Would the United Stated have used the bomb on white, West-European Germans?

[Boris Godunov]

The German war declaration against the U.S. wasn't confusing, it was pretty explicit. They declared war on us first.

Hitler wasn't just a masochist, he was a foolish masochist.

[Dauphin]

The US does have a habit of not declaring war, even when it starts the conflict (often with just cause).

[Dauphin]

That is, if Germany hadn't "declared" war, the US probably would have found justification to enter the conflict without actually declaring war themselves.

[Dinner]

I mean, don't get me wrong, the firebombing of Dresden was horrific but so is the firebombing of Tokyo and not one, but TWO atomic bomb blasts in Japanese cities.

After the first bomb was dropped the allies asked the Japanese if they wanted to surrender. The Japanese refused. They then said if the Japanese did not surrender a second bomb would be dropped. The Japanese still refused. A second bomb was dropped and the allies said that unrestricted atomic bombing would commence unless the Japanese surrendered.

The Japanese surrendered the next day.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Dan Severn Actually, Germany declared war on the US. I suppose they wanted to start the war before we could prepare.

Hitler was a masochist.

The mutial defense treaty signed by Germany, Japan, Italy, Hungary, & Rumania required that they all declare war. Believe it or not Rosevelt was relieved when the Germans & Italians declared war because he believed the Congress would refuse to declare war on any other powers besides Japan.

Hitler's declaration of war made all of this mute.

[Imran Siddiqui]

The mutial defense treaty signed by Germany, Japan, Italy, Hungary, & Rumania required that they all declare war.

Well, not totally. IIRC, Japan never really declared war on Russia when Germany invaded.

[Dinner]

True, true, true...

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Oerdin
After the first bomb was dropped the allies asked the Japanese if they wanted to surrender. The Japanese refused.

Actually, they didn't so much refuse as they didn't know what happened. Hiroshima just disappeared off the grid. It took them several days to figure out what happened, and then Nagasaki was bombed.

[Dinner]

An ultimatium was sent to the Japanese government through the Swiss embassy and the reply returned the same way. Of course it is possible that the Japanese hadn't yet surveyed the damage and so we're not informed enough to make a proper decision but the fact remains that surrender was called for and denied.

[Zoid]

Originally posted by Sikander


The radiation is minimal, which is why both cities have been continuously occupied since WWII. It is the radioactive isotopes used in nuclear power that last effectively forever, the ones used in bombs don't last as long and are dispersed by the explosion.

Noone really knows what the long term effects of such exposure to radiation will be, but cancer cases are more common in Hiroshima and Nagasaki areas than in Japan as a whole.

[Ecthy]

Actually they did use the bomb on Germans. It was just never made public.

[Dry]

Originally posted by Boris Godunov
The German war declaration against the U.S. wasn't confusing, it was pretty explicit. They declared war on us first.

Hitler wasn't just a masochist, he was a foolish masochist.

Not exactly.
Germany had no means to make war against US, it had not even the means to beat UK, so imagine...

In fact, the situation of Germany at that time was that they had been stopped by the Russians before Moscow (Official stop was dec, 1). They hoped the Japanese would declare war against Russia and open a second front in Siberia to prevent russian reinforcement on the european front.
As a sign of goodwill toward Japan, the Germans declared war against US.
But fortunately for the Russians (and us), the Japanese didn't "send back the lift", and didn't declare war to Russia.

[Ecthy]

We did have the means to beat the UK, thank you. I'd say it was a draw, and that was only achieved by American support for the UK.

[Dry]

Originally posted by Ecthelion
We did have the means to beat the UK, thank you. I'd say it was a draw, and that was only achieved by American support for the UK.

I meant naval means.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Oerdin

The mutial defense treaty signed by Germany, Japan, Italy, Hungary, & Rumania required that they all declare war. Believe it or not Rosevelt was relieved when the Germans & Italians declared war because he believed the Congress would refuse to declare war on any other powers besides Japan.

Hitler's declaration of war made all of this mute.

No, the defense treaties were just that. Since Japan initiated hostilities against the U.S. the others were under no obligation to do the same.

Also, as an educational service, mute means silent while moot means not worth making any noise over.