To Drop a Bomb or Not...
The Allies at the Potsdam Conference (July 24, 1945)
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DOCUMENT #8A: American President Harry Truman
DOCUMENT #8A: American President Harry Truman
At the Potsdam Conference, new President Harry Truman briefly alludes to the fact that the United States was now in possession of atomic weapons to Stalin; unbeknownst to Truman, Soviet spies had already informed Stalin of the bomb’s existence.
At the Potsdam Conference, new President Harry Truman briefly alludes to the fact that the United States was now in possession of atomic weapons to Stalin; unbeknownst to Truman, Soviet spies had already informed Stalin of the bomb’s existence.
On July 24, I casually mentioned to Stalin that we had a new weapon of unusual destructive force. The Russian Premier showed no special interest. All he said was he was glad to hear it and hoped we would make “good use of it against the Japanese.”
Source: Harry S. Truman, Year of Decisions, 1955.
DOCUMENT #8B: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
DOCUMENT #8B: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
At the Potsdam Conference, new President Harry Truman briefly alludes to the fact that the United States was now in possession of atomic weapons to Stalin; unbeknownst to Truman, Soviet spies had already informed Stalin of the bomb’s existence.
At the Potsdam Conference, new President Harry Truman briefly alludes to the fact that the United States was now in possession of atomic weapons to Stalin; unbeknownst to Truman, Soviet spies had already informed Stalin of the bomb’s existence.
I was perhaps five yards away, and I watched with the closest attention the momentous talk. I knew what the President was going to do. What was vital to measure was its effect on Stalin. I can see it all as if it were yesterday. He seemed to be delighted. A new bomb! Of extraordinary power! Probably decisive on the whole Japanese war! What a bit of luck! This was my impression at the moment, and I was sure that he had no idea of the significance of what he was being told. Evidently in his immense toils and stresses the atomic bomb had played no part. If he had the slightest idea of the revolution in world affairs which was in progress his reactions would have been obvious. Nothing would have been easier than for him to say, “Thank you so much for telling me about your new bomb. I of course have no technical knowledge. May I send my expert in these nuclear sciences to see your expert tomorrow morning?” But his face remained gay and genial and the talk between these two potentates soon came to an end. As we were waiting for our cars I found myself near Truman. “How did it go?” I asked. “He never asked a question,” he replied. I was certain therefore that at that date Stalin had no special knowledge of the vast process of research upon which the United States and Britain had been engaged for so long...
Winston Churchill, Triumph and Tragedy (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1953) pp 669-70.
DOCUMENT #8C: Marshal Georgii Zhukov, leading Soviet general.
DOCUMENT #8C: Marshal Georgii Zhukov, leading Soviet general.
Zhukov was one of the generals of the Soviet Union whose leadership helped the U.S.S.R. win in World War II and was present at the Potsdam Conference.
Zhukov was one of the generals of the Soviet Union whose leadership helped the U.S.S.R. win in World War II and was present at the Potsdam Conference.
I do not recall the exact date, but after the close of one of the formal meetings Truman informed Stalin that the United States now possessed a bomb of exceptional power, without, however, naming it the atomic bomb.
As was later written abroad, at that moment Churchill fixed his gaze on Stalin’s face, closely observing his reaction. However, Stalin did not betray his feelings and pretended that he saw nothing special in what Truman had imparted to him. Both Churchill and many other Anglo-American authors subsequently assumed that Stalin had really failed to fathom the significance of what he had heard.
In actual fact, on returning to his quarters after this meeting Stalin, in my presence, told [Foreign Minister] Molotov about his conversation with Truman. The latter reacted almost immediately. “Let them. We’ll have to talk it over with Kurchatov [head of the Soviet atomic bomb project] and get him to speed things up.”
I realized that they were talking about research on the atomic bomb.
It was clear already then that the U.S. Government intended to use the atomic weapon for the purpose of achieving its Imperialist goals from a position of strength in “the cold war.” This was amply corroborated on August 6 [bombing of Hiroshima] and 8 [bombing of Nagasaki.] Without any military need whatsoever, the Americans dropped two atomic bombs on the peaceful and densely-populated Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
THE SUPREME COMMANDERS: Zhukov (right) and his wife (center) with American General Dwight D. Eisenhower (left)
Georgii Konstantinovich Zhukov, The Memoirs of Marshal Zhukov (New York: Delacorte Press, 1971) pp. 674-675.
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