Learning Curve
HEROES & VILLAINS
Churchill & Dresden
Winston Churchill and the bombing of Dresden
In February 1945, the last year of World War 2, Britain sent
300 Lancaster bombers to attack the crowded German city
of Dresden. This attack was not the precision bombing of
specific military targets. It was deliberate bombing of a
whole area. The bombs destroyed city buildings and started
tremendous fires.
Before long, eleven square miles of Dresden were consumed
by a firestorm. The vacuum caused by the rapid rise of hot
air created tornadoes that tossed furniture, trees and debris
into the air. People were caught in fires as hot as 1000 °C.
The city was devastated. No one knows how many thousands died.
The German armies were in retreat at this time and the war
was nearly over. Some historians have argued that this
attack was not justifiable on military grounds, that it was
nothing more than a slaughter of civilians. But others say it
helped to shorten the war in Europe.
Ultimate responsibility for this attack lay with the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. Was
the bombing of Dresden a justifiable act during wartime? How closely was Winston Churchill
involved in the decision to attack the city? Does this cast a shadow upon Churchill's reputation
as the heroic icon of twentieth century British history?
Find out more from the original sources in these case studies:
Why target Dresden?
What did the bombing
of Dresden achieve?
Was Churchill
responsible?
http://www.learningcurve.gov.uk/heroesvillains/
Page 1