On 6 and 9 August 1945 the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing an estimated 110,000–210,000 people and precipitating Japan's surrender. The bombings ended World War II but opened the atomic age and its permanent shadow of nuclear anxiety. The events have generated a vast literature of witness poetry, from Japanese hibakusha poets to Western writers grappling with collective guilt.

The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 profoundly influenced poetry, giving rise to antinuclear themes and existential reflections. Poets like Allen Ginsberg grappled with the moral implications of nuclear warfare, shaping a literary response to the horrors of the atomic age.