atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

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Notable quotes

“... We devoutly hoped that the Japanese would heed our warning that, unless they surrendered unconditionally, the destruction of their armed forces and the devastation of their homeland was inevitable. But on July 28 the Japanese Premier issued a statement saying the declaration was unworthy of notice. That was disheartening. There was nothing left to do but use the bomb.”
— James F. Byrnes, as quoted in The Great Decision: The Secret History of the Atomic Bomb (1959) by Michael Amrine, p. 197
“If I had foreseen Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I would have torn up my formula in 1905.”
— Albert Einstein, in a conversation of 1948, as quoted in Einstein and the Poet : In Search of the Cosmic Man (1983) by William Hermanns, p. 112
“If atomic bombs are to be added as new weapons to the arsenals of a warring world, or to the arsenals of nations preparing for war, then the time will come when mankind will curse the names of Los Alamos and Hiroshima. The people must unite, or they will perish.”
— Robert Oppenheimer Speech at Fuller Lodge when the U.S. Army was honouring the work at Los Alamos. (16 Oct 1945). Quoted in Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin, American Prometheus: the Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer‎ (2005), 323.
“The dropping of the Atomic Bomb is a very deep problem... Instead of commemorating Hiroshima we should celebrate... man's triumph over the problem [of transmutation], and not its first misuse by politicians and military authorities.”
— Frederick Soddy address to New Europe Group meeting on the third anniversary of the Hiroshima bomb. Quoted in New Europe Group, In Commemoration of Professor Frederick Soddy (1956), 6-7.
“I made up my mind then that the morality of dropping that bomb was not my business. I was instructed to perform a military mission to drop the bomb. That was the thing that I was going to do the best of my ability. Morality, there is no such thing in warfare. I don’t care whether you are dropping atom bombs, or 100-pound bombs, or shooting a rifle. You have got to leave the moral issue out of it.”
— Paul W. Tibbets, in a 1989 interview, entitled "General Paul Tibbets- Reflections on Hiroshima", recorded by the Voices of Hiroshima project.
“A Thousand Paper Cranes. Peace on Earth and in the Heavens.”
— Hideki Yukawa, inscribed on the surface of the bell inside the at Hiroshima, Japan.

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

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Notable quotes

“... We devoutly hoped that the Japanese would heed our warning that, unless they surrendered unconditionally, the destruction of their armed forces and the devastation of their homeland was inevitable. But on July 28 the Japanese Premier issued a statement saying the declaration was unworthy of notice. That was disheartening. There was nothing left to do but use the bomb.”
— James F. Byrnes, as quoted in The Great Decision: The Secret History of the Atomic Bomb (1959) by Michael Amrine, p. 197
“If I had foreseen Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I would have torn up my formula in 1905.”
— Albert Einstein, in a conversation of 1948, as quoted in Einstein and the Poet : In Search of the Cosmic Man (1983) by William Hermanns, p. 112
“If atomic bombs are to be added as new weapons to the arsenals of a warring world, or to the arsenals of nations preparing for war, then the time will come when mankind will curse the names of Los Alamos and Hiroshima. The people must unite, or they will perish.”
— Robert Oppenheimer Speech at Fuller Lodge when the U.S. Army was honouring the work at Los Alamos. (16 Oct 1945). Quoted in Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin, American Prometheus: the Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer‎ (2005), 323.
“The dropping of the Atomic Bomb is a very deep problem... Instead of commemorating Hiroshima we should celebrate... man's triumph over the problem [of transmutation], and not its first misuse by politicians and military authorities.”
— Frederick Soddy address to New Europe Group meeting on the third anniversary of the Hiroshima bomb. Quoted in New Europe Group, In Commemoration of Professor Frederick Soddy (1956), 6-7.
“I made up my mind then that the morality of dropping that bomb was not my business. I was instructed to perform a military mission to drop the bomb. That was the thing that I was going to do the best of my ability. Morality, there is no such thing in warfare. I don’t care whether you are dropping atom bombs, or 100-pound bombs, or shooting a rifle. You have got to leave the moral issue out of it.”
— Paul W. Tibbets, in a 1989 interview, entitled "General Paul Tibbets- Reflections on Hiroshima", recorded by the Voices of Hiroshima project.
“A Thousand Paper Cranes. Peace on Earth and in the Heavens.”
— Hideki Yukawa, inscribed on the surface of the bell inside the at Hiroshima, Japan.

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.