Download the the bombing of germany 1940 1945 exhibition. In four raids, at least 3,900 tonnes of bombs were dropped. February th is the 65th anniversary of the bombing of dresden by british and american planes. Dresden was already settled in the stone age, but the first written record of the city was in 1206, when dresden began to develop as a royal residence dresden was bombed a lot at the end of world war ii. A well researched and dispassionate account the latest edition, 2007, is now available for sale and as a free download 1. Sixty years later these raids remain one of the most notorious, and also one of the most controversial, episodes in the history of the second world war. How germanys cities died for the german journal neue illustrierte. The remaining ruins were left for 50 years as a war memorial, following decisions of local east german leaders. It was bombed by american and british bombers between february and 15 february 1945.
On the evening of february th, 1945, the allies began a devastating series of raids on the medieval german city of dresden. It created a firestorm that left 33 sq km 12 sq miles of the city in ruins. In four raids between and 15 february 1945, 722 heavy bombers of the british royal air force raf and 527 of the united states army air forces usaaf dropped more than 3,900 tons of highexplosive bombs and. This is a video that i made for my grade 11 history class about the bombing that occurred during the second world war in the german city of dresden. Exploring the effects of allied bombing of german cities as a comparison to the blitz.
The bombing of dresden was a britishamerican aerial bombing attack on the city of dresden, the capital of the german state of saxony, that took place during the second world war in the european theatre. Until the raid, dresden remained almost the last of germanys large cities not to have been laid waste. Both the view that dresdens bombing was a war crime, and the view that there should have been prosecutions for it, even if it did not rise to that level, are strongly disputed. Not technically a movie about dresden, the movie version of kurt vonneguts slaughterhouse five depicts in a rather fantasy like way vonneguts experience in dresden as a pow during the bombing. During three waves of attacks, over 1,300 british and u. Dresden was a willful and wanton act on the part of international organized jewry to exterminate white european women and children. I do not know if there have been any political bombings in dresden, for example during the. The bombing of dresden was a historic benchmark that demonstrated the power of strategic bombing. What people get wrong about the bombing of dresden youtube. That the bombing of dresden was a great tragedy none can deny. Not specifically about just dresden but a great piece on the bombings of german cities and why authors and people in germany in general didnt talk much about it. Despite the controversy surrounding the attack on dresden, allied bombing policy did not change.
By the beginning of 1945, german fortunes looked bleak. Are there any great movies about the dresden bombing, the. Aerial night shots of bombs bursting, incendiary fires and. In february 1945, dresden, historically the capital of the old kingdom of saxony and a famous cultural and aesthetic centre, was devastated by a joint angloamerican bombing raid, the british by night, the americans by day. Dresden, air attack on 15 february 1945 allied strategic bombing raid against the german city of dresden. John black, the truth about the 1945 bombing of dresden. In germany, foes spar over the lessons of dresdens wwii bombing. If you dont know about the dresden bombing, here is a bbc article. The bombing of dresden by the british royal air force raf and united states army air force usaaf between february and february 15, 1945 were war crimes committed by the allies of world war ii. Facebook twitter youtube linkedin bookmark and share. However, a letter claiming the responsibility for the attack has surfaced today on the website run by the members of the german farleft group antifa. Whats the best historynonfiction book on the bombing of. The bombing of dresden was not a legitimate act of war, it was a horrible mass murder of a civilian community, but it may have aided the allied cause in some ways. It is not so much this or the other means of making war that is immoral or inhumane.
The bombing took place between the th and 15th of february, 1945 and it consisted of 4 air raids total. Heres a british movietone report on the devastation. National history day junior individual documentary 2008. The bombing of germany 19401945 centre for the study of war. Aftermath from february to february 15, 1945, during the final months of world war ii 193945, allied forces bombed the historic city of dresden, located in eastern germany. Everything is on fire the bombing of dresden germany. Close up shot of propellor of lancaster spinning while plane is in flight. A more formal name would be the aerial bombardment of dresden, but as the other towns have been bombed at other times the convention has developed for the bombing of german towns in world war ii to have the name eg bombing of cologne in world war ii. The national for tuesday, march 1783 new cases in bc.
God saw auschwitz and all the rest of the thousands of extermination camps and said,germans, you elected nazis in 1932 to. Dresden wwii bomb attack this british newsreel clip depicts the massive allied bombing attack on dresden, during february and march of 1945. The bombing of dresden a real holocaust unleashed on. City hall tower statue overlooking dresden, germany, after fire. Critics say that the military value of the bombing did not justify dresdens near destruction and that the city could have been spared, like rome, paris, and kyoto. Dresden was the main target of the attack because of its location at the center of a railway network and its position as a great industrial town. Rating is available when the video has been rented. The article calls the bombing one of the greatest night attacks of the war, and reports that the raf sent 1,400 aircraft over germany to support the red armys drive on dresden. In four raids, 1,300 heavy bombers dropped more than 3,900 tons of highexplosive bombs and incendiary devices on the city, the baroque capital of. Several shots of formation of lancaster planes in flight.
