Bombing of dresden book

The bombardment of the german city of dresden, brought home to americans most famously in kurt vonneguts 1969 novel, slaughterhousefive, is a frequently cited case in point. Dresden, though understandable in the context of a peoples war, was an atrocity. The inferno the destruction of dresden, the florence of the elbe. An outstanding book on a subject that will simply not go away. Slaughterhousefive was read widely as a graphic statement on the futility of war, capturing the zeitgeist of the time, when antivietnam war protests were at their zenith. This book was released for the 75th anniversary of the dresden bombing raids of 1945. The freight car had been photographed the day before on a track outside of dresden. Kurt vonnegut knows all the tricks of the writing game. I survived the bombing of dresden and continue to believe it. Dresden, a city unaffected by bombing up to that point in the war, lost many thousands of civilians in the firestorm that was created by the allies.

Instead he writes around it in a highly imaginative, often funny, nearly psychedelic story. Memory and the politics of commemorating destruction, to be launched on thursday, april 2, dr joel tracks the way the story around the bombing of dresden has been written, rewritten and appropriated since 1945. The first contingent killed people and destroyed buildings, roads, and other. The bombardment of the german city of dresden, brought home to americans most famously in kurt vonneguts 1969 novel, slaughterhousefive, is a. The destruction of dresden is a 1963 nonfiction book which describes the february 1945 bombing of dresden in world war ii. Critics say that the military value of the bombing did not justify dresdens near destruction and that the city could have been spared, like rome, paris, and kyoto. Seventyfive years after the citys destruction, the bombing remains a highly contentious page in the. Historian mckay the secret lives of codebreakers portrays dresden before, during, and immediately after its february 1945 destruction by allied bombers in. The allied air raid on the beautiful saxon city of dresden was a defining moment that bridged the world war ii and the cold war. As a prisoner of war held in dresden, i still suffer the memories. Jul 15, 2014 the reason im pointing this out, is the official count of dresden bombing deaths is about 25,000. The narrator introduces the novels genesis by telling of his connection to the dresden bombing, and why he is recording it. I survived the bombing of dresden and continue to believe it was a. Feb 15, 20 i survived the bombing of dresden and continue to believe it was a war crime this article is more than 7 years old.

The original book dresden written prior to the mid 1960s told the truth without any revision of history or facts. The bombing of dresden began february, 1945, and lasted through april 17 a period of two months yet even today, it remains one of the most controversial military decisions in modern warfare. There have been many books on the bombing of dresden not least kurt vonneguts novel, slaughterhouse five, but sinclair mckays. An exceptionally wellresearched book about the fire bombing of dresden. A gripping work of narrative nonfiction recounting the history of the dresden bombing, one of the most devastating attacks of world war ii. The allied bombing of dresden remains one of the most contentious and divisive operations of world war ii and, in this admirably balanced and exhaustively researched account, sinclair mckay artfully disentangles the fact from the emotive fiction of this pivotal event. Very little of the book is dedicated to the actual flying bombing by the raf and 8th air force. During the extensive bombing of dresden by the allies, german guards hide. How germanys cities died for the german journal neue illustrierte.

The mythology surrounding the bombing of dresden was the result of an immediate german propaganda campaign that greatly embellished the severity of the attack. Crang is senior lecturer in history and assistant director of the centre for second world. May 19, 2015 the bombing of dresden in february 1945 has remained one of the more controversial aspects of world war two. The bombing of dresden was a britishamerican aerial bombing attack on the city of dresden. Seventyfive years after the citys destruction, the bombing. The book is based on a series of 37 articles written on the strategic bombing during world war ii by david irving called wie deutschlands stadte starben english. Bodies in the street after the allied firebombing of dresden.

The inferno the destruction of dresden, the florence of. Whats the best historynonfiction book on the bombing of. The bombing of dresden, 1945 by crang, jeremy and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The britishamerican bombing of dresden took place between february 15, 1945 during the final months of world war ii. Aug 28, 2006 hochhuth also said that irving should have been invited to the 60thanniversary commemoration of the dresden bombing because of his book, a work that by any consensus, including that of the trial. Kurt vonnegut witnessed the firebombing of dresden, germany in. I also highly recommend the book on the natural history of destruction by w. From dresden on the 50th anniversary of slaughterhousefive. However, for most of the inhabitants, the disquiet was more about the approaching russian army than fear of being bombed. The first chapter of slaughterhousefive is written in the style of an authors preface about how he came to write the novel. For all interested in military history and world war ii. How slaughterhousefive made us see the dresden bombing. In the original book, one pilot reported that while flying at 5,000 feet on a bombing run he saw, because of the fierce burning of dresden, a freight car shoot past his plane. The bombing of dresden was a britishamerican aerial bombing attack on the city of dresden, the capital of the german state of saxony, during world war ii.

