Saturday 9 November 2019

Centennial High School Model United Nations Conference –

Historical Committee

Dear Delegates,

Welcome to the Historical Committee of the 11th Centennial High School Model United Nations Conference (CHSMUNC)!

My name is Megan Hessler, the chair of this committee. I’m a senior at Atholton High School and this is my third year in MUN. I primarily participate in crisis committees, but I’m super excited to be chairing CHSMUNC’s Historical Committee this year. I love model UN, and I can’t wait to see what kinds of debates and creative solutions will spring out of this year’s conference.

My name is Sakshi Gholap and I will be the co-chair for this committee. I am currently a junior at Centennial High School and this is my third year of MUN. CHSMUNC was where I had my first conference, so I hope this conference can be just as memorable. Two years ago, I was a delegate in SOCHUM, and I was the co-chair of JCC 2 last year. This year, I am very excited for the conference to see all the resolutions that you all will come up with. I hope you all have a great experience!

My name is Yuri Lee and I will the dais for this committee. I am currently a sophomore attending Centennial High School and this will be my second year in MUN. Last year, I represented Greece in SOCHUM for my first ever conference and it was a truly rewarding experience to learn what MUN was. I am more than excited to make this conference as amazing it can be for you and myself and I hope you have lots of fun!

This committee takes place at the end of December 1946, just over one year after the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the end of World War II. Delegates from the international community will meet to discuss the existence of a weapon more dangerous than anything seen before: the atomic bomb. The delegates will have to work together to write resolutions regulating the creation and use of nuclear weaponry in order to prevent an arms race, or worse, a nuclear apocalypse.

Sincerely, Megan Hessler CHSMUNC 2019 Historical Committee Chair Sakshi Gholap CHSMUNC 2019 Historical Committee Co-Chair Yuri Lee CHSMUNC 2019 Historical Committee Dais Staff

Saturday 9 November 2019

Centennial High School Model United Nations Conference –

Historical Committee

Introduction to the Historical Committee

Historical Committee, a committee specific to the Model United Nations world, simulates a debate of a topic in the past. Since it takes place in the past and the issues are resolved are not ongoing, it is unique and differs from many other committees. It requires a different perspective as the world developed over time to adapt to the present. The delegates have to be in the mindset of the time period and represent their country appropriately, including only using the knowledge that people would have had in the time period. More historical background will be needed to establish the situation of the country and the world during the time.

Historical Committee allows the discussion of events that have already occurred, but the results of the committee depend heavily on the debate; therefore, the results may contradict what actually happened. It takes on a completely different path and raises awareness of issues that weren’t relevant until recent times. It is the beauty of this committee. Learning from the mistakes of the past will brighten the future as we discover actions have consequences and we must be cautious of what we do at all times.

Topic: Nuclear Weapons and Regulation Introduction:

The date is 1946. The world is shocked by the devastation of the first ever atomic bomb, dropped by the United States onto Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The United Nations Atomic Energy Commission has gathered to discuss the first use of nuclear weapons in history and determine how to proceed without leading to global destruction. How can the world prevent such atrocities? How can regulations be imposed without infringing on the national sovereignty of countries? These questions need to be addressed in committee to determine how the world can move forward after recent events. Bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima

The first World War brought lots of misfortune and darkness for the future. Germany engaged in World War I and came out defeated. The country lost everything and with extremely strict reparations placed on it by the victors, hope for a new beginning seemed nonexistent. Then came a man by the name of Adolf Hitler, who promised his people what they wanted. The

Saturday 9 November 2019

Centennial High School Model United Nations Conference –

Historical Committee

citizens, desperate for food, money, shelter, and their lives back, respected and listened to him. They elected him as their new leader and Hitler abused the power to satisfy his needs. He wanted to achieve his goals of making the world a ‘better’ place to live in through destruction, by invading and controlling other countries and groups of people.

