Two aerial photos of atomic bomb mushroom clouds, over two Japanese cities in 1945

Two bombs. One world changed.

In August 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. They remain the only nuclear weapons ever used in war.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bombings

A victim with burns

The killing did not end that day

Roughly half the deaths happened on the first day. But for months, more people kept dying from burns, radiation sickness, and injuries made worse by illness and malnutrition.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bombings