The city was widely destroyed and between 22, and 25, people were killed. Some historians have argued that this attack was not justifiable on military grounds because the German armies were in retreat and the war was nearly over.
The attack was jointly undertaken by British and American forces but responsibility for it has often been laid on the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. Tens of thousands of civilians had been killed in these operations. Due to uncooperative weather, the Americans could not bomb Dresden during daylight hours on February That meant Harris's bombers would be the first to strike.
The unchallenged initial wave of Lancasters dropped a deadly combination of high-explosive bombs and incendiaries on Dresden, beginning at p. The bombs forced everyone to seek shelter, while the incendiaries started fires.
The crews themselves, relieved of the necessity of staying toward the limit of flak range, could moreover bomb in a careful and relatively relaxed fashion at a lower altitude than usual, in this case mostly between 10, and 13, feet. The high-explosive weapons shattered windows, gouged out craters in the streets, and flattened walls.
Firefighters were forced to take cover. The bombs also set in motion waves of high-pressure air. As the incendiaries falling on the roofs of buildings ignited manifold small fires, a firestorm, one of the most dreadful outcomes of hi-tech warfare, ensued. What happened then in Dresden, with its structures of brick, sandstone, and dry wood, was apocalyptic.
The thundering fire reminded me of the biblical catastrophes that I had heard about in my education in the humanities. I was aghast. The color had changed as well. It was no longer pinkish-red. The fire had become a furious white and yellow, and the sky was just one massive mountain of cloud.
Only two-and-a-half hours passed before the populace confronted a second wave of Lancasters. This group consisted of heavy bombers, more than twice the size of the first wave. Between approximately and a. The firestorm created in the initial raid now reached a fury of devastation that beggars the imagination. The idea that Germany was completely down and out was really not the case. Ritter is familiar with these arguments, but cannot justify what she and her family endured at Dresden.
Not even four when the war ended, Maria was surrounded by death. In school, the girl and her classmates were shown graphic photos from death camps.
It was her introduction to the Holocaust, and she was shocked. What the hell happened? Those feelings accompanied her to the U. American culture taught her more about the dark shadow the Holocaust casts over the Jewish community, including several of her clients.
Every year, the anniversary of the Dresden raids stirs deep emotions within Ritter. Tears come quickly, but so do thoughts of reconciliation and simple human kindness. Two years ago, Ritter took a call from someone who works for a church in Los Angeles County.
Between and , the church had sent care packages of soap, towels, coffee, butter, powdered milk and other essentials to war-ravaged Europe. Among the recipients were a widow and her four children in Germany. They saved our lives. Another year in isolation? One last toast: A refreshing farewell to 25 years on the San Diego beer beat.
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And this was coming from the man who had previously called for "devastating, exterminating attacks" on Germany. Clearly Dresden was just an exterminating attack too far, and any accounts you might read of just what happened will make that clear. The citizens of Dresden weren't just blown to bits. Many literally burned to death. Those who tried to escape the firestorm by jumping into the river were boiled to death. Those who huddled in air raid shelters were asphyxiated. Bodies melted in the heat.
Children were reduced to ashes. As eyewitness Lothar Metzger described it, "We saw terrible things: cremated adults shrunk to the size of small children, pieces of arms and legs, dead people, whole families burnt to death". This was what the Allies had done to the city known as the "Florence of the Elbe", thanks to its ravishing beauty.
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