In the early 1930s, the Great Depression hit Japan. The suffering caused by the depression caused the Japanese people to lose confidence in their government and they instead looked to their armed forces, adopting a more militaristic philosophy, and in 1931 Japan invaded Manchuria for its abundant natural resources and railways. Japan would continue to conquer parts of East Asia and the Pacific, and they would be largely ignored by the international community until their attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Germany’s invasion of Poland prompted the war in September of 1939. The Allies, mainly Great Britain and France, were forced to declare war against Germany and the rest of the Axis powers, Italy and Japan. The United States remained neutral at first, but was pushed to join the war when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in a surprise attack on December 7, 1941. America was caught unaware and had little time to set up a defensive force. Four US battleships were sunk, killing 2,403 people and leaving 1,178 injured. Canada declared war on Japan hours after the attack, being the first western nation to do so. The next day, the US formally declared war on Japan on December 8, finally entering the War.

Many different rationals contributed to America’s decision to bomb Japan. Many US strategists were afraid that Japan would refuse to surrender, and any land invasion of the country would be terribly long and bloody. Some saw it as a payback to what Japan did to their country; it was a warning to back off. Deploying atomic bombs was the optimal method to show dominance over Japan. On the other hand, some believed it was immoral and overly cruel to bomb a country, killing its innocent people. Truman had the final say on the bombs and he decided it was a go. He did recognize the fact US was doing something horribly destructive and cruel. However, given the same circumstances and choices, he stated he would have done the same thing, but will not use bombs in later conflicts.

Following Truman’s final say, on August 6, 1945, the Japanese city of Hiroshima was bombed by the US during World War II. It was the first time a nuclear bomb was utilized and the infamous bomb known as “Little Man” was deployed at 8:15am. It killed an estimated 100,000-180,000 people, many of whom died from suffering burns or radiation poisoning afterwards. Two-thirds of the buildings were completely demolished. The world had never seen anything like this before.

Saturday 9 November 2019

Centennial High School Model United Nations Conference –

Historical Committee

Three days later on August 9, another atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. It was named “Fat Man” in contrast to the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It was designed to be larger and more impactful than “Little Man,” but due to the failure of accurate aim, the major part of the city was able to survive the direct bombing. However, it still did make a substantial dent, taking 50,000-100,000 lives and transforming a quarter of the city into ruins.

Japan accepted unconditional surrender on August 15 and it was formalized on September 2, 1945, marking the official end of World War II. The international community became unstable as powerful states fell. Countries left in shambles took time to get back on their feet. Japan was left struggling to deal with the aftermath of nuclear bombings for years, Italy had to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in war reparations, and Germany was split up and occupied by the Allies. Even the winners suffered terrible losses, the worst of all being the Soviet Union, where around 27 million people died over the course of the war. Recovery would be a hard and long process, but it had to begin somewhere. Atomic Bombs

Atomic bombs are the product of nuclear fission where a nucleus of an atom is split up by a neutron then releasing nuclear energy. As a neutron is shot into a nucleus and absorbed, it creates instability in the atom. Because of the instability, the atom will split up and it will create a chain reaction depending on the element used. Uranium-235 and plutonium-239 are isotopes typically used because when their atoms split up, it releases excess neutrons which then become absorbed into other atoms, creating instability. Atom bombs release more than 80 terajoules of energy per kilogram, making it one of the most deadly weapons. Nuclear Energy

Although during the war most scientist’s attention was focused on the bomb, it was also known that nuclear material could be harnessed for energy. In 1941, the British MAUD committee released a report concluding that fission could be used to power certain machines, in the form of heat energy, and hypothesized that the technology of the nuclear reactor would be quite useful to the UK following the war. By the end of the war, although weapon development programs remained, the focus of many countries shifted into the use of the ‘nuclear boiler’ to generate electricity. As of now, this research is still in its earliest stages, and although the scientific community agreed that nuclear energy could be harnessed to generate power, no such generator had actually been created yet.

