Dresden Anniversary ?

[Charlie Farley]

Any comments...
I don't recall any contemporary US regrets..

 

[Jeff Young]

Not remembered here.

 

[David Morton]

Nor here really.

 

[Jeff Young]

It is of course a centerpiece of a classic Vonnegut novel (Slaughterhouse Five) but beyond that, I'd guess that most Americans have no clue about what happened there, or the fire bombing of Tokyo, or the UK's phosphorous raids and the destruction of Cologne.

 

[Jack]

3900 tons of high explosives and incendiary bombs destroyed the city with questionable death tolls ranging from 25,000 to 500,000 persons. The controversy
was about the necessity of the bombings by the 1250 bombers used by the USAAF and the RAF on this raid.

 

[Jeff Young]

By 1939, the fact that cities were legitimate military targets for aerial bombing was really only a debate for philosophers.

If the Germans and Japanese could have done the same thing to London, Birmingham, New York or Chicago, they would have.

 

[Jack]

By 1939, the fact that cities were legitimate military targets for aerial bombing was really only a debate for philosophers.

If the Germans and Japanese could have done the same thing to London, Birmingham, New York or Chicago, they would have.

You bet they would have!

 

[David Morton]

War never was and never will be a Win/Win situation. Eventually right will always triumph which is why Islamic State is doomed.

 

[Pat]

Part of the demise of Dresden was the allied response to pressure from the Soviets who wanted to limit the resistance to their march westward. Dresden was seen as a communications and transport hub and as such a necessary target by the approaching Russians. There is some speculation that the allies also used the event to demonstrate allied air power as a method to disabuse the Soviets of any thoughts of continuing their march throughout Europe.

 

[marc]

Any German target at that time was a necessary item in time of war. It is the objective of dissuading the enemy that they should be fighting you in the first place. The problem was Germany was controlled by a nut and the rest followed along. Too bad nuclear weapons were not ready earlier to make that point to Germany. The US was so into shutting down the military machine of Germany that they did not rip the heart out of the Germany by laying waste to more earlier. But I am biased. 14 known relatives never made it out of the camps.

 

[Keith]

For an alternative yet extremely valid take on the Dresden horror, I thoroughly recommend "The Rifleman" the story of an ordinary British soldier during WWII and the chapter that deals with his time in captivity in Germany and his personal experiences in the aftermath of the bombing.

In fact, the entire story of Victor Gregg is quite astonishing. It is available on Kindle. To me, it is a must read....

Warning. The word "Communist" appears more than once in the book.