Potsdam Declaration
The Men Against the Bomb
By Andrew J. RotterThe men and women who imagined and then built the atomic bomb thought they were doing something different from what makers of “conventional” weapons did. Read more
Potsdam Declaration
The Big Three in Tehran: The Meeting That Shaped WWII
By Michael D. HullWorld War II made a disparate trio of allies —British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet Marshal Joseph Stalin, and American President Franklin D. Read more
Potsdam Declaration
The FCC’s RID and Japan’s Surrender
By Susan L. BrinsonGeorge Sterling received a teletype message from the War Department just after 5:15 am on August 15, 1945. Read more
Potsdam Declaration
B-29 Superfortress: The Plane That Bombed Japan Into Submission
By Sam McGowanAs the Japanese delegation stood on the deck of the battleship USS Missouri on September 2, 1945, preparing to sign the documents that ended World War II, a large formation of Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers swooped low over Tokyo Bay as a reminder of the terrible destruction that had befallen their nation and turned Japan’s cities into ruins. Read more
Potsdam Declaration
MacArthur’s Occupation of Japan: Lessons on Counterinsurgency
By Lieutenant Colonel Michael F. TrivetAs the months of 1945 passed at an agonizingly slow pace, Allied forces in the Pacific struggled unwaveringly toward Japan. Read more
Potsdam Declaration
The Birth of the Viet Minh: World War II’s Prelude to the Vietnam War
by John BrownIn the late 18th century, the French established Catholic missions in Indochina, and until the 1820s they enjoyed local protection, but after that persecution began and increased steadily, particularly under Emperor Tu-Duc, who reigned from 1847 to 1883 and wanted to stamp out Christianity. Read more
Potsdam Declaration
Hirohito (Emperor Shōwa)’s Triumph
by Blaine TaylorIt was fated to be the last wartime conference of the Big Three Allies of World War II, but it was the first not attended by the late American President Franklin D. Read more
Potsdam Declaration
Was It Right to Drop the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima & Nagasaki?
by Sam McGowanThe most controversial decision of the 20th century—probably in all of history—was the one reportedly made by President Harry S. Read more
Potsdam Declaration
Why the U.S. Dropped the Atomic Bomb on Japan in WWII
By Robert A. Rosenthal
How did we get to dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima? Who was responsible? Where and when did it begin? Read more
