On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in an attempt to destroy the U.S. Civilians, forced laborers, and prisoners of war were subject to brutal mistreatment, biological experiments, and execution. The slaughter of 200,000 to 300,000 Chinese in Nanking in December 1937 shocked the world. Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931 began what would evolve into a campaign to take control over East Asia and the western Pacific, creating a new empire which would later be called the 'Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.' Japanese expansionism was marked by naked aggression and extreme brutality. This exhibition describes the war between Japan and the United States and its allies, the building of the atomic bomb, the decision to use it, the military effort to carry out that mission, the effects of the bombing, and the surrender of Japan. The event was one of the critical turning points of our century. Source: The Last Act: The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II by the Curators of the National Air and Space Museumįifty years ago, the atomic bomb brought a sudden end to World War II and ushered in the nuclear age. The Last Act: The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II Unit 1 of the first draft has no comparable text to Unit 1 of the final draft.
