A Brief History
On February 13, 1945, bombers from the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the American Air Force (USAAF) struck the eastern German city of Dresden, a city so beautiful it was once known as the “Florence on the Elbe,” incinerating tens of thousands of people.
Digging Deeper
Digging deeper, we find the Allies decisively beating the military forces of Nazi Germany on all fronts, including in the air.
The British were particularly bitter about the destruction and death caused to British cities and civilians at the hands of Germany’s Luftwaffe (air force) early in the war and then again when German rocket scientists unloaded on Great Britain jet powered cruise missiles (V-1) and history’s first inter-regional ballistic missiles (IRBMs or V-2).
Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, authorized the massive bombing of Dresden, a beautiful old city that was claimed by the Germans to be a non-military city. There was, however, some military value to the city and the rail yards were the declared target.
Why rail yards would need more than a third of the 4,000 tons of bombs to be incendiary bombs is not really clear. What is clear is that the streams of hundreds of bombers blew up and burned out pretty much the entire city center, destroying centuries-old buildings and cultural centers.
Unfortunately, the population of Dresden was swollen at that time by hundreds of thousands of refugees, mostly women and children to a total of perhaps 1.2 million. A minimum of 25,000 people died in this massive bombing raid, most by incineration in the fire storm that was caused by the incendiary bombs (fire bombs). Nazi authorities, likely exaggerating for propaganda purposes, claimed 200,000 civilian deaths, and estimates as high as 500,000 fatalities have been made! If these more extreme estimates have any validity, then the Dresden death toll would potentially surpass the estimated 129,000–226,000 killed in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In terms of physical destruction beyond that of human losses, the bombing of Dresden and the resulting firestorm destroyed over 1,600 acres (6.5 km2) of the city centre. By comparison, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima resulted in a radius of total destruction of about 1 mile (1.6 km), with resulting fires across 4.4 square miles (11 km2).
Obviously, this kind of carnage purposely caused with little if any military need for it so late in the war caused many people to question the morality and legality of the raid. With many times more attention paid to the fates of Hiroshima and Nagasaki due to their destruction by the first use of atomic bombs, Dresden has been forgotten by many, but certainly not by the relatives of those killed.
The terrible raid is commemorated each year on its anniversary by demonstrations and is depicted in a novel by Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five (1969), in which he recounts his real-life memory as a witness to the raid while being held as a prisoner of war in Dresden! A movie by the same name was released in 1972.
Question for students (and subscribers): Was the firebombing of Dresden justified? Please let us know why or why not in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
Many scholarly books address the topic:
Addison, Paul and Jeremy A. Crang. Firestorm: The Bombing of Dresden, 1945. Ivan R. Dee, 2006.
Hahn, Walter and David Irving. Apocalypse 1945: The Destruction of Dresden. Focal Point Publications, 2007.
Taylor, Frederick. Dresden: Tuesday, February 13, 1945. Harper, 2004,
For the novel and film mentioned in the article, please see…
Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-five or the Children’s Crusade: A Duty Dance With Death. The Folio Society, 2008.
Slaughterhouse-Five. DVD. Directed by George Roy Hill. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, 2004.
The featured image in this article, a photograph by Richard Peter (1895–1977) of Dresden, 1945, view from the city hall (Rathaus) over the destroyed city, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany license. This file was provided to Wikimedia Commons by the Deutsche Fotothek of the Saxon State Library / State and University Library Dresden (SLUB) as part of a cooperation project. The Deutsche Fotothek guarantees an authentic representation only by using copies of the original images as provided by the Digital Image Archive.
You can also watch a video version of this article on YouTube:
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="1218 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=1218">134 Comments
One event I vaguely have heard about.
-1 for Churchill
Unnecessary
This sounds like little kids bullying each other………I guess they didn’t learn bullying is not okay in school!
I am interested in this time period of history, but also don’t remember ever hearing much about this event.
The bombing had to be horrible. I couldn’t imagine being burnt alive for something that was out of my control.
