My fellow leaders and advisors held exceedingly ambivalent views, when our American Allies first issued the Potsdam Declaration late July. They demanded unconditional surrender of all our armed forces! If this wasn’t disreputable enough, they threatened imminent and complete destruction of not only our forces, but they insured absolute devastation of our homeland if we failed to comply with their egregious policy! One consequential condition declared on the Potsdam Declaration undoubtedly resonated with me personally and many other leaders and advisors. The declaration specified “elimination for all of the authority and influence of those who have deceived and misled the people of Japan into …show more content…
The nation of Japan is permeated with anguish and despair. Two bombs of an indescribable magnitude have been dropped on Japan. The first was 3 days ago; the target, Hiroshima, the site of our major military headquarters. And earlier today, Nagasaki became a victim, and currently lies in ruins. The cities are unrecognizable. I do not have the words to explain to you how devastating and destructive the bombs have been. At this stage, we are still to receive advice regarding the loss of military personnel, and the extent of civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure. At this early stage reports slowly filtering in paint a devastating picture. I cannot fathom how my beloved country will bounce back from these attacks. This event, however, has made one element salient to me. Defeat is inevitable. The only alternative to surrender is complete and utter destruction. Our Allies seem committed to completely destroying every Japanese man, women and child. Continuing this war will only result in more destruction for the nation and prolonged