What were the conditions that led to the "decision to drop?"

Nazi Germany surrendered unconditionally at 2:41 a.m., May 7, 1945, ending the war in Europe. At midnight May 8th, the guns stopped firing. The Pacific war with Japan, who was Germanys ally, continued.

U.S. President Harry S. Truman, English Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin met in Potsdam, Germany between July 17 and Aug 2, 1945 to discuss strategies to end the war in the Pacific.

The decision to use atomic weapons against Japan emerged at the end of this conference. The Declaration was broadcast to the Japanese people on July 26,1945. It created a crisis in Japan.

July 28, 1945 Japanese Prime Minister Suzuki announced that he would ignore the Potsdam Declaration. 

A committee in the U.S. made up of military, scientific and government leaders concluded that :

    -the bomb should be used against Japan as soon as possible

    -it should be used against a military target

    -it should be used without prior warning

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