Saturday 9 November 2019

Centennial High School Model United Nations Conference –

Historical Committee

Post-WWII Relations Japan officially surrendered by signing the Potsdam Declaration of 1945, which

dismantled Japan’s government and allowed allied forces to occupied the island. The occupying Allies, led by US General Macarthur, are trying Japan’s former leadership for war crimes and have begun working to reform its economy and power structure in order to create an independent state friendly to the Allies.

Following German’s surrender, the Allies occupied the country in a similar fashion to Japan, dismantling its government, trying leaders for war crimes, and supporting the war-torn region as it recovered. However, while Japan was occupied almost entirely by the United States, Germany was split into rough quarters, with each major allied power taking a portion. The US and UK merged their territories to create a joint economic zone, but because of poor relations with the Soviet Union, the quarters of Germany remain divided.

Historically, the relationship between the US, UK, and France and the Soviet Union has never been particularly friendly. None of these countries agreed with Stalin’s communist philosophy, and were afraid of it spreading to the west. Their views of the Soviet Union when Hitler and Stalin signed a nonaggression pact in 1939, and their opinion worsened when the Soviet Union invaded Poland and attempted to invade Finland later the same year. However, when France and the UK declared war on Germany, they left the Soviet Union alone despite these tensions. France was defeated by Germany in 1940, and one year later, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, breaking their nonaggression pact. With the philosophy that ‘the enemy of the enemy is my friend’, the US and UK began financially supporting the Soviet defense efforts. However, there was still bad blood. In particular, The US and UK promised that they would invade France in 1942, then ended up delaying the invasion twice, back to 1944, making Stalin furious. The US and UK did not fully trust their ally, and created a program dedicated to spying on the Soviet Union in 1942. Since the end of the war, tensions between the Soviet Union and the other allied powers have continued to escalate.

Saturday 9 November 2019

Centennial High School Model United Nations Conference –

Historical Committee

Occupied Germany, 1946

International Nuclear Programs Uranverein (Germany) Two German scientists accidentally discovered nuclear fission in 1939, and the Germans secretly began their nuclear program a few months later. However, probably due to a lack of resources and scientists (many of whom were detained by the US), Germany had come nowhere close to developing a bomb by 1944, only for their program to be dismantled following their defeat. Manhattan Project (USA) American efforts between scientists and the government to create nuclear bombs was officially coded the Manhattan project on August 13, 1942. After German scientists discovered nuclear fission, the Allies began to fear the creation of nuclear weapons by Germany that could be extremely dangerous. America quickly jumped on its feet, beginning the small research project in the offices of Manhattan (hence the name). Working with the UK’s Maud program, they were able to build and test the world’s first nuclear weapon in 1945. Months later, two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, ending the second world war.

Saturday 9 November 2019

Centennial High School Model United Nations Conference –

Historical Committee

Soviet Union Since the discovery of fission by Germans in 1938, the Soviet Union had been conducting experiments on the optimal conditions for fission. In 1943, the Soviet Union officially began a small nuclear program, experimenting with graphite and uranium isotopes. The program was rapidly escalated following the 1945 Potsdam conference, where it was revealed that the US had nuclear weaponry. As of December 1946, the Soviets had created their first nuclear chain reaction, an essential step toward developing nuclear weapons.

F-Go (Japan) Japan concluded that nuclear fission was possible in 1940, and began a nuclear program in 1942. However, due to a lack of resources, they made little progress, and US destruction created further setbacks. Ultimately, they made little progress, and F-Go was dismantled by the US following Japan’s surrender.