The Germans committed a lot of wartime atrocities,but this was a horrible way to get revenge. Many people died in a firestorm of bombs. War is not pretty and should not be glorified so much as is is.
This is a tragic story, one that I actually never heard about until now.
This is horrible. I’ve never heard this story. I can’t believe how many innocent deaths there were.
Wow, what an awful story. I would not say that Churchill took the right actions when dealing with revenge.
Wow – seeing how many commenters never heard about Dresden, but definitely know about the A-bombs dropped on Japan, show how messed up our school systems are – pathetic!
It’s hard to wrap my mind around such devastation!
The bombing of Dresden was supposed to be just knocking out their railroads turned out to be quite a ferocious and anger-filled type of revenge. I can’t really say I blame the U.K. after all the attacks that happened to them from Germany.
There is no way they intended to just bomb the rail yards, they knew what they were about to do and apparently didn’t care how many innocent women and children died. But i guess the same could be said about Hitler and his crusades.
The attack on Dresden appears to be retaliation more than a military strategy
I think retaliation was probable… but… War has never been or never will be just in every way! — DAVID WARDLE
Seems more like retaliation
This fire attack was very brutal! I couldn’t even imagine the suffering these people had.
This is a very sad reality of war that sometimes both sides do not play by the rules
Rules in war is an almost laughable concept, really. When state survival or domination are at stake, rules tend to go out the window. The US has been fortunate enough to be in a position of immense strength compared to enemies that bending or breaking rules hasn’t been seen as necessary by major war actors.
If China or Russia enter into war with the US and conventional warfare reigns, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see either or both sides resort to some dishonorable actions.
Seems immoral considering the state of the war but morals were typically thrown out the window when doing what was best for their respective countries.
A cold hard reality of war. All is fair in love in war, to a point.
It’s interesting that you hear stories of how many civilians Hitler and Stalin killed but incidents where somewhere between 25,000 and 500,000 died due to the British are overlooked.
History really is written by the victors.
I agree, I had never heard of this until I read this article. It is convenient that this bombing is often left out of history books. It leads me to wonder what other acts of mass murder were committed that we still know nothing about.
I never knew that German suffered high fatality rates. When I learned about World War II, I only learned about the destruction that German caused. I agree with Craig the history is written by the victors! I understand that you can’t be emotional during war, but Britain attacking a city that was said to be non-military is a little harsh.
I looked up pictures of Dresden before the bombing and its hard to imagine a situation anything like this. The city was incredible and to see it destroyed and knowing how many people lost their lives definitely makes you rethink many situations in history
Dear Matthew,
I visited Dresden in 2004 and some of it is STILL damaged. I can post a photograph I took for you on Canvas or via email attachment if you are curious.
Best,
Dr. Zarzeczny
Thank you that would be great. I would be curious to see it because it’s difficult to distinguish what’s recent when doing a general google search
Dear Matthew,
Okay, I just sent it to your JCU email from my JCU email.
Best,
Dr. Zarzeczny
You’re welcome! 🙂
Wow this is absolute brutal.
I feel like this is not a military strategy.
While I understand this attack was for revenge for the British civilian deaths, this was extremely brutal.
We’re scarcely taught the brutal things our allies or ourselves did during wartime and it paints a picture of the Western powers being more noble than those of the East. However, we are all human and have many faults, which lead to making poor decisions.
In every war these is always a loss of civilian lives. Looking at the pictures of Dresden it looks like the whole city was left in rumble after the bombing.
It is difficult to imagine the destruction and impact this bombing had, not only on Dresden, but on the world. Given that so many countries were involved in this war, hearing the news of this event could easily cause a lot of fear for civilians in other countries. The claiming of so many lives is unimaginable.
I have heard little about this raid on Dresden. I was surprised by how many civilian’s were killed, it is sad to think about all those deaths.
That sucks that the beautiful city is gone and none of us will ever be able to see what it actual looked like before it got bombed.
It is horrible to hear how there were so many innocent deaths during this raid.
It is sorrowful to read that mostly women and children lived there and died.
