Unconditional: The Japanese Surrender in World War II

Pivotal Moments in American History

By: Marc Gallicchio

Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer

Signed on September 2, 1945 by Japanese and Allied leaders, the instrument of surrender that formally ended the war in the Pacific brought to a close one of the most cataclysmic engagements in history. The surrender fulfilled the commitment that Franklin Roosevelt had made in 1943 at the Casablanca conference that it be "unconditional". Though readily accepted as policy at the time, after Roosevelt's death in April 1945, support for unconditional surrender wavered, particularly among Republicans in Congress, when the bloody campaigns on Iwo Jima and Okinawa made clear the cost of military victory against Japan.

Though this was the last time American forces would impose surrender unconditionally, questions surrounding it continued through the 1950s and 1960s - with the Korean and Vietnam Wars - when liberal and conservative views reversed, including over the definition of "peace with honor". The subject was revived during the ceremonies surrounding the 50th anniversary in 1995, and the Gulf and Iraq Wars, when the subjects of exit strategies and "accomplished missions" were debated. Marc Gallicchio reveals how and why the surrender in Tokyo Bay unfolded as it did and the principle figures behind it. Most importantly, Gallicchio reveals how the policy of unconditional surrender has shaped our memory and our understanding of World War II.

©2020 Marc Gallicchio (P)2020 Tantor

Review of the Final Controversy of WWII

The author does a reasonable job of reviewing opposing viewpoints regarding the question of whether or not the atomic bombs were necessary. The author's personal bias in the matter is readily apparent. The problems facing Truman in dealing with FDR's doctrine of unconditional surrender are also well examined.

Beautiful researched, written and read

A comprehensive look at the shifting myth making around the end of the war in Japan.

Clarifying and unimpeachable in it's arguments and conclusions.

The highest recommendation.