Bombing Of Dresden Essay

The bombing of Dresden was a destructive attack on the city of Dresden, Germany. The Allies launched this attack during World War 2 on February 13-15, 1945. Around the world, February 14, was Ash Wednesday. In the United States, it was Valentine's Day. The bombing ended up killing an estimated amount of 25,000-250,000 people. This bombing has stirred up a large amount of controversy over many decades; some people think this bombing was necessary, others think that there was no point in this bombing at all.

Dresden is the capital of Saxony land (state) in eastern Germany. This city is the third largest city in Eastern Germany after Berlin and Leipzig. Dresden is known for its beautiful architecture and was named "the Florence on the Elbe"

(History) Because Dresden had not been blown up it became an accessible target and increased in value for terror bombing against inexperienced people. (Britannica) The main objective of this bombing was to destroy Germany's industrial capacity and infrastructure. Another reason they determined to bomb Dresden was so they could force a surrender by terrorizing the citizens and cutting off supply chains. This bombing idea was in the works for years. The more they pondered it, the more they desired to bomb Dresden. The Allies believed that by bombing Dresden, they could significantly lower German morale and change the course of the war. Winston Churchill, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, had advocated for intensified airstrikes against German population centers during the war in order to overwhelm German government and services.

The sound, resembling a "whump a whump," should have immediately alerted them to take necessary precautions. (History) Most of the citizens did not have a place that was safe to protect them from the bombing. They had an unrealistic thinking that Dresden would not be bombed. The effects of the bombing created a firestorm, mainly because of wooden structures. The weather had a play in it as well. Because thousands of little fires combined to form one gigantic firestorm, which had intense winds that sucked oxygen and fuel, destroying buildings, and people, the firestorm was horrifying. When the prisoners of war housed in Dresden came up from the underground bomb shelter they saw that the city was