90984 ” THE DECISION TO DROP THE BOMB ” 1965 DOCUMENTARY w/ CHET HUNTLEY HIROSHIMA ATOMIC BOMB

Dating to 1965, this documentary film “The Decision to Drop the Bomb” takes a look at the most difficult decision in President Harry Truman’s term in office: the decision as to whether or not to use the newly-developed atomic bomb against Japan. The film was produced by Fred Freed for NBC-TV and narrated by Chet Huntley.

The film begins the moment that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt dies in office. The new president, Harry S. Truman, has only served in office for a brief time. People react in the streets to the news of the FDR’s passing 1:35. Flag flies at half-mast 1:54. People stand outside the White House as Harry S. Truman takes the oath of office 2:10. Secretary of War Henry L Stimson, the sole cabinet member to know about the Manhattan Project, is shown 2:35. McGeorge Bundy speaks to the camera 2:48. The Pentagon is shown 3:20. Leslie Groves 3:31. E. R. Stettinius, Jr. walks out of a government building. Congressmen are shown in the chamber 4:05. Leo Szilard was a Hungarian-German-American physicist and inventor – father of the bomb project 4:20. Tape recorder is shown 4:27. The wife of Leo Szilard reads to the camera, the thoughts of her former husband, on the bomb 4:37. Harry Truman speaks to Congress for the first time 5:45. Soldiers are seen in Europe 6:36. The war in the atolls against the Japanese is shown 7:06. Oak Ridge Tennessee, a soldier walks the post 7:26. Man working inside a plant 7:45. Oak Ridge is manufacturing Uranium-235 7:58. McGeorge Bundy speaks to the camera 8:20. General Groves reflects about his time working on the bomb 9:05. Harry Truman is shown 9:33. The war in Europe continues in Berlin 9:40. McGeorge Bundy speaks to the camera 10:15. The war in Europe is over and Europe is in ruins 10:52. McGeorge Bundy speaks to the camera 11:15. Generals discuss war against Japan 12:20. The Joint Chiefs of Staff 12:35. Planes drop bombs on Japan 13:00. The Imperial Palace 13:20. Advisor to the Emperor, Koichi Kido speaks to the camera 13:29. Colonel Hayashi of Japan 14:04. Stimson and Truman walk in the garden 14:39. General Groves speaks to the camera 14:50. Japan tries to dig out from the bombing 15:43. The city is decimated 15:55. R. Gordon Arneson speaks to the camera 16:15. Dr. Robert Oppenheimer 16:55. James F Byrnes 17:22. R. Gordon Arneson speaks to the camera 17:30. Dr. James Conant 18:20. U.S. planes fly over Tokyo dropping bombs 18:45. Hero’s welcome for Dwight Eisenhower 19:15. Generals and politicians arrive at the White House 19:35. The Joint Chiefs 19:45. Lt. General Seizo Arisue of Japan 20:06. Dead bodies on the field of war 20:35. B-29s on the runway 20:59. The newly-built Pentagon is shown 21:15. John McCloy 21:20. Ralph Bard, Undersecretary of the Navy 21:37. Dr. Robert Oppenheimer 22:16. Dr. George Kistiakowsky 23:17. The cruiser USS Augusta at sea. The president watches a boxing match 24:53. Aerial view of Japanese city in ashes 25:00. Joseph Stalin 25:24. Truman at sea 25:36. Alamogordo, New Mexico, the atomic bomb test site 25:44. The scientists inside the base at Alamogordo 26:39. General Groves speaks to the camera 27:00. Dr. Kenneth Bainbridge 27:13. Dr. Donald Hornig 27:27. Mushroom cloud of the first test of the bomb 27:50. The cloud climbs into the sky 28:20. Robert Oppenheimer speaks after the bomb explodes 28:35. Aerial view of bomb site after the test 29:35. The meeting of the big three commences; Joseph Stalin is seen 30:40. Potsdam 31:00. Truman speaks at the podium 31:50. The big three sit in the garden 32:07. B-29s arrive on the tarmac 32:15. John McCloy speaks to the camera 33:07. Aerial view of bombed out Japanese towns 34:35. Truman leaves Potsdam 35:25. Truman aboard the Augusta 35:47. General Thomas Farrell 35:52. The Enola Gay takes off with the bomb, destined for Hiroshima 36:36. The destruction of Hiroshima 37:00. An NBC feature. Edited for education and presented by Encyclopedia Britannica Films. .

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