The Last Act: The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II

Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. National Air And Space Museum, 1995. — 154 p.
This text was to have been the script for theNational Air and Space Museum's exhibition of the Enola Gay, focusingon the end of World War II and the decision of the United States touse of the atomic bomb. The Enola Gay was a B-29 aircraft thatcarried the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6,1945. The atomic bomb brought a sudden end to World War II andushered in the nuclear age. The event was one of the critical turningpoints of the 20th century. This exhibition describes the war betweenJapan and the United States and its allies, the building of theatomic bomb, the decision to use it, the military effort to carry outthat mission, the effects of the bombing, and the surrender of Japan.Each entry in the exhibition program would accompany a display at theSmithsonian. [This material offers the educator material to stimulatediscussion, analysis, and critical thinking in world history, modernhistory, or U.S. history courses.