The way attacks were carried out and the sheer number of the bombings resulted in large-scale destruction. A massive number of raids were scheduled every three hours. They were timed to interrupt emergency services, just as fire trucks and ambulances were deeply entrenched in their efforts to save the city and its people, more air strikes would arrive.
A classified report released decades after the war’s end cited the targets consisted of 110 factories that were thought to be supporting the war effort: building aircraft parts, poison gas, guns, and other supplies. It was estimated that 50,000 workers were stationed at the factories.
Germans questioned whether or not the bombing was necessary. After the attack over 90 percent of the city center was destroyed.
Widespread destruction resulted in roughly 25,000 deaths – the exact number of causalities is the subject of dispute. So much of Dresden was destroyed, it has been argued that the number of those killed is much higher. Over the years, the bombing of Dresden has been compared to the Holocaust as a crime against humanity.
