1.
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Who was the scientist who directed the work of producing in secret the atom bomb?
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Answer: The physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer
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2.
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What country was also trying to produce an atom bomb?
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Answer: Germany
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3.
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Why was the atom bomb made?
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Possible answer: To help us win the war.
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4.
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In what way did the Japanese show that they were desperate toward the end of the war?
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Possible answers:
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(a)
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They were “fighting to the last man” in the battles on the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Very few prisoners were taken by the Americans.
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(b)
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by the use of the “kamikaze” planes (suicidal plane attacks upon American warships).
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5.
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When the Japanese government rejected the Potsdam Declaration for unconditional surrender, what did it signify?
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Possible answer: It meant that the militarists who wanted to keep on fighting the war were in control of the Japanese government.
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6.
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Was there anybody who wanted to give the Japanese a warning
before
the dropping of the atom bomb?
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Answer: Ralph Bard, Undersecretary of the Navy.
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7.
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Was anybody against the use of the atom bomb?
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Possible answer: Some scientists working on the production of the atom bomb in Chicago, Illinois were against it.
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8.
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How did Truman explain his decision to drop the bomb?
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Answers:
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(a)
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It would save thousands and thousands of young American lives.
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(b)
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If the war continued, a half-million soldiers on both sides would have been killed and a million would be maimed for life.
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9.
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Was the dropping of the atom bomb really Truman’s decision?
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Answer: No, because the production of the bomb was ordered by Franklin D. Roosevelt during the war, with a view of eventually using it.
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10.
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Could any nation have made an atomic bomb at that time?
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Answer: The belief among the scientists was that the knowledge to make an atomic bomb was available and that it was only a matter of time before other nations built their own.
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