Brian Klaas

And so they have this group of scientists and generals that get together called the Target Committee, and they draft their choices for where they think would be the most effective use of the bomb. And Kyoto is consistently rated as the top choice. It had cultural significance because it was a former imperial capital.

And so they have this group of scientists and generals that get together called the Target Committee, and they draft their choices for where they think would be the most effective use of the bomb. And Kyoto is consistently rated as the top choice. It had cultural significance because it was a former imperial capital.

And so they have this group of scientists and generals that get together called the Target Committee, and they draft their choices for where they think would be the most effective use of the bomb. And Kyoto is consistently rated as the top choice. It had cultural significance because it was a former imperial capital.

It also had an airplane factory that was churning out parts of the Japanese military force. And so it had military significance. You have the fact that it's relatively undamaged by previous American bombing.

It also had an airplane factory that was churning out parts of the Japanese military force. And so it had military significance. You have the fact that it's relatively undamaged by previous American bombing.

It also had an airplane factory that was churning out parts of the Japanese military force. And so it had military significance. You have the fact that it's relatively undamaged by previous American bombing.

And on top of it, they even discuss how there's a university there, and therefore they'll have the educated people of Kyoto will understand that a new chapter in human history has been opened with the dropping of this extraordinarily powerful weapon.

And on top of it, they even discuss how there's a university there, and therefore they'll have the educated people of Kyoto will understand that a new chapter in human history has been opened with the dropping of this extraordinarily powerful weapon.

And on top of it, they even discuss how there's a university there, and therefore they'll have the educated people of Kyoto will understand that a new chapter in human history has been opened with the dropping of this extraordinarily powerful weapon.

Yeah, so 19 years after he goes on vacation to Kyoto, Stimson has risen through the ranks of the U.S. government, and he is now the Secretary of War in 1945. And that means he's the chief civilian who oversees the target committee, who oversees the decision of where to drop the atomic bomb. And he gets this memo, and we have all these memos preserved through historical records.

Yeah, so 19 years after he goes on vacation to Kyoto, Stimson has risen through the ranks of the U.S. government, and he is now the Secretary of War in 1945. And that means he's the chief civilian who oversees the target committee, who oversees the decision of where to drop the atomic bomb. And he gets this memo, and we have all these memos preserved through historical records.

Yeah, so 19 years after he goes on vacation to Kyoto, Stimson has risen through the ranks of the U.S. government, and he is now the Secretary of War in 1945. And that means he's the chief civilian who oversees the target committee, who oversees the decision of where to drop the atomic bomb. And he gets this memo, and we have all these memos preserved through historical records.

And the memo basically says, we agree, Kyoto must be destroyed. That's where we're going to drop the first atomic bomb.

And the memo basically says, we agree, Kyoto must be destroyed. That's where we're going to drop the first atomic bomb.

And the memo basically says, we agree, Kyoto must be destroyed. That's where we're going to drop the first atomic bomb.

Well, we don't know exactly what happened the moment he saw the memo, but we know that he sprung to action because the generals began to refer to Kyoto as Stimson's pet city because he had gone to such extraordinary lengths to try to save it. And that involved sending messages.

Well, we don't know exactly what happened the moment he saw the memo, but we know that he sprung to action because the generals began to refer to Kyoto as Stimson's pet city because he had gone to such extraordinary lengths to try to save it. And that involved sending messages.

Well, we don't know exactly what happened the moment he saw the memo, but we know that he sprung to action because the generals began to refer to Kyoto as Stimson's pet city because he had gone to such extraordinary lengths to try to save it. And that involved sending messages.

It involved twice meeting with President Truman, the American president at the time overseeing this choice, and convincing him to take Kyoto off the bombing list. So it's an extraordinary intervention by a government official who is basically going out on a limb to overrule the decision of the committee that has deeply thought about the strategic value of various bombing targets.

It involved twice meeting with President Truman, the American president at the time overseeing this choice, and convincing him to take Kyoto off the bombing list. So it's an extraordinary intervention by a government official who is basically going out on a limb to overrule the decision of the committee that has deeply thought about the strategic value of various bombing targets.