You’re welcome. I have to tell you that when it comes to the figures given of those killed in Dresden, some listed as anywhere from 140,000 to as high as 250,000, these were figures put out by Goebbels Propaganda Ministry at the time to portray the Allies as ‘’murdering air pirates’’. The real figure, after much research and revamping over the years has put the actual figure much lower, around 45 to 50,000. The raid itself began on the night of February 13,1945 with an initial attack of over 200 bombers of The Royal Air Force who dropped incendiaries and was followed some three hours later by bombers of the American 8th. Air Force. If you want to explore more of the history of strategic bombing in WW2, in particular ‘’fire-bombing’’( a truly horrific phenomenon) check out what the RAF did to the city of Hamburg on the night of July 24 1943. This was the beginning of the horror of this tactic, a British invention and the raids on Hamburg went from the 24th. of July to the 3rd. of August. In ten straight days of around the clock bombing by British and American bombers some 44,000 residents of the city of Hamburg were dead. The Germans simply called it “Der Katastrophe’’, the catastrophe, but such is war.
Interesting how the number of dead was so inflated. The smaller figures seem more likely. Even in the account I read, it sounded like a lot of people were fleeing the ruins: i.e.: that there were many survivors. I didn’t know about the Hamburg bombing at all. It sounds horrific, but then so is what the Germans did to England. Fight fire w fire. Even though I’m half German, it’s hard to feel sorry for them. They enthusiastically backed Hitler, for the most part, anyway. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.
One thing separates Dresden from other much more severe bombings. Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five.” Had he not written it Dresden would have just been a footnote. He also had the German numbers as the death toll.