22. The 1945 raids on Dresden were among the most controversial of the war
Dresden, at the time the 7th largest city in Germany, entered 1945 without having been bombed, other than for two daylight raids in late 1944. It was a major industrial center supporting the German war effort, with most of its factories and marshaling yards in its eastern suburbs. The city was also a major junction point for several railroads and highways. On the night of February 13 RAF bombers, many flown by Polish crews, attacked the city near its medieval Old Town (Aldstadt). Three hours later a second wave of RAF bombers struck as German firefighters attempted to control the blazes throughout the area. The following day USAAF bombers again bombed the city, and on February 15 the Americans bombed Dresden again, as a secondary target. Their assigned primary target was obscured.
Over the course of 48 hours, more than 1,200 heavy bombers dropped their bombs on Dresden, concentrating on the city center. Most of the industrial facilities on the city’s outskirts were undamaged. The firestorm created by the bombing and the bombs themselves killed between 22 to 25 thousand civilians in the city, many of them refugees from the approaching Soviet Army. Public outcry led Churchill to write to the Chief of Staff, “It seems to me that the moment has come when the question of bombing of German cities simply for the sake of increasing the terror, though under other pretexts, should be reviewed”. Air Chief Marshal Arthur Harris protested the tone of Churchill’s note, and the Prime Minister retracted the remark formally.
Check this out: Moving Images of Dresden, Germany Before and After Allied Bombs Annihilated the Historic City
