1. Firebombing of Dresden
Kate Selbig, Vibhav Peri, Kushagra Verma, Evan Zhu
vibhav

2. Thesis
The lack of military presence or importance of the city of Dresden was overshadowed by the Allies desire to disrupt the Germans and advance the Russian troops. However, the massive destruction and casualties caused by brutal bombing attacks created a blood bath that far exceeded the necessary military attack measures that resulted in an unethical and unjustified attack, creating outcry in Germany and the Allied states alike.
vibhav

3. Background
Yalta conference in Crimea on Feb 4th-11th, 1945 decided that the Allies would bomb important German cities so they could quickly shut down Germany’s war capabilities.
Dresden was not used for any major military advantages by Germany. The Allies claimed that Dresden was a communication hub and was worth firebombing.
Dresden was known as the “Florence on the Elbe”, it was a historic and beautiful city
vibhav

4. Purpose
Deputy Chief of the air staff asked commander of chief of RAF to bomb Dresden "with the particular object of exploiting the confused conditions which are likely to exist in the above mentioned cities during the successful Russian advance."
Wanted to swamp Germans with refugees
Basically, wanted to bomb and confuse Germany in accordance to Russians effectively advancing
Wanted to hinder the Germans from reinforcing their eastern front, if they could help Russians get in easier and defeat them the war would be shorter
Military standpoint : there were munitions spread throughout Dresden
Wanted to disrupt industrial development (gas masks and radars developed)
vibhav

5. Overview “Operation Thunderclap”
The Allies (RAF and USAAF) bomb the beejeejees out of Dresden for three days, February 13-15, 1945.
“Operation Thunderclap”
evan

6. Dark blue - area destroyed Red outline - area built up
Key:
Dark blue - area destroyed
Red outline - area built up
Green outline - residential
Black outline - industrial areas
Birds Eye View of Dresden After Bombing.
evan

7. Dresden is located on the Eastern Front in Germany.
evan
Map of Central Europe During WWII.

8. Timeline February 1945 Feb 13th 22:14 - 22:22 Feb 14th ~1:00 Feb 14th
12: :30
Feb 15th
All Day
Feb 13th
24:00
860 tons of bombs dropped over Dresden by the RAF
1,800 tons of bombs dropped by the RAF
771 tons of bombs dropped by the USAAF
466 tons of bombs dropped
Feb 16th
24:00
evan
*note: After the main campaign, the USAAF bombed Dresden railways twice, in March and April

9. Results ~25,000-35,000 people dead. Thousands more refugees.
15 square kilometers destroyed
87.5% of inner city houses destroyed
More than 1,200 heavy bombers dropped nearly 4,000 tons of high-explosive and incendiary bombs on the city in four successive raids. An estimated 25,000 people were killed in the bombings and the firestorm that raged afterward.
More than 75,000 dwellings were destroyed, along with unique monuments of Baroque architecture in the historic city center.
Warning: Graphic Images Follow
kush

10. Example: In one building, they found no survivors or corpses: just a green-brown liquid with bones sticking out of it. The people had all melted.
In areas further from the town centre there were legions of adults shrivelled to three feet in length. Children under the age of three had simply been vaporised.
kush

11. What is Firebombing?
Bomb the roofs of house with explosives to expose the timbers
Drop incendiary devices (fire-sticks) into the houses and igniting them
Drop more high-explosives to hamper fire-services
The area caught fire, the air above the bombed ground became extremely hot
Cold air rushes in at ground level, people sucked into fire
“The intensity of the bombing devastated the city's historic center. The fire that raged during the bombing made superheated air rise with such force that it created a vacuum on the ground, ripping trees out of the ground, sucking people into the fires, and suffocating those spared the flames.” (Business Insider).
kush

12. 1:50-3:10
kush
Stop at 3:10

13. Impact Wasn’t actually necessary (?) massive death
Soviets originally just wanted to bomb air and tank factories, oil plants, Western allies insisted on bombing the city as well or germans had metropolitan area to move freely through
In Cold War, Soviet Union used it to alienate East Germans from the Americans and British
Nazis used it for propaganda, promised swift retaliation
Inflated number of deaths, exploited lack of military related targets in Dresden.
Controversy, people from all over political spectrum considered it unnecessary, even sometimes a war crime
kate

14. The Ethics Behind It Justification: Warning: Graphic Images Follow
Chief of Air Staff believed that the death and destruction caused by bombing would create a humanitarian crisis to speed up the war, ultimately saving more lives
Churchill supported “terror bombing”, wanted to demoralise the Nazis into a regime change
There is proof that homelessness and family break-ups did demoralise morale, but not much more. And the people unified behind their country in outrage
Allied city bombing (in general) did hurt German economy (only by 2.7% at most).
Got rid of metropolitan area for Germans to move through
RAF memo on the night of the attack:
“The intentions of the attack are to hit the enemy where he will feel it most, behind an already partially collapsed front… and incidentally to show the Russians when they arrive what Bomber Command can do.” (Telegraph)
Preparing for post-war
kate
Warning: Graphic Images Follow

15. The Ethics Behind It Pt.2 Opposition: A LOT of civilians died
At this time, Hitler was already in his bunker.
(fun fact) An American soldier, Kurt Vonnegut, was held in Dresden during the bombings in a meat locker. In 1969 he published his anti-war novel The Slaughterhouse-Five, inspired by the post-bomb horrors he saw.
Again, Dresden had no military significance. Largely a cultural city, undefended
kate

16. Kate
(remember to play the video)

17. Works Cited
“Bombing of Dresden in World War II.” Bombing of Dresden in World War II - New World Encyclopedia,
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Bombing of Dresden.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 20 Feb. 2019,
Designed by Contexture International | “World War Two Maps.” Mrgrayhistory,
Editors, History.com. “Bombing of Dresden.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Nov. 2009,
“Firebombing of Dresden.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 5 Nov. 2009,
Gregg, Victor. “I Survived the Bombing of Dresden and Continue to Believe It Was a War Crime | Victor Gregg.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 15 Feb. 2013,
Selwood, Dominic. “Dresden Was a Civilian Town with No Military Significance. Why Did We Burn Its People?” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 13 Feb. 2015,
Taylor, Alan. “Remembering Dresden: 70 Years After the Firebombing.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 12 Feb. 2015,
Turner, Lauren. “Bomber Command Maps Reveal Extent of German Destruction.” BBC News, BBC, 8 Oct. 2015,