Bombing of Dresden Still Debated After 65 Years.

Posted By Cliff Tuttle | March 18, 2010

With the war grinding down in early 1945 to an inevitable Allied victory, the invading armies raced toward Berlin.  Churchill promised Stalin, or so they say, that British and American bombers would obliterate the City of Dresden, so that it could not support the retreating Germans on the Eastern Front.

The New York Times reports that the debate still rages whether the Dresden bombing mission was deliberately planned to kill as many civilians as possible. Documents indicate that this was in fact the intention.  Was this kind of population-targeted warfare legal under International Law?

If you wish to know what it was like to survive during the bombing, there is a German made for TV Film available in two episodes that is incredibly graphic.

A German website, DW-World.DE reviewed the film, which is available through Netflix.  Of particular note is the depiction of the famous Frauenkirche, recently restored to its pre-bombing splendor.  The skeleton of the church is the symbol of Dresden in ashes. Frauenkirche restored is Dresden risen from the ashes.

CLT

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CLIFF TUTTLE has been a Pennsylvania lawyer for over 45 years and (inter alia) is a real estate litigator and legal writer. The posts in this blog are intended to provide general information about legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus. However, this information does not constitute legal advice and there is no lawyer-client relationship created when you read this blog. You are encouraged to leave comments but be aware that posted comments can be read by others. If you wish to contact me in privacy, please use the Contact Form located immediately below this message. I will reply promptly and in strict confidence.

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