Hiroshima Coursework This piece of coursework will concentrate on three questions, all source based.

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Preet Mahil 11.01

History – The Bombing of Hiroshima

This GCSE assignment is based on the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6th 1945. This bomb proved to be significant because on the 14th of the same month, Japan surrendered and the Second World War was finally over. This piece of coursework will concentrate on three questions, all source based.

1) Study sources A and B

Which source is more useful as evidence of the physical effects of the Hiroshima bomb? Explain your answer [5marks]

Source A is a photograph of the centre of Hiroshima taken on August 7th 1945, the day after the bomb was dropped, and source B was an eyewitness’s account of the bomb. These two sources have both usefulness and limitations and how I will determine which one is more useful is by comparing them.

        Source A was taken at the time, and is a high quality photograph which shows the destruction that the Atomic bomb. It cannot be interpreted because it a photograph and it shows the clear fact that Hiroshima has been clearly destroyed. However, the limitations of this photograph are that it is only showing the actual place where the bomb was dropped, what about the area surrounding it? Had that been damaged?  We cannot be answered that from this source.

This source however, does not have any intended audience because it is a photograph showing the aftermath of the Atomic bomb on Hiroshima – therefore this source can be used usefully as evidence of the physical effects.

Source B is an eyewitness’s account of the bomb, the narrators name is Mr Kazuo who is very descriptive and the reader can have a good understanding of what he saw. Because the narrator has written very well and has described in extensive detail, it gives the reader that sense of truth in the source.

However, the source could be seen as being biased. This is due to the fact that he was actually there and he was a civilian. His motives would be to make sure that America is seen as the ‘bad’ and ‘evil’ country that has killed thousands of innocent civilians. Also, the text seems to be a little farfetched. For example, ‘In their terror of dying they clawed their way, over one another, their eyes hanging from their sockets…’ The reader may think that this is trying to influence them by describing the event as worse as possible. You have to take into consideration the narrators motive. It does not state when he was there. Was he there after the bomb was set off? Was he near the centre where the bomb was dropped? This is a limitation of this source.

In conclusion I believe that source A is clearly the more useful source to understand the physical effect of the Hiroshima bomb. This is due to the fact that source B has a very clear motive, and it is biased. Its motive is to make the Americans to be seen as the guilty party and to influence the reader by gaining some sort of sympathy (its very ‘gory’ and manipulative).

Source A however, is a photograph and cannot be interpreted in any way because it shows what actually happened visually. It shows the destruction of Hiroshima. It shows no life form which suggests to the reader that nothing and no-one survived. That is the clear reason why source A is more useful for evidence of physical effects on Hiroshima.

2) Study source E

Source E is written by a Soviet Historian during the Cold War.

Is it reliable as evidence of American motives in August 1945?

Explain your answer. [5marks]

To evaluate the reliability of this source, I will have to read the source, understand the content, uses, intended audience, motives and experiences to come up with a conclusion. This source is written in 1984 by Vadim Nekrasov. This is very significant because the Soviet Union and the USA were (at the time) in the cold war. This period was known as the ‘new Cold War’. This was due to many things that were occurring during the 1980’s. The Soviet Union and the USA were going through a very difficult period. These events include; revolution in Iran in 1979. The USA supported the Shah because they needed Iran’s oil. The new government were both anti-American and anti-Communist. Problems also occurred in Afghanistan in 1979 where the pro-Soviet regime was under threat from the Mujahideen. Soviet forces entered Afghanistan on 25th December, 1979. President Carter described this as ‘the most serious threat to peace since the Second World War’. Also Jimmy Carter, USA President, 1977-81) openly criticised the USSR over human rights. New nuclear weapons were another threat to the relationship of these two countries. In 1977 the USSR began updating their nuclear weapons. This caused the American’s to create the Cruise missiles which were an answer to the USSR’s SS-20s. This source already could be seen as biased even before the source is examined.

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        However, the source claims that the USA used the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to send fear to anyone opposing the USA – especially the Soviet Union. The source states the Americans ‘decision to use atomic energy for military purposes was meant to produce a diplomatic and psychological impact, and this has since involved the world of nuclear arms.’ This source has experience because the writer has the ability of hindsight because it is written 39 years after the bombs were dropped. The intended audience could be seen in two different ways. One perspective is that is it to ...

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