The magnitude of this event is almost too much to imagine. It is sad that that many refugees had to lose their lives.
Never knew that this happened. Sad to hear of so many innocent civilians being killed.
It’s tragic to find out that so many innocent civilians were killed.
It’s awful to hear how many innocent civilians were killed.
It’s sad to read how many innocent civilians were killed as a result of this.
I read the book SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE and wrote a paper on it in high school. It really put in perspective what POWs went through and what it was like to witness the destruction of innocent people during these attacks
So many lives lost over nothing
That is an insane amount of civilian lives lost. Hopefully the days of World Wars stay behind us.
the picture itself is gruesome. very disturbing.
I think they bombed Dresden to prove a point that they can and will destroy. it is pointless violence but at least someone had to OK it.
So we destroy priceless artifacts and history for revenge when the ultimate revenge wouldve been beating hitler and not stopping to his level. This brings a quote to mind “never battle with an idiot for they will drag you to their level and beat you with experience”
I think that the bombing of Dresden was only about proving a point. It is terrible to read about all the innocent lives that were lost. Nevertheless, the Germans used many inhumane destruction methods, as well.
The bombing of Dresden was a well needed bombing to the Germans. The incinerary bomb burned one of Germany’s most elegant cities to the ground while taking hundreds of thousands of lives with it. Germany needed a knife in the back and this event sure did just that.
I think that this was a trend with World War II. The British felt they had a score to settle with the Germans after the Luftwaffe bombed London and many British cities, in much the same way that the Americans felt about the Japanese after Pearl Harbor. I think that while we had a right to be angry, I think the Allies did go too far and let that need for revenge go too far.
From all the lives lost through the German’s terrible massacres and killing, I think this was a payback or like many have said something to prove a point, that for what you have done to our men, we can do the same to yours. It was a tragedy to all those innocent people lost in the bombing.
It is sad that so many innocent lives had to be taken to prove a point. I do feel as though it was necessary to put the Germans in their place. There would be so many more historical sites had either of the world wars not occurred.
I’m shocked I’ve never heard of the bombing of Dresden as its so awful and unnecessary! I understand the British were angry for the destruction the nazis caused of their cities but that does not justify murdering as many as half a million german civilians as revenge. This bombing did not have really any military meaning and was almost surely just for revenge purposes. I would have hoped the British would learn from the nazis how devastating civilian bombing is as civilians really have no part in the war and fighting.
As the war dragged on, the allies were probably desperate to end the conflict by any means necessary. While this event didn’t get the attention that the Atomic bombs did, the purpose was the same. Inflict large scale damage and destruction to try and convince the Axis powers to surrender.
As American children we were clearly never taught of the horrific decisions that the Allied forces made. While the Germans were indeed the clear enemy it was unnecessary to simply murder a city of people over the excuse of a rail road center.
I think burning this city was unnecessary this late in the war. What was the point of killing all those people? Not only were lives lost but history was as well. This city was centuries old. It had buildings built before the time and was filled with culture.
There was obviously not very much transparency to the government’s reason to bomb Dresden so heavily. Like the article inferred, if the rail way was the target there was no need for so many bombs. This seems like a monstrous action taken by the Allies against a known “non-military” city.
At this point in the war anything that was helpful to end it was played out. I am not surprised the British played this one out because they already had built up resentment. It is sad, however, that so many innocent lives were taken.
I would not be surprised if the British bombed Dresden for more of revenge than purely tactical reasons. The Germans have been bombing Britain for a while and they just wanted to get back. It is a very poor reason and a tragedy that the city was ruined, but it proved a point to the Germans that they lost the war and there will be repercussions for all the lives and cities they destroyed.
Like others I think this was done more in revenge than for tactical purposes, just like the Hamburg bombing. I think it is unfortunate that cities with such cultural and historical landmarks as Dresden were chosen to be bombed.
The killing of civilians gives no advantage to the attacker, so killing civilians is normally done out of hate. This is what it was. Just a hate for each other at this point.
