The ' Pointless Slaughter '

The bombing of Dresden from February 13 to February 15, 1945 remains one of the most controversial bombings in World War II. Located in eastern Germany, Dresden was targeted by Allied bombers during the final months World War II in the European theatre. The justification of the bombing remains controversial because the city was neither a political center nor an industrial center contributing to the Nazi war effort. The one word that describes Dresden before its decimation was innocence.

Evidence suggests that Nazi propaganda in the immediate aftermath heightened reactions by releasing false information, such as exaggerating the death toll. As a result, the false information remains to this day, fueling ethical debates. In analyzing the bombing, many factors are often unconsidered, such as the German Ardennes offensive, which raised tensions and pressure to end World War II as fast as possible. Evidence suggests the bombing is justified, as Dresden contained major transportation and industrial hubs contributing to the Nazi war effort. Also, pressure and uncertainty of further German aggression similar to the Ardennes offensive caused severe anxiety of possibly losing the war. It can be claimed that the bombing was justified, as Goebbels labels the act as "".. a splendid propaganda

Whilst the significance that it had on the German home front may have been more limited than hoped for, it succeeded in dislocating and demoralising German civilians. Whilst its effect on Germany’s economic ability to produce and transport goods for the war effort may have been mostly limited, its effect on the transport infrastructure of German was of critical significance. Perhaps the most significant effect was bombing’s impact on other areas of the war and the German war effort because of how it saved thousands of potential casualties and facilitated the D-Day landings. Its impact on the USSR in terms of both keeping them as an ally and easing their invasion was also of great significance. The overall outcome from Allied Strategic Bombing may have been highly significant, but we must not fail to neglect the cost at which such a result came. 44.4% of Bomber Command crews failed to return from their missions (55,573) and over 18000 were wounded or became prisoners of war. 8,325 aircraft were lost and 1,030,500 tons of bombs were dropped. Despite the cost at which Allied Strategic Bombing came at, the evidence supports the argument that the Allied Strategic Bombing of Germany during the Second World War was significant to a large

General Dwight D. Eisenhower had stated, “Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory!” (“FDR: Day by Day”). The invasion of Normandy was a nightmare to Adolf Hitler and to the Nazis, but it was a great success to the Allied powers. Overall, the invasion of Normandy can be considered the breaking point of World War II, and it immeasurably impacted the Nazi party and the Allied power. There are three main points in this research paper, such as the main events that happened, the nations, and the outcome of the invasion.

World War II was one of the largest loses of human life in present day history, with an estimated of around “fifty million casualties.” This wasn’t limited to military personal, but also civilian life, which helped distinguish this war of pervious conflicts. The amount of civilian causalities was unlike anything the world has ever seen. Targeting of cities center by bombers was common but the high death toll had another sinister reason. (Kishlansky, Geary & O'Brien 650) The Nazis and Soviets had come to use concentration camps and genocide as a way to exert their control over their population and foreign lands. The camps, where the inhabitants were treated as feral animals, were forced to work as slaves in back breaking labor. The Nazis generally

Unfortunately, Dresden, well into German territory, built no bomb shelters for its citizens, let alone prisoners of war. As such, soon after Kurt found himself a POW, the Allied troops started bomb runs on the City. Vonnegut fictionalized his experience in his 1969 work, Slaughterhouse-Five. Being a pacifist, the number of pro-war movies spurred Vonnegut to write about his experiences in Dresden in a way that could not be construed to support war. This fictional work, heralded as one of his best books, has frequently been banned from schools for being unpatriotic.

The Germany city of Dresden has been devastated by a heavy bombing. This horrific attack led to immediate death of 135,000 people, where in comparison the dropping of the atomic bomb led to 80,000 immediate deaths and another 60,000 died due to acute radiation syndrome. Unlike Hiroshima, Dresden had no military significance, highlighting the unnecessary deaths of both the Germans and the allies’ prisoners of war. Dresden could be described as the “Florence of the Elbe,” it ‘was’ a beautiful town that was a civilian town. This assault on Dresden was known as “operation thunderclap” and from the 13th to the 15th of February 1945, British and American soldiers dropped 2,400 tons of explosives and 1,500 tons of incendiary bombs.