Past UN and International Actions

Although no such conference occurred discussing nuclear weapons immediately following WWII, there were several attempts later on in history to regulate the use of nuclear energy:

The United Nations Atomic Energy Commission (UNAEC) was established by the first even UN resolution in 1946 for the purpose of addressing nuclear problems. Soon after the

Saturday 9 November 2019

Centennial High School Model United Nations Conference –

Historical Committee

committee came into existence, the US introduced the Baruch Plan to the UNAEC, aiming to create checks on nuclear power. The treaty would have outlawed the atomic bomb and created an overseeing agency to inspect nuclear facilities. Violators would be punished with Security Council sanctions, sanctions which could not be vetoed. The Soviet Union opposed the plan, as they believed it granted too much nuclear power to the US, and they approved neither of the nuclear inspections nor the loss of their veto power. As such, the Baruch plan was never passed. Questions a Resolution Must Answer:

1. How should America’s nuclear bombing of Japan be handled? Should there be reparations?

2. Who should be allowed to have nuclear weapons? Should there be a regulatory body to determine this? If so, who should be responsible for deciding what countries should have access to nuclear weapons (and to what extent)?

3. Is it ever justified to use nuclear weapons? If so, when? 4. Should regulations and restrictions be set on nuclear energy? What should these

restrictions be? 5. How should nuclear restrictions be enforced? 6. How should the international community respond to nuclear threats? 7. Should research into nuclear weapons be allowed? If allowed, how should it be

regulated? 8. How can the international community prepare itself to deal with future threats as military

technology continues to evolve?

Conclusion

The United States’ decision to deploy atomic bombs irreversibly changed the world. It transformed the relationships between countries, the meaning of war, and the lives of innocent citizens. Actions have consequences, and it is clear that something must be done in order to make this world a better and a safer place for all to live in. As technology progresses, foreshadowed problems arise, and it is the duty of the international community to band together and address this new atomic threat. It is necessary to discuss and solve the problems regarding atomic

Saturday 9 November 2019

Centennial High School Model United Nations Conference –

Historical Committee

weapons, research, and regulations and it is up to the committee to make the decisions. There will be many different opinions and perspectives, but together it will be possible to think of the best answers to the problem.

The goal of this committee will be to determine how to respond to such technology, and how to prepare for future technology from a proactive standpoint. It will be the responsibility of the delegates in this committee to establish a set of guidelines for countries to follow regarding nuclear weapons to prevent worldwide chaos from ensuing. Suggested Resources

● Explanation of Germany’s invasion of Poland ○ https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/invasion-of-poland-fall-1939

● Timeline from Pearl Harbor to Japanese surrender ○ https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4785786

● Timeline of World War II ○ https://www.historyonthenet.com/world-war-2-timeline-2

Saturday 9 November 2019

Centennial High School Model United Nations Conference –

Historical Committee

References Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki https://cnduk.org/resources/hiroshima-and-nagasaki/ https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/bombings-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-1945 https://www.historyonthenet.com/world-war-two-causes Nuclear Energy https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/outline-history-of-nuclear-energy.aspx Post WWII Relations https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/japan-reconstruction https://www.historyonthenet.com/world-war-two-causes https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/us-soviet#targetText=U.S.%2DSoviet%20Alliance%2C%201941%E2%80%93,the%20defeat%20of%20Nazi%20Germany. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_relations https://www.cvce.eu/en/education/unit-content/-/unit/c3c5e6c5-1241-471d-9e3a-dc6e7202ca16/a8682efd-06ab-48f4-93ed-400ab9bc45db https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjm5MeS5KPkAhXpTN8KHWN9Ad0QjRx6BAgBEAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.deviantart.com%2Fanimadefensor%2Fart%2FDraw-at-Yalta-Alt-History-Germany-1946-326151985&psig=AOvVaw0o_h9at5QL-fK0gTuq1Qrj&ust=1567020422802689 (image) Nuclear Programs https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/manhattan-project http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Manhattan_Project http://www.ushistory.org/us/51f.asp https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/soviet-atomic-program-1946 https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/german-atomic-bomb-project https://fas.org/nuke/guide/japan/nuke/

Saturday 9 November 2019

Centennial High School Model United Nations Conference –

Historical Committee

UN and International Actions https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/ https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/atomic-energy/index.html https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/baruch-plans https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/nuclear/npt/ Atomic Bombs https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/science-behind-atom-bomb https://cnduk.org/how-do-nuclear-weapons-work/