This country is at war with Germany.

We shall go on to the end.

I remember the sheets of flame which came up and almost blinded us from our guns. Hello and welcome to the World War II podcast. I'm Angus Wallace. It was only as Harry S Truman was

sworn in as the 33rd President of the United States that he was told of the Manhattan Project.

In this episode we embark on a journey through one of the most controversial and consequential

decisions in modern history, Truman's choice to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima

and Nagasaki during World War II. The story of this decision is complex marked by

intense debate and ethical dilemmas.

As the war in Europe concluded with the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Pacific Theatre continued

to rage with brutal intensity. American forces face fierce resistance from

Japanese troops and the prospect of a prolonged and bloody invasion of Japan loomed large.

In this episode we'll explore the multifaceted considerations that influenced

Truman's decision. We'll examine the military strategies, the political pressures, and the moral questions that weighed on the shoulders of the

President of the United States.

I'm joined by Edward Ulrich, who is the author of The Partnership, George Marshall Stimson and the extraordinary collaboration that won World War II.

And if you want to know more about Marshall and Stimson, you need to go back to episode 164.

Ted, welcome back is something I'd not considered the decision to drop the atomic bomb.

President Roosevelt died passing the ultimate decision to Truman who within weeks was having to make that decision

to drop the bomb. Let's go back to the Manhattan program as there's questions about secrecy and how the bomb was thought it might be used.

Right at the start of the project, who knows about the Manhattan Project? Is it a military project? Is the civilian oversight or is the civilian oversight with the military running it?

How do they frame that Manhattan Project right at the very start because that's going to lead to how the decisions are going to be made

No, that's a really fair question. So let me back up a sec, you know just to put the real short version of it so fission is discovered in 38

...