For a while I worked on shows at the awful little Burgess Theatre at SRI in Menlo Park, California.
The buildings of SRI (and the theatre) were built originally as a hospital for the wounded of the forthcoming invasion of Japan. Of course, they never had to serve that original purpose.
Japan at the start of August 1945 was in a vise. I don't think anyone can say for sure what event triggered the Emperor to make his radio speech.
I know that I have wondered what I would have decided were I in Truman's position. My sense is that I would have said OK - the war spirit was so strong, there were so many dead that the prospect of more would be terrifying, and we did not know what we know now about the consequential side effects of "the bomb".
I guess what surprised me the most was the constructive policies of the US after the surrender. (Both in Japan and the US Sector in Germany.) That really further darkens the lack of wisdom of the Versailles treaty.
Karl Auerbach
npub1rh…ps08d
2025-08-24 21:27:27 UTC
in reply to nevent1q…8g2p
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2025-08-24 21:27:27 UTCEvent JSON
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