On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. Late in the evening of August 8, 1945 despite the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact which ensured the two as allies) the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. Soon after midnight on August 9, 1945, the Soviet Union invaded the Imperial Japanese state of Manchukuo. Later that same day, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb, this time on the city of Nagasaki. The combined shock of these events caused Emperor Hirohito to accept the terms the Allies had put forth in the Potsdam Declaration for ending the war. After several more days, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender over the live over a public radio.
This is a photograph taken after the bombing of Hiroshima.