It would soon be unleashed on the japanese cities of hiroshima and nagasaki. The Truman Library institute provided this video. We are at the 75th anniversary of the potsdam conference. Big numbers like a 75th anniversary or a 100th anniversary are always occasions for looking back and for drawing attention. I think theres another reason to look back at potsdam as we are in our own day and age reentering a world of Great Power Competition and reentering a world where geopolitics seems to have come back to the fore of international thinking and International Relations thinking. So its well worth us comiing back to this subject, so im especially glad to have a chance to talk to you about it. I wish it was in person, again, in kansas city. I wish that we were able to do this facetoface, but we will do the very best that we can. The key thing here that i want to return to throughout this presentation is shown by this photograph here of Winston Churchill, harry truman and josef stalin smilin
Documents from july. You can see my timeline here, the first five documents were going to show you, and then well have another five to finish off as we get into august of 1945 and even some from later that connect to this topic, the 60s. So the first information that truman has about the Manhattan Project comes in april just 12 days after he becomes president on april 12th. This very famous letter some of you are probably familiar with, when Henry Stimson, the secretary of war, writes to truman to tell him about this highly secret matter, as it mentions in that first paragraph. Now stimson had mentioned this to truman after his inauguration april 12th after fdrs death, just in passing, tells him they need to talk about it in the future. Just two weeks later, he sends this letter to truman, telling him they need to get together quickly so he can tell him in the project. You can see some interesting handwritten notes here. At the bottom what i like to point out in Harry Trumans own handw
B29 dropped atomic bomb number two on hiroshima, japans seventh largest city. A communications, military and Industrial Center of considerable importance. A stunned universe now swiftly learned man had a new weapon of shocking destructiveness, a weapon boarding on the absolute. In the blast thousands died instantly. 70,000 persons listed as killed or missing, 140,000 were injured. Of those 43,000 were badly hurt. The city was unbelievably crushed. Of 90,000 meetings over 60,000 demolished. The remains were aptly described as vapor and ashes. Man had torn from nature, one of her inner most secrets and fashioned an instrument of annihilation. Menacing implications of this extraordinary weapon were frightening to every day people. What did you think of that bomb we dropped on the japs, mrs. Glenn . Isnt it terrible . All those people killed. Three days later another bomb dropped on the seaport of nag sa highly congested, the best natural harbor and extensive naval facilities. This bomb ex
Bombs, including a white house documents, a sketch of a test explosion. We see mr. Trumans recorded announcement that the hiroshima bomb. Explained years later why he used the weapon. The Truman Library institute provided this video. What i would like to do tonight is to show you a number of artifacts, objects, photographs, three dimensional related to the 75th anniversary of the atomic bomb. Each of those are going to present to digitally. We will have questions and answers on the chat box. I hope you enjoy the presentation and i will go right in and look at our first artifact which is actually from 1945, not 1945 but from april shortly after he became president. They will look at documents from july. You can see my timeline here, documents we will show you. And will try to finish off as we get into august. And later into the sixties. They connect to this topic. First information that truman has about the Manhattan Project comes in april just 12 days after he becomes president on apri
To fulfill the mission of making the Reagan Library a dynamic intellect one intellectual forum our programming offers lectures with perspectives on important Public Policy issues of the day we bring between 20 and 30 events each year business and military leaders and media since the closure across the country the Reagan Foundation now host bends on line to make sure we are delivering worldclass content even if you cannot get to the hilltop to watch in person. This week we bring you Chris Wallace anchor of Fox News Sunday marking his 50th year in the broadcasting industry he has participated in coverage of nearly every Major Political event and secured high profile interviews the dignitaries and us leaders. The past three years he has broadcast the sunday morning show live from the Reagan National defense form is held each year he is with us today to speak of his new book countdown 1945 the extraordinary story of the atomic bomb in the 116 days that change the world which is an unforget