Dresden, A City Lost
Dresden was once called, "Florence on the Elbe," before the widespread destruction sustained during the war and was numbered among the most beautiful cities in the world, noted for its architecture and great art treasures. On the eve of February 13, 1945, phosphorus and high explosive bombs devastated the city. "Everyone was convinced, that there would be no attack here." (Owings, 191) Dresden was of no means a principal military point, furthermore, the majority of its inhabitants actually believed that they would endure the war unharmed. Initially, the alleged reasoning for Dresden being bombed seemed to be related with the operation known as "Thunderclap." Dresden was only one of the casualties affiliated with this the operation. This operation was instigated to reduce German civilian morale. According to a secret report dated, August 02, 1944, the rudimentary principles of the maneuver, "Thunderclap was that an "...attack must be delivered in such density that it imposes as nearly as possible a hundred percent risk of death to the individual in the area to which it is applied." ("Was the Bombing of Dresden Justifiable," 7) Collectively, between 35,000 to 135,000 human beings are estimated to have lost t
heir lives. The report stated further, "...the total weight of the attack must be such as to produce an effect amounting to a national disaster...the target chosen should be one involving the maximum associations, both traditional and personal, for the whole population." ("Was the Bombing of Dresden Justifiable," 7) Furthermore, "The area selected should embrace the highest density of population." ("Was the Bombing of Dresden Justifiable," 7) Dresden was Germany's seventh largest city, in addition, by February 1945 refugees fleeing westward before the advancing Soviet military forces had doubled Dresden's population. "Prisoners of war from many lands came together that morning at such and such a place in Dresden."(Vonnegut, 213) A POW, Thomas Jones, who had worked on the cleanup of the ruined city recalled, "There must have been a couple hundred tiny babies, all dead, in a pile ten feet high...people would still be sitting there dead, on benches, weeks after the bombing. We'd drag bodies into the streets, pile them up by the hundreds, pour gas on them, and burn them up. Nobody was counting." (Koenig, 3) In conclusion, it is incomprehensible whether or not the rationalization for the horrendous actions collating with the bombing of Dresden or any city is thoroughly justifiable in a mo
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Approximate Word count = 876
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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