Preview

The Bombing Of Dresden Justified Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
971 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Bombing Of Dresden Justified Analysis
Can the bombing of dresden be justified? On the evening of February 13, 1945, a series of Allied firebombing raids begins against the German city of Dresden, reducing the “Florence of the Elbe” to rubble and flames, and killing as many as 135,000 people.More than 3,400 tons of explosives were dropped on the city by 800 American and British aircraft. The firestorm created by the two days of bombing set the city burning for many more days, littering the streets with charred corpses, including many children. Eight square miles of the city was ruined, and the total body count was between 35,000 and 135,000 . Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1st Baronet, commonly known as "Bomber" Harris by the press and often within the RAF as "Butcher". Harris was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF Bomber Command during the height of the Anglo-American strategic bombing campaign against Nazi Germany in the Second World War. He has also organized other devastating operations against Germany. His decision to bomb Dresden is highly controversial and its morality is still argued about to this day. …show more content…
If they had bombed a city that didn't even have help near by it would be considered a war crime. When compared with other bombings, looking at the amount of people that have died in other places, it is not a lot at all. Some people have been offended when they heard that this bombing was considered the "Bombing Holocaust", they feel that the people that died in Dresden was a lot less than the six-million Jews that died in the Holocaust . Dresden was untouched because of its geographical location and it never was an important military target. The bombing was controversial because Dresden

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Dresden, Germany, 1945. “The British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the U.S. Air Force initiated a strategic bombing campaign in Dresden, Germany” (“Dresden Bombing” par.1). The attacks from Great Britain and the United States were prompted by earlier bomb raids conducted by Germany on British soil. With orders coming in from Arthur Harris, leader of bomb command for RAF, the bombing in Dresden began February thirteenth of the year 1945. The initial bomb raid from RAF was then later followed by 771 tons of bombs being dropped by United States aircrafts (“Dresden Bombing” par. 2-3). To this day there is still controversy around this major event. Whether it should considered a war crime against innocent civilians…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Bombing of Dresden is a major point in European history. It has devastated innocent lives and had the president in a paranormal of mind.(“One day in History.”) This was a foolish act from the united states and the British government. I believe from my research that it was a war crime, senseless with no intended…

    • 935 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I don't think that the US should have bombed Japan. It was entirely unnecessary and the US had plenty of opportunities to do other things. America could have used a technical demonstration to show how powerful the bombs were on a nearby, but uninhabited, island. This would have been a effective intimidation act while not adding to WWII's already enormous death count. Admittedly this alone would not have ensured Japan's surrender, but Japan was planning on surrendering in the fall off 1945. The only thing that was keeping them from surrendering sooner was their unwillingness to accept completely unconditional surrender. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki may have ended World War II, but was it worth the lives…

    • 119 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Tralfamadore Monologue

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages

    It also happened to be the day when the Royal Air Force bombers were dispatched to Dresden, Germany to attack the city with a massive aerial bombardment. One hundred thirty thousand innocent people died in Dresden. So it goes.…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    1/3 of the city was devastated and 66,000 individuals were revealed executed or harmed. A dedication now denotes the spot where the bomb exploded scientists from everywhere throughout the…

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the summer and autumn of 1940, German and British air forces fought in the skies over the Great Britain. In June 1940, a German General ordered by Hitler, began bombing air force bases and other targets in southern England. At the end of the battle the British had shot down around 1700 German planes. The British had won. Hitler saw that he could not defeat England's air force so he gave up his idea of invading Britain. Instead he decided to bomb British cities and towns, testing the…

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The bomb caused great destruction to thousands of innocent lives. The bomb created a whole other problem, that could’ve been substituted with another weapon, that not as deadly. Bombs came with pros and cons, the bombs meant for people and those who have nothing to do with any incident. Overall the bombs were pure cruel.…