This was an unnecessary bombing. This was done out of revenge and hate. It is sad that such a beautiful city with many historical buildings was destroyed because of this attack. Also, the killing of that many innocent civilians for so little military need is unacceptable.
Dresden was a beautiful city that was declared as a non-military city by the Germans. The bombing of Dresden was nothing but revenge for the British. The British wanted to inflict pain and suffering on the Germans, who frequently bombed British civilians earlier in the war.
The attack on Dresden seemed like an unnecessary attack. The British and allied forces seemed to attack the city just to avenge all the beautiful cities they had lost.
This was definitely an unnecessary attack. Not only was this city declared a non military city but it also had century old buildings and was a historic city. This was not ok that the Allies bombed this city. Obviously the Nazis did a lot worse things but the Allies were held to a higher standard.
200,000 civilian deaths! This attack was not necessary and the fact that many civilians had to die from this attack is sickening, that was just for revenge on any German at that point.
For someone who doesn’t no much about history, let alone wars, even I know about the Dresden bombing! Such a horrific act of humanity.
I think that this late in the war the bombing of Dresden was a strive to put an end to the war. This does not change the fact that there were countless innocent lives lost in the process.
Sad how many civilians died. 200,000!
I can’t help think that this bombing on Dresden was about revenge and getting back at Germany for what the Germans did to Britain. The casualties were outrageous and not needed. They could have gone about this in a much simpler way than destroying everything AND innocent lives.
I cannot imagine dying by incineration in a fire storm caused by bombs of this sort. I am not a fan of bombing cities. It is very upsetting reading about the level of destruction that took place.
Burning alive is my all time scariest thing.
This is a sad story that an old town with lots of history was massacred with many of the people in it. There was not a big threat coming from Dresden but many refugees, women and children died from the bombing.
This was a completely immoral bombing by the British. This was not justice. This was vengeance.
It is unfortunate that such a beautiful city was destroyed. 200,000 innocent civilians lost their lives because of this unnecessary bombing.
It’s sad that the city was destroyed.
I never knew that Great Britain and the US paired up with this bombing attack which killed as much as 500,000 people!
It is sad that innocent people got killed. Not sure if it was necessary, but I’m not going to play armchair quarterback and say it was wrong.
I hate hearing about civilian deaths in the wars.
I was not familiar with this attack in Germany. One of my friends went to Dresden, Germany recently and talked about how beautiful it is there.
It is sad that there was so much destruction during the war affecting innocent civilians. Burning down an entire city seemed to be over kill when they claim the target was the railyard.
Prime Minister Churchill lead a deadly airstrike on German soil. With death rates of around half of a million Germans, the moral question will always be asked.
I have heard of the book and movie Slaughterhouse Five and had no idea that it was based off of true events. This act of war was truly horrible.
I find it ironic that Churchill wanted to bomb the city of Dresden even though it was a “beautiful old city.” In my opinion, destruction and bombings are always unnecessary and should not occur.
I had actually started to read the book Slaughterhouse Five over the summer, but had only gotten though part of the book before classes started and I got to busy to read it. Knowing some more of the story after reading this article makes me want to finish the book when I am able.
There is an ongoing theme during this time period of hostility and war: the questioning of morality. I think it’s safe to say that the morale of those who killed thousands of innocent civilians, like Churchill and Hitler, was not high.
I am shocked that people can be so numb to the history of a city to burn it to the ground.
I find it shocking that Sloughterhouse Five was a movie that was based on a true story. There was so much violence and pain in this movie when the city was burnt to the ground. Also, I have seen many pictures of Dresden and it is absolutely beautiful.
A drastic measure to take on a non-military town. Was this a display of the overuse of power? Why was it necessary to destroy the entire city and kill so many innocent people?
It was so terrible to hear that more than 25,000 people died in this massive bombing raid.
It is difficult to see the series of numbers: there were more than 200,000 civilian deaths and estimates as high as 500,000 fatalities have been made. War is cruel. We should always stand against war.
It is hard to hear about death caused by bombings. I have heard of the book of Slaughterhouse Five but never got around to reading it. During this time period destruction, death, and war seemed to be common.