Aerial ls smoke rising after bombs have been dropped. Not specifically about just dresden but a great piece on the bombings of german cities and why authors and people in germany in general didnt talk much about it. Vonnegut doesnt describe the dresden bombing at the center of the novel. March 6, 2020 in the context of world war ii, the mere mention of the dresden evokes images of devastation and the horrors visited upon this jewel of a city as part of total war.

Mar 06, 2020 the fire and the darkness the bombing of dresden, 1945 sinclair mckay. In four raids between and 15 february 1945, 722 heavy bombers of the british royal air force raf and 527 of the united states army air forces usaaf dropped more than 3,900 tons of highexplosive bombs and incendiary devices on the city. Verdict well researched, powerfully written, and balanced, this book will let the reader decide whether the bombing of dresden was a war crime or a calculated step to bring a long and bloody war to an end. New book examines the bombing of dresden a tale of. The bombing of dresden 1945 by crang, jeremy a, addison, paul isbn. In february 1945, the allies, led by sir arthur harris and bomber command, destroyed the historic city of dresden, killing 25,000, most of them civilians. A definitive study of a ruthless bombing campaign that killed thousands spectator usa. Published 50 years ago this month, the book became his first.

Jan 30, 2020 the bombing of dresden is the one major event of world war two that churchill does not mention, even in passing, in his sixvolume history of the war. Dresden, germany last month, 74 years to the day since the bombers. Dresden was struck by fighter planes, which resulted in the destruction of the city. Dresden was bombed on the evening of february th and into february 14th. The us bombing raid on dresden took place on valentines day. A harrowing eye witness account of the firebombing of dresden by former pow victor gregg. Feb 12, 2020 david irving would claim in his 1963 book, the destruction of dresden, that the bombing was the biggest single massacre in european history. This book challenges what you thought you knew about the wwii allied bombing of dresden and the evolution of the alliess strategic bombing philosophy. Understanding the bombing of dresden book summaries, test. If the reader is looking for a history of early dresden and a detailed story of the reconstruction, then this book might be of interest. In the following pages, it will be argued that the dresden bombing was indeed necessary at the time to bring about the immediate and unconditional surrender of nazi germany. Jan 24, 2014 just finished listening to slaughterhouse 5 so it goes, in advance of a slate book club live event here in seattle, and it got me interested in learning more about the bombing of dresden at the end of world war ii.

The destruction of dresden, the florence on the elbe, by british and american bombers in february 1945 was one of the most controversial. If one wants a detailed account of the actual attack, then look somewhere else. Marvelously written based on interviews with survivors, previously recorded interviews, and relatively recent historical data obtained from soviet archives. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Dresden bombing project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Because of preknowledge of the target, because it was methodically planned, because stalin had insisted on it, because all scruples were put aside in the interests of prosecuting a war about. In his book dresden, mckay has made good use of the oral history archive available in the city to reconstruct the personal stories of survivors.

They want you to believe dresden was an allied bombing atrocity, and so they do what they canshort of making senseto achieve that. Perhaps the most rewarding of the many books written about the dresden bombing. Get cozy and expand your home library with a large online selection of books at. Was the bombing of dresden legitimate or a war crime. The bombing of dresden was an attack on the city of dresden, the capital of the german state of saxony, that took place in the final months of ww2. But, as emerges from this accomplished book, it was not, as some historians suggest, morally equivalent to the holocaust. No single preceding book on the bombing war has so succinctly summed up the complex responses felt by people directly involved, but also by the world at large. A view of the devastated city of dresden, germany, seen in 1945 from the city hall. Feb 06, 2020 in 1945, dresden had a veneer of normality, but, beneath the surface, there was a deep sense of unease. The bombing of dresden was a historic benchmark that demonstrated the power of strategic bombing.

Feb 06, 2004 frederick taylors wellresearched and unpretentious book is a robust defence of the dresden raids that counters recent attempts to recast the nation that gave the world auschwitz as the second. There have been many books on the bombing of dresden not least kurt vonneguts novel, slaughterhouse five, but sinclair mckays account is a worthy addition. The bombing was controversial because dresden a historic city located in. No different in most ways than the bombing of many cities in britain like coventry and southampton and indeed the centre of london.

The bombing was controversial because dresdena historic city located in. The book uses the public commemoration of the citys wartime destruction as a case study to. Slaughterhousefive, or the childrens crusade the new. With the war coming to an end, it was hoped that dresden had escaped the worse of the bombing campaign. Vonnegut has said that this death is the climax of the book as a whole. Moreover, area bombing was dropped from the indictment of war criminals at nuremberg, since the allies were open to the same charge.