    • 194 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The second World war is understood as having been started and ended in various fashions. We know this to be true as there is copious amounts of literature analyzing, explaining, investigating, and theorizing "the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich", or as some may prefer , " The Fall and Rise of the 3rd Reich". From these books and works produced on the subject matter, an underlying fundamental truth has been scribed for all to accept at the true story of WWII--or more accurately the allied version of WWII. The general public around the world has some knowledge of the story of Hitler and the Nazi's campaign ending with an Allied victory. With this undeniable knowledge granted to us by hindsight understanding the allied victory is often seen as inevitable. The supporting justification for the Allied victory is the notion…

    • 933 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Luftwaffe first targeted shipping convoys and shipping centers, but later focused on destroying RAF infrastructure, including radar sites and airfields (Axelrod). In the later stages of the campaign, they targeted aircraft factories, towns and cities. British fortunes were also helped by the fact that the Luftwaffe had never subscribed to a concept of strategic bombing. “British anti-aircraft and civil-defense preparations were inadequate in the summer of 1940”, yet the Luftwaffe was unable to wreak the devastating effects feared by many (Axelrod). German tactics were changed again and the Luftwaffe resorted to indiscriminate bombing of larger cities, including London, Plymouth and Coventry. British fighters were also inexperienced compared…

    • 955 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The dropping of the Atomic Bomb was an attack made on the Japanese by the Americans. Although the dropping of the Atomic Bomb by the United States helped to end World War II, the act was unjustified because of innocent Japanese civilians that were needlessly murdered and were not given sufficient time to surrender from the area. Consequently, the Japanese were defeated before and they were attempting to surrender because of the effective sea blockade and the unsuccessful bombing with conventional weapons. This would be the reason that the bombing was not useful.…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "The use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender..." Admiral William D. Leahy (Alperovitz,The Decision To Use The Atomic Bomb, date of publication unknown) There have been many issues involved with the use of the atomic bomb because of the high cost of lives, and that it was considered to be immoral and unethical. However it has also been considered necessary for the war to have ended, avoiding further casualties on both sides.…

    • 1787 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On August 6, 1945 the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing thousands of innocent people! The United States did it to force Japan to surrender and end World War II. To this present day it still and will remain a controversy whether or not the US was in the right or wrong of bombing Hiroshima. I argue that the US shouldn’t have attacked Hiroshima the way they did.…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the aftermath over 60 cities were bombed by Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bombs caused so much damage to the country that their society was will always be scarred by it. It was important for the U.S. to defend themselves but many of the people who died had no part in the war. The method the U.S. chose to use was morally wrong. In Hiroshima, one hundred forty thousand people died and in Nagasaki eighty thousand people died. Most of the people died after the bomb because of the radiation. The radiation would kill peoples white blood cells and if you have dead blood cells they can not fight off infection and then you will die. The radiation would also leave marks on your skin that would most likely never come off. The Japanese had a lot of damage done by the the atomic bombs and they did not deserve it. William Leahy thought the exact same thing “The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender because of the effective sea blockade and the successful bombing with conventional weapons”…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1945, when the atomic bomb was dropped in Japan I felt that it was not justified. Even though it saved thousands of American lives it was at the cost of others lives. The United States could have gave the Japanese a warning before dropping not one, but two bombs on them. However, the Japanese did not surrender until after the second bomb I think a warning would have made the bombing “justified.”…

    • 611 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Atomic Bomb Justified?

    • 1658 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Atomic Bomb made a very serious statement at a time when the world was in disarray (“Manhattan”). World War II was one of the most destructive times in history causing over 50 million deaths and leaving behind mental and physical casualties of war. (“World War II”) It started in September, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland and continued on a destructive path through Europe. Britain and France declared war on Germany. Two years prior in 1937, the Sino Japanese War was in full swing. Japan wanted to dominate China from a political and military standpoint and benefit from China’s many assets (“Sino”). United States, Britain and France aided China with financial aid through war supply contracts, which aggravated Japan to no end. In addition, the United States stood as a firm roadblock to Japan’s grander plans by stopping shipment of aircraft gasoline airplanes and airplane parts.…

    • 1658 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays