discussion
Subject
Writing
Question Description
Read Paul Fussell’s “Thank God for the Atom Bomb” in the Student Lounge or at the following URL https://www.uio.no/studier/emner/hf/iakh/HIS1300MET/v12/undervisningsmateriale/Fussel%20-%20thank%20god%20for%20the%20atom%20bomb.pdf
Kindly answer the following:
1) Why does Fussell "thank God" for the atom bomb? What role does his own experience of history play in shaping his views as an historian?
2) Considering Fussell's discussion of the treatment of Japanese skulls during World War II, as well as all the other atrocities of World War II (the Holocaust, the Japanese invasions in Asia, the Allied fire bombing of Dresden), what do you think about the way that many historians call World War II "The Good War"? What does the term mean? Why have historians chosen it, and is it appropriate?
3) What has been the impact of the atomic bomb on U.S. history?
4) What function does morality play in historians' views of the past?