.Unacceptable]

There should be a publicly funded archive where people can deposit their stories before they die. It's a shame to lose so much knowledge.

[@housemana]

@@Mr.Unacceptable you trust in the public waaaay too much bud.

[@cantthinkofaname5046]

@@housemanaI trust the public more than I would ever trust a news corporation that has a vested interest in selling me a narrative

[@chriscollins550]

​@nicholaskoa1371 and you're distrust will leave you lonely without knowledge. Everyone has a story or something to tell and back in ww2 and the decades afterwards there was many men and women who had witnessed and seen enough that most of it from what they witnessed is true. Theses people don't have to lie they lived it you're lucky you haven't had too. I grow up in the last decades of the cold War one side of me and the other was the RIA putting dirty bombs in place like Mc Donald's.

[@CaseNumber00]

Kyle made a video about how ever blown 3 Mile Island was.

[@Itsalllieslieslies]

If you read Death Object by Akio Nakatani then that provides a very good explanation of why Hiroshima is absolutely fine.

[@Gratn]

As a Japanese American this topic always comes to haunt me especially hearing the stories from distance relatives. I can’t put it into words but I appreciated the way the video had given the information. The Hiroshima museum was quite a weird place to be. I saw the destruction the bomb had created and the agony people had gone through yet you are surrounded by a bustling city and a calm and serene park.

[@sakiamira]

I went there as a highschooler. So many wax models showed a group of three horribly disfigured from the bombs. Also learned of the story of the girl who folded paper cranes to wish for, at first, her health, but them went ahead to fold more for world peace

[@basicinfo11252]

As a Chinese American everytime I see people awed by the "tragic destruction" of hiroshima, I remember how my grandmother told me all of her relatives are slaughtered by the japanese indiscriminately.

[@1967buickriviera]

Much more agony created by the Japanese before the war ended

[@KM-00]

The atrocities japan has committed does not excuse the use of atomic bombs on them, to those replying cynically. If you truly believe that, then you would be in the mind that americans deserved all that happened in 9-11. If you do think this way, then enjoy living in a toxic mindset of 'eye for an eye'.

[@sk8terfreak1100]

I think about it normally as just an American, and get this unsettling feeling. We opened a can and it's been festering ever since.

[@Bhotoshop]

As someone who is mixed American/Japanese, the Hiroshima Dome was such a humbling monument. It shows the destructive capabilities (worse now unfortunately) but also the strength to live on and survive.

[@shadow6543]

Not gonna find much pity for the actions of the Japanese during WW2 it might humble you to know what the Imperial Japanese army did to POW’s or what happened in Nanking. Might also interest you to know that the Japanese aren’t taught their history in that time period, which don’t get me wrong they shouldn’t be brow beaten into submission like the Germans but c’mon guys

[@Bhotoshop]

@shadow6543 I am well aware of what Japan did back then (which was really inhumane). My comment had nothing to do with that. Im saying the Atomic bomb specifically was terrible.

[@flagmichael]

One of the most striking bits of information I have seen about the blast was contained in John Hershey's book, Hiroshima. The six survivors profiled were, by fate, divided into three who were about one mile from Ground Zero and three who were about two miles away. I was struck, and initially puzzled, by the amount of time between the flash and the blast effects. The near ones had barely enough time to register the delay, while those about two miles away had enough time to move a few steps. In all cases they were spared by earthen or stone barriers between them and the epicenter when the blast wave arrived. The implications are almost monstrous: the speed of sound in gases is proportional to the square root of the temperature. Thermal radiation from the air burst heated the land, more near the blast and less at greater distances. This resulted in a layer of air near the ground heated so that it behaved as a conduit; the blast force near the epicenter weakened proportionally with distance, rather than proportionally to the square of the distance. It is truly hard to think of such effects and suffering without at least momentarily sensing an evil force.

[@g.k.1669]

I don't remember where I read the story as it was decades ago, but it was from a man that was a child at the time and him and his friends were playing in a small river and throwing a little bell into the water to see which one could find it. They were done playing but his friend tossed the bell back into the water as a joke and the boy needed to retrieve it because it belonged to his sister. He jumped into the river and while at the bottom seen the flash. He came to the surface to see his friends writhing on the shore of the river as they were burnt up and the surrounding trees were an inferno in thick dirt, ash and smoke.

[@charlesmurphy1510]

I read this book when I was a teenager in the 70’s, I don’t remember most of it but I now recall some of the facts you stated.

[@1badsteed]

There was no evil force. There was a desire to halt the fighting. This worked. Yes, it is horrifying.

[@bigem2166]

I taught English in Nagoya area in 2004, and took a weekend trip to Hiroshima. I left the peace memorial museum in tears. It was shocking, I will never forget the wax statues reenacted scene of the mother with her infant in her arms with their skin melting off their bodies, and her child walking behind bloodied and skin melting off. Omg I cried. May all of those innocent people killed rest in peace, and may this always be a reminder for this to never happen again. 🫶🫶🫶

[@mrmyth5846]

I’ve been to Hiroshima a number of times. The Japanese people are very resilient, kind and generous. They rebuilt and moved on.

[@henrywan5551]

I was just there visiting with my wife’s family from Hiroshima- I always knew that wife’s grandpa helped the “clean up” efforts, then later I learned he’s there to pick up bodies. Very sad, and that should never happen to anyone else.

[@fighterjetsteve]

Sad to say it's going to happen again, only it will be on a scale the world has never seen before.

[@muznick]

The threat of nuclear weapons may be the only thing that has prevented WWIII.

[@GeneralSeptem]

Or it may have been the only thing bringing us so close to it. Had America just let Japan surrender like they were trying, spectators of the Cold War might well have said, "no one would ever". They can't say that now.

[@plutoniumin]

@@GeneralSeptemjapan was definitely not trying to surrender

[@GeneralSeptem]

@plutoniumin they absolutely were trying to surrender, they just wouldn't accept the US's abjectly ludicrous demand of total surrender and deposition of the emperor.

[@reitairue2073]

​@@GeneralSeptemLudicrous? They attacked us when we were trying to stay out of it. Then we handed them their asses. You accept our terms or face the consequences. We see what the Japanese chose. "Pride" got them destroyed, their own actions are why we couldn't accept anything less than total surrender.

[@foxanard]

@@plutoniumin learn history. Japan wasn't at all affected by the atomic bombs - the war did keep going after that. And Japan was already bombed to hell by normal bombs before it, to the extent that it really didn't matter if one atomic bomb or a dozen normal ones would be dropped. Many in the Japanese government did want to end it, but the US's terms of surrender were unthinkable. The war did end when the US had swallowed their pride and made compromises on the matter. Meaning, that the usage of atomic bomb was never objectively justified, and was done solely to demonstrate the American capability in the face of the Soviets.

[@paulmoran217]

'Old men initiate wars, young men end them'....and in the process, give their lives. The two atomic bombs put an end to that terrible waste of lives, both Allied and Japanese

[@bunkusboo]

For those interested in a grizzly deep dive on the human experience of that day, as well as the historical context, the Last Podcast on the Left just wrapped a multi-part series on the Manhattan Project. Not for the weak of heart or stomach, but very effective at communicating the gravity of what was done.