The Atrocious Bombing of Dresden, Germany :: European Europe History

The Atrocious Bombing of Dresden, Germany On February 13-14, 1945 the British Royal pedigree Force gave the lastclearance to commence what would afterward become cognize as one of the greatestatrocities that has ever been commited against a civilian population. That darkness the RAF launched 796 bombers and 9 Mosquitoes which carried 1,478tons of explosives in addition to 1,182 tons of incendiary bombs (Dear311) which moody the city of Dresden, Germany into a virtual inferno.This attack included another conduct by the US Air Force the followingmorning. The attack on Dresden was never a legitimate act of war, and itsresult was the terroristic mass discharge of over 135,000 people. Bombing civilian fannys in enemy territory became an unclouded issue onMarch 30, 1942 when the Prime Ministers science advisor, Professor F.A.Lindemann (who later was recognized as Lord Cherwell) delivered to WinstonChurchill a report which contained a vehement argument in favor of stri kingcivilian targets. Cherwells report contained the final rationalizationfor the program Bomber Command was undertaking, and it would henceforthbe paper-clipped to the plans of the bomber offensive. (Hastings). In hisreport, Lindemann estimated that forty tons of explosives detonated inheavily populated areas would bankrupt the homes of 4,000-8,000 people. Thereport also stated that there was a population of 22 million people infifty-eight of the major cities in Germany. Lindemann claimed that anation of refugees could be the result of strategic air attacks. It iswildly believed among scholars that the selective information cont.ained in thisreport was the basis of the attack on Dresden. Lindemanns figures were correct, but his thought process was immoral and inhumane. The people to whom his statistics referred so objectivelywere innocent civilians, more than half(prenominal) of them women and children. Theassault upon them was nothing more that out-right murder. Any be nefitgained by destroying these civilians. lives, families, and homes wascountered ten-fold by the moral reprehensibility of such a clearlycriminal act. The city of Dresden was a historic center of Europe, and was knownworld wide for its splendid architecture. It was the upper-case letter of Saxony,and located along the banks of the Elbe river. Dresden had very littleindustrial activity, and it was a target only once before in a small wearby the US Air Force in October of 1944. It was a city that was also knownfor its production of fine China, and its glorious museums (Dear 311).