For one to truly understand Kurt Vonnegut’s novel, I believe it is cruel to know the history of the firebombing of Dresden. The firebombing of Dresden was a disruptive bombing lead by the American and British air bombers. It is said to be that Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany (Kirsch 4). The Free State of Saxony is landlocked federal states of Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic (Kirsch 4). The firebombing of Dresden was

Dresden was attacked so late in the war many people thought it was unnecessary and if the government really suspected that it as a key figure in the military success then surely they would have bombed is sooner and bombing and wiping out a whole city just because the russians might attack makes things less justifiable as they were not viewed as people just as a tool to control the russians. Also it wasn’t just civilians in Dresden there was also prisoners of war there. One prisoner of war said he thought that it was a war crime. War crimes are things such as: willful killing, or causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health, torture or inhumane treatment. Prisoners of war were often the receiving end of war crimes and this same prisoner of war thought that it was the worst thing that had happened surely mean that it was not justifiable.

“It is so short and jumbled and jangled... because there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre.”(Chapter 1). World War II, years of war that saw young men, or children, go into battle, many never to return. A massacre that will leave a scar on this earth that will never truly heal. Kurt Vonnegut attempts to capture the hostility of this war, which he was a part of, in “Slaughterhouse-five”. A primary theme of the novel is war is cruel and childish. Vonnegut does not glorify war or make anyone sound heroic, he describes war as undisciplined and a cataclysm for everyone involved. There were victims on all sides of the battlefield, no one was a true winner, and it all could have been avoided if people could stand to work things out

The Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Normandy were two vital battles in World War II. Stalingrad was the site of a critical WWII Soviet victory that terminated Germany’s advance to the east. Peaceful Normandy took it’s place in history as the starting point in the triumphant march across Europe. Both these intense events were extremely significant in the outcome of the second world war.

Three hours later, another 529 Lancasters approached the city, but this time they were armed with firebombs. Another onslaught by 311 United States Army Air Force (USAAF) B-17 Flying Fortress bombers followed in the morning (Steele 2). The bombers proceeded across the charming city until all of Dresden was burning. Flames of thousands of fires consumed air from outside and sucked it in with “the force of a hurricane,” spreading the fire and suffocating thousands of victims (Steele 2). Most of Dresden's baroque buildings fell to the ground. "Several people were cowering by the entrance,” wrote one of the victims, “Others were on the steps. You could recognise that the corpses had human shapes, but they were without clothes, hair, or eyes, just charred. If you touched one, it fell apart into ash” (Steele 2). The firestorm continued into the next day when again it rained down from 450 more USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress bombers over Dresden at 12:30 P.M. on February 14. After the bombing and the firestorm, approximately 90% of the city center was destroyed. One survivor noted his experience: “It wasn’t safe to come out of the shelter until noon the next day. When the Americans and their guards did come out, the sky was black with smoke… Everybody else in the neighborhood was dead” (insert citation). Even as survivors made their way out of the smoldering city, bombs were loosed on Dresden’s railways, bridges and other transportation facilities, killing thousands more. By the end of it all, Dresden was so utterly destroyed that the city was only a little more than

Germany withdrew from the Geneva disarmament conference, which meant they refused to support a British proposal that air bombing be banned. Dresden was also a very important rail centre for moving troops, concentration camp prisoners and war material but it would be no good if the allies destroyed the buildings and factories, because if there will be, still human’s; they can rebuild it. The war factories of Dresden employed around 10,000 people, many of which lived in the very centre of the city.

Many people in the United States view dolphins as something more than just another aquatic creature. There is something very human like about them; their intelligence, curiosity, and kindness are all characteristics that people can appreciate. To many people across the world dolphins are the fun and loveable mammals of the sea; and most of all, humans are fascinated by their intellect. However, all across the globe dolphins are being slaughtered at a mass rate. Not only are they being killed, but they are being tortured as well, dying slow and painful deaths at the hands of various hunters. This is because many people in other countries are unaware of the truth

The paragraph will discuss the battle of German defeat at Stalingrad. The countries who was involved in this battle includes Soviet Union, Germany, Russia Italy, Hungary, and Croatia. Before the attack happened, Hitler had his attention to Russia in 1941. Leningrad and Moscow attack failed so by the summer season of 1942 Hitler wanted to invade Russia. Hitler thought that the best strategy for the German’s was to attack North Africa. Hitler’s next action was to invade the Soviet Union. Hitler launched his first official attack on Poland in Sept. 1939. He also launched another attack on France in June of 1940 however when he failed to seize Britain he planned an attack on Britain. Adolf captured the island of Crete, managed to take the Soviet city of Leningrad which is one of the major cities. The battle of Sevastopol which was when the Soviet’s