Along with Dakota, I think that people have to be so numb to be able to burn a city to the ground.
I don’t understand how anyone could burn down a whole city and not care. So many lives were lost.
This was tragic. I guess I do not understand why this type of bombing was necessary so late in the war. The loss of so many innocent people! I am feeling this of bombing was definitely unjust!
I have never heard of this. I think this was unnecessary. 25,000 innocent civilian lives were killed and I do not see good reasoning for it.
I remember reading the first hand account on Dresden in class that would be pure hell to go through and not know if that fire would reach you and burn you alive basically.
This was a tragic loss, I don’t understand why this type of bomb was used so late in the war, many innocent lives were lost and I do not see why it was needed.
Fire bombing, very destructive. I’d say the precursor to napalm.
sucks they had to kill kids, and burn a whole city reminds me of the other articles where Boston was burned to the ground, doesn’t make it fine either way.
I don’t know why this was used so late in the war. Thinking about all of the innocent lives lost is heartbreaking.
There was nothing in this article that i read that showed a good reason for the bombing in fact there is no good reason. Taking so many innocent lives is devastating.
Other than nuclear bombs, I think fire bombs are the most devastating because they just incinerate everything and burn thousands of people to their deaths.
It upsets me to learn about fire bombs. I could not imagine being burned alive.
Its sad to see that the atomic bombs overshadow this event,these people deserve recognition as well.
There was so many bombs going off during this time.
The devastation and destruction left behind from bombs is astronomical.
What a tragic time! The number of deaths that took place during this bombing and war makes me sick.
Again, we needed effectiveness to send a message. The death is sad and this is why we now have rules of war.
We see the amount of deaths that occurred as just a number, but when you think of all the friends and relatives these deaths affected, it becomes unbearable.
This is so devastating. Though it was effective, it is still horrifying to think about how destructive a fire could be. All of the lives lost and the place left to lay in ruins…
Unfortunately, civilian casualties are always going to be a part of war. On a positive note, with advances to arms, more precise strikes can be made and minimize the death of innocents.
It just wiped out everything in its path. Show of force is just as frightening as the use of force.
It seemed a little late in the day for this tremendous show of force. All the innocents lost! I cannot imagine all that was lost, lives and history, because of the mindless following of a psychopathic killer.
Sounds like emotions were involved and that is never good decision making. Just like you should never go grocery shopping hungry.
It seems to me, with this happening so late in the war it was done to almost prove a point to the Nazis and Germany as a whole.
How do you burn down something… let alone a city and not even care??
I’ve heard the story of Dresden before. If it didn’t have a lot of military value, why burn the entire city?
I find that burning an entire city was a bit much and really not necessary so late in the war. More of a look what we can do kind of thing.
War of any magnitude is devastating but to bomb Dresden and kill so many is such a senseless act.
Right. They were “targeting railroad tracks”. Americans are so quick to condemn other countries for killing innocent civilians, but fail to realize that it is almost inevitable in war. Our Allies killed civilians in both Europe and the Pacific just as the Axes did.I would love to read this story story from the perspective of the POW in Dresden. I would imagine he heard or saw British planes hoping to be rescued, but instead he saw a mass murder.
Senseless disregard for human life led to the deaths and demise of tens of thousands of human beings. Oh how quick we are to judge other nations for their acts against people.
I cannot believe I never knew this happened. It is so sad that the decision could be made to end so many innocent lives.
What was the reason behind burning down the whole city so many innocent lives lost just heartless and cold.
This is another article that a comment does not do justice for. What is one to say?
I didn’t know there was anything worse than the atomic bomb. I wish there was a way to fight a war, so not so many innocent lives are taken.
That’s horrible that a city being bomb like but yet we used atomic bombs on 2 of Japan’s cities.
People are so heartless.. I could never give the command to bomb a whole city with innocent people
so sad.
When the war came, the villagers were innocent
500,000 died by war in the past, that is really a large amount of number. War is really making people having sadness, isolation and dyeing.