Posted on 02/13/2017 4:33:00 PM PST by nickcarraway
Dresden's mayor has used the event to remind participants of the brutalities of war, even in the 21st century. During World War II, Allied forces firebombed the German city of Dresden, leaving 25,000 people dead.
Around 12,000 people on Monday gathered in Dresden and joined hands to form a human chain in a message of "peace and reconciliation" marking the anniversary of the deadly firebombing of the city by Allied forces towards the end of the Second World War.
The act aimed at reminding the participants of the brutal bombing, considered one of the Allied forces more controversial acts during the war.
"In this world, several conflicts are being carried out in a warlike manner and human rights are being trampled on," said Dresden Mayor Dirk Hilbert.
"This suffering affects us directly in a globalized world," he added, placing a white rose on a memorial of the controversial attack.
(Excerpt) Read more at dw.com ...
Bump for later.
Springtime for Hitler and Germany...
They asked for it. Kurt Vonneget would disagree.
Germany wanted Total War and the Allies obliged.
Yup. If every city and town in Germany had been turned into a Dresden as early as 1943 the war might have ended sooner.
No, he was investigating the Holocaust crematoriums to debunk the stories on how many people could be cremated at one time.
Dresden is also the setting for the greatest novella in history, “The Golden Pot” by E.T.A. Hoffmann.
After the war there was a story about this German woman who accosted a GI and yelled at him that if the Allies would have given up sooner none of this would have happened.
Malmady.
5.56mm
But I understand the Dresden firebombing was in retaliation for the Luftwaffe's bombing of Coventry, an English city with no military significance whatsoever.
And then there was that "Blitz" thing ...
There was no point in further bombing of cities to degrade German "morale." The people had no stomach for the war by this time. But, since the plot to kill Hitler was botched, the Hitlerite dictatorship ruthlessly enforced discipline and the people had no say whether to lay down arms. Hitler, Himmler, Goebbels and the rest knew if they were ever captured alive they would be executed, so they were determined to fight to the last.
Yes, the Germans started the area bombing and "asked for it." We repaid them in full and with considerable interest.
Damn straight. God bless Sir Arthur and all his brave aircrew.
If directly intentionally killing innocent human beings isn't murder, how the blankety-blank would you define murder?
I'm looking for a definition.
Serious question.
"This suffering affects us directly in a globalized world," he added, placing a white rose on a memorial of the controversial attack.
If Herr Hilbert has any roses left, he can take them to Auschwitz or Belsen, Oradour-sur-Glane or Lidice, Baugnetz or Wormhoudt
lots of human rights were getting trampled on in a warlike manner back then, with the most direct kind of globalized suffering.
In his diary, Joseph Goebbels said there were 250,000 deaths, but I dont know whether that estimate was a private figure or one conjured up for public consumption. At the time though the population would have been unusually large, because of people fleeing the Russian advance. The 25,000 figure may not take that fact into account.
An estimate was the only possibility for a firebombing raid, because even those in basements were burned into dust, or an unrecognizable slush if water had put out the fire there. The leadership who advocated total war hid out in bunkers neither heat nor explosives could penetrate.
The British bomber streams at night were lucky to hit a city. The American bombers during the day could do better with the Norden sight. It would have probably made more sense for Dresden to have been a daylight target, because north and west of the central area were the industrial locations.
“Germany wanted Total War and the Allies obliged.”
No one on either side asked the civilians’ opinion.
With a special appearance by Montana Wildhack...!!
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