Dresden in 1945

[0311]

It was a legitimate war target, as it was a major hub for both industry and shipping.

Dresden was NEVER a legitimate target, it was terror bombing pure and simple. Great Britain and the United States wanted demonstrate their air power over Germany by killing hundreds of thousands of innocent Men, Women and Children.

 

[there4eyeM]

As we probably all know, even Curtis Lemay expressed that if the Allies had lost, they would have been judged for war crimes.
Dresden, Tokyo and others certainly had military and industrial significance. It was the direct attempt to eliminate people, purely and simply, that dragged everyone down to the same level.

 

[AZrailwhale]

no, it was not

it was a city of beauty

So were London, Coventry, Warsaw and Rotterdam.

 

[MarathonMike]

Saturation bombing campaigns in Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo killed hundreds of thousands of Japanese citizens. That was in addition to the hundreds of thousands that died from the Atom bomb and subsequent radiation poisoning. Dresden was also horrible but the loss of life was a small fraction of what Japan endured.

It's always easy to sit back in our easy chairs and condemn the actions of our ancestors. But they were facing a power that appeared destined to literally take over the world. It is in no way justifiable, but given the fear of losing our way of life to a monster like Hitler and the Nazis it is at least understandable in the context of the times.

 

[Zebra]

Saturation bombing campaigns in Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo killed hundreds of thousands of Japanese citizens. That was in addition to the hundreds of thousands that died from the Atom bomb and subsequent radiation poisoning. Dresden was also horrible but the loss of life was a small fraction of what Japan endured.

It's always easy to sit back in our easy chairs and condemn the actions of our ancestors. But they were facing a power that appeared destined to literally take over the world. It is in no way justifiable, but given the fear of losing our way of life to a monster like Hitler and the Nazis it is at least understandable in the context of the times.

in 1945 Germany was no danger any more

and Dresden was not of military importance

 

[Mushroom]

Dresden was NEVER a legitimate target

Yea, just ignore the major railyards and all of the military manufacturing going on in the city.

 

[Zebra]

As we probably all know, even Curtis Lemay expressed that if the Allies had lost, they would have been judged for war crimes.
Dresden, Tokyo and others certainly had military and industrial significance. It was the direct attempt to eliminate people, purely and simply, that dragged everyone down to the same level.

True!

 

[Zebra]

Dresden was destroyed from February 13 to 15