Victory in Japan: The End of World War II

by Time Inc.

August 20, 1945.The President had to get on with the overwhelming business of history. Last week, having loosed a new force upon the world in the form of an atomic bomb and welcomed a new ally (Russia) into the Pacific war, a part of his business was to wait and to wonder, like other men, whether all that he had done had been worthwhile.Across the world, over the uncertain radio channels between Tokyo and Europe, the same message in diplomatic code creaked along via the neutral governments of Sweden (for relay to Russia and Britain) and Switzerland (for relay to the U.S. and China). While the world throbbed with the known news, the President went on with his day’s work.At every whisper from Tokyo, Allied hopes rose. On the fourth day, after 18 straight hours of rising hopes, the President called in reporters. Said “I have received this afternoon a message from the Japanese Government ... a full acceptance-of ... unconditional surrender.”The greatest and most terrible of wars ended, this week, in the echoes of an enormous event—an event so much more enormous that, relative to it, the war itself shrank to minor significance. The knowledge of victory was as charged with sorrow and doubt as with joy and gratitude. More fearful responsibilities, more crucial liabilities rested on the victors even than on the vanquished.This story is part of the TIME Classic Coverage Collection from Time Inc. This is a reproduction of a story that appeared in the August 20, 1945 issue of TIME magazine. Time Inc. is one of the world’s most influential media companies – home to 90 iconic brands like People, Sports Illustrated, Time, InStyle, Real Simple, Food & Wine, and Fortune. The Spotlight Stories in this collection aim to provide you with a quick read on a single subject, highlighting our readers’ most popular stories and featuring great reporting from our Time Inc. journalists.

30 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 20, 2016

About the author

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Reviews

[Luke Crawford]

It's interesting to read the reactions to the end of the last great war. and it's interesting to see what changed and what didn't:

"The race had been won, the weapon had been used by those on whom civilization could best hope to depend; but the demonstration of power against living creatures instead of dead matter created a bottomless wound in the living conscience of the race."