Eerie photo of a woman killed during the allied bombing of. Bombing of dresden in world war iiarchive 3 wikipedia. Dresden ww2 bomb defused after tense days bbc news. City hall tower statue overlooking dresden, germany, after fire bombing during world war ii. The leftwing anarchist group has since distanced itself from the attack and. The destruction of dresden is a 1963 nonfiction book which describes the february 1945 bombing of dresden in world war ii. Dresden simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. I survived the bombing of dresden and continue to believe it was a war crime this article is more than 7 years old. I personally find the attack on dresden horrific, he says.
The germans brought this horror upon themselves for believing the smut falsely ascribed to jews. British planes dropped explosive and incendiary bombs on dresden during the night of february th, 1945. The bombing of dresden was a britishamerican aerial bombing attack on the city of dresden, the capital of the german state of saxony, during world war ii. Dresden bombing still fresh for survivor, 70 years later. Devastating photos of dresden before and after the wwii. The original book dresden written prior to the mid 1960s told the truth without any revision of history or facts. Time travel, and dresden slaughterhousefive part 1. I survived the bombing of dresden and continue to believe.
With the citys population swollen from refugees fleeing the soviet advance from the east, the death toll from fire and suffocation is unknown, but probably lies between 25,000 and 100,000. An estimated 25,000 people died in the british and american bombing of dresden in february 1945. About the allied bombing of dresden and its relevance to the modern day. Allied bombing of dresden, germany during world war 2. This updraft needed air to fuel it so it sucked the air from ground level. Firestorm over dresden germany full the allied massacre. Given the high number of civilian casualties and the relatively few strategic targets, some even called the. The bombing of dresden in february 1945 has remained one of the more controversial aspects of world war two. David irving would claim in his 1963 book, the destruction of dresden, that the bombing was the biggest single massacre in european history. The city had no military targets to speak of, and it was known. Dresden, a city unaffected by bombing up to that point in the war, lost many thousands of civilians in the firestorm that was created by the allies. Atomic bombing of hiroshima documentary ten seconds that shook the world 75794 duration. This day in 1945 was the second day of the bombing of dresden by allied air forces. But there is no reason to pretend that it was completely irrational on the part of the allies.
Since the facts of the combined usaf and raf raids on dresden became known, mostly through the novel slaughterhouse five by kurt vonnegut, there has been great controversy as to why this appalling raid was considered necessary. In hamburg alone about 49,000 civilians were killed by allied bombing, and in berlin about 35,000. In the aftermath of the bombing, the reich tried to spin the story, massively inflating the numbers of the dead. By the time the bomb runs were over, many people were dead and dresden was in ruins. As the russians advanced to berlin from the east and the allies from the west, why was dresden. Though checked at the battle of the bulge in the west and with the soviets pressing hard on the eastern front, the third reich continued to mount a stubborn defense. In four raids between th and 15th february 1945, 722 heavy bombers of the british royal air force. Germany would be forced to surrender three months later.
Dresden bombing still fresh for survivor, 70 years later eberhard renner, who was a 12yearold boy in 1945, recalls his experience of the controversial allied assault by. On the night of and 14 february 1945 the raf bombed the city of dresden, causing devastating fires which obliterated the historic city centre and killed many thousands of people. The church was rebuilt after the reunification of germany, starting in 1994. On 14 february, dresden commemorates the 70th anniversary of the 1945 allied firebombing, which left the vast majority of the city devastated. The bombing of coventry and dresden scrapbookpages blog. Churchills goal in bombing dresden was to impress the soviets with the air power of the western capitalist allies and to make sure that the red army would seize a dead city.
Even more despicable then hiroshima and nagasaki, is what the jews ordered up for the beautiful city of dresden. In the original book, one pilot reported that while flying at 5,000 feet on a bombing run he saw, because of the fierce burning of dresden, a freight car shoot past his plane. What people get wrong about the bombing of dresden three arrows. Altogether 2,600 tons of high explosive and incendiary bombs were dropped creating a huge firestorm that destroyed dresden. Even though the allies had lost respect on their home front, and subjected themselves to the criticism of the media, in some ways the result helped the cause. All this happened, more or less, is how vonnegut introduces the novel. Bombing of dresden in world war iiarchive 10 wikipedia. The image of a destroyed dresden that once housed one of the greatest art collections in the world and was truly one of the renowned musical and architectural centers can still cause entirely different reactions, ranging from those who say that the bombing was necessary for military and political reasons, to those who claim that the bombing was. Dresden had war industries and was a major transportation hub. The best movie about the last days of germany has to. Bombing of dresden in world war ii archive 2 amount of destruction and new pictures not used yet i uploaded image.
Bombing of dresden in world war iiarchive 9 wikipedia. Farright demonstrators and counterprotesters faced off in dresden, germany, over the commemoration of the citys bombing 75 years ago. Inside the ruined church in berlin is a memorial to the bombing of coventry and a memorial to the brave soviet soldiers who liberated berlin in 1945. I also highly recommend the book on the natural history of destruction by w. Frauenkirche dresden built in the 18th century, the church was destroyed in the bombing of dresden during world war ii. Most of the citys buildings were damaged beyond repair after the bombings. Aerial ls smoke rising after bombs have been dropped.
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