General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: An overlooked A-bomb issue: the wait-a-couple-weeks argument [View all]hack89
(39,171 posts)in all those countries. The Manila massacre in Feb 1945 killed an estimated 100,000 civilians. Slave labor, comfort women, deliberate policies of starvation - they were all happening to the very end.
There was no indication given to the Americans that the Japanese were on the verge of surrender - quite the opposite. Ignoring the Potsdam declaration was not a wise choice. Trying to enlist their erstwhile ally the Soviets to mediate a better deal made it clear that the Japanese thought they had plenty of time to negotiate. The fact that even Hiroshima did not convince them to surrender is proof of that.
No matter what decision was made in 1945, many innocent people were going to die. The atomic bombs were the least objectionable choice. The war had to end as quickly as possible.