I relish "live" history lessons, the ones learned while driving through Europe, the kind that unfold along with the landscape, either in a car or on a train. They tend to enter the mind and imagination slowly, gradually securing their seat in the psyche permanently.
These pieces of history are often sad, sometimes inspirational, others so devastating they blow the mind and fall heavily into the heart, forever.
Yesterday we drove from Holland to Prague, across Germany, entering East Germany through 'the tunnel of unity', passing Leipzig, then arriving at Dresden; a cultural mecca for music, art and architecture, a city once called the "Jewel Box"...
...until Feb 13, 1945, that fateful and particularly cruel evening, when the allied forces bombed Dresden, when the British and American forces set fire to this Jewel Box, killing 57 thousand people in one night.
To suggest it was highly controversial is without debate.
My data, the # of people killed, 57,000, is Western European perspective, generally perceived wisdom.
Wiki's entry:
Dresden in the 20th century was a leading European centre of art, classical music, culture and science until its complete destruction on 13 February 1945. Being the capital of the German state of Saxony, Dresden had not only garrisons but a whole military borough, the Albertstadt. This military complex, named after Saxon King Albert, was never targeted in the bombing of Dresden.
During the final months of World War II, Dresden became a safe haven to some 600,000 refugees, including women, children, and wounded soldiers, with a total population of 1.2 million. Dresden was attacked seven times between 1944 and 1945, and was occupied by the Red Army after German capitulation.
The bombing of Dresden by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force between 13 and 15 February 1945 remains one of the more controversial Allied actions of the Western European theatre of war.
The inner city of Dresden was largely destroyed by 722 RAF and 527 USAAF bombers that dropped 2431.0 tons of high explosive bombs, and 1475.9 tons of incendiaries.[13]The high explosive bombs damaged buildings and exposed their wooden structure, while the incendiaries ignited it. However, some[who?] perceive the actions of the RAF in particular to be as a direct retaliation for the destruction brought upon the ancient city of Coventry, whose medieval center was destroyed in earlier raids by the Luftwaffe. The bombing raid destroyed the 500 year-old Cathedral, along with almost all of the ancient centre of the city.[14] in three waves of attacks. Early reports estimated 150,000 to 250,000 deaths. The German Dresden Historians' Commission, in an official 2010 report published after five years of research, concluded there were up to 25,000 civilian casualties,[15] while right-wing groups claim that up to 500,000 people died.[citation needed]
The inhabited city centre was almost wiped out, while larger residential, industrial and military sites on the outskirts were relatively unscathed. Some of the Allies described the operation as the justified bombing of a military and industrial target.[16] A report from the British Bomber Command stated the military target was the railway marshalling yard Dresden-Friedrichstadt, which housed 4,000 trucks, at most, per 24 hours. Prime Minister Winston Churchill tried to distance himself from the attack, even though he was heavily involved with the organization and planning of the raid. Several researchers have argued that the February attacks were disproportionate. Mostly women and children died.[17] American novelist Kurt Vonnegut witnessed the raid as a POW; his novel Slaughterhouse-Five is based on that experience. In remembrance of the victims, the anniversaries of the bombing of Dresden are marked with peace demonstrations, devotions and marches.[18][19]
