 "There is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre." KV But we do need to be intelligent and well-informed about violence and war. Your task: Create context for Slaughterhouse Five by researching the Dresden bombing. Directions:
**The catch? No repeats! Let's gather up as much information as we can to help create the backdrop for this truly wacky and moving novel.
28 Comments
10/2/2015 08:22:57 pm
It was believed that Winston Churchill's decision to bomb Dresden (which had no military value) was for political instead of military reasons.
Adrien Inman
10/2/2015 10:29:39 pm
This battle is often referred to in Europe as a "causes célèbres", (meaning famous case in French); because it is widely believed that American and English forces bombed this city for no other reason than to strongly demoralize the enemy (much like the atomic bombs and Japan, but with a smaller scale). This moral qualm has led to The Bombing of Dresden to be quite the interesting controversy among Europeans, historians, and others who are generally interested in this topic.
Jenifer McLaren
10/2/2015 10:43:43 pm
An estimated 35,000-135,000 people died during the bombings of Dresden, and most of the city was leveled because of the amount of destruction. 10/3/2015 06:48:04 am
An estimated 350,000 residents lived in Dresden but the number of refugees is unknown. The city was also a cultural center with the Zwinger Museum and the Frauenkirche Cathedral being built there.
Rafaella Tejada-salazar
10/3/2015 11:11:27 pm
Alongside the Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the bombing of Dresden is said to have compromised the cause of World War II, which appeared to have been without question a war in which the "champions of democracy and freedom" were pitted against oppression and evil.
Rafaella Tejada-salazar
10/3/2015 11:22:49 pm
Alongside the Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the bombing of Dresden is said to have compromised the cause of World War II, which appeared to have been without question a war in which the "champions of democracy and freedom" were pitted against oppression and evil.
Holly Nelson
10/4/2015 01:34:35 pm
Before the bombing, Dresden was known as "The Florence of the Elb" for it's beautiful architecture and museums. Also, the city had only contributed a minimal amount to the war effort compared to others. Almost all of Hitler's forces were being used to protect Berlin, leaving Dresden utterly defenseless. This made it easy for the Russians to capture it, also making it an unlikely target for a major Allied air attack. 10/4/2015 04:31:40 pm
Approximately 3,300 tons of bombs were dropped on the city most being incendiary, or fire, bombs. The streets may have reached temperatures as high as 1800 degrees Fahrenheit. The streets even melted. Some people jumped into reservoirs to help firefighters, but drowned due to how they were constructed.
Madison Casimir
10/4/2015 04:49:31 pm
It is believed that the fires at Dresden peaked at 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit over the course of the three waves of incendiary bombing. The blaze was so hot that the streets melted and the feet of those fleeing were quickly burned. Many who sought refuge in their cellars suffocated as the fires sucked out all the oxygen and replaced it with poisonous gas.
Alexis DeLong
10/4/2015 05:13:06 pm
Although Dresden was a large industrial center, the majority of the factories in the suburbs were not targeted; instead, the bombers targeted residential areas within the city itself, intending to cause moral disruption rather than economic. 10/4/2015 05:21:12 pm
The Dresden Firebombing took place on February 13th through February 15th,1945. The bombing took place furing the final months of World War II. Dresden was never attacked before this time, because "Dresden was neither important to German wartime production nor a major industrial center." 10/4/2015 06:03:24 pm
Many Germans did not know of the destruction of Dreseden until after the war. It is said that the population did not know of the incident until decades later. This was due to Nazi propaganda. No actual representation of Dresden was released during the war to allow the Germans to think that they were winning, when actually it was a completely different story.
Blake Standifer
10/4/2015 06:43:29 pm
It is believed Dresden was so heavily bombed to show Russia what the United States and England were capable of so Russia wouldn't break the agreements made at the war conferences.
Madison Frazier
10/4/2015 07:40:37 pm
800 British bombers had dropped more than 1,400 tons of high-explosive bombs and more than 1,100 tons of incendiaries on Dresden, creating a great firestorm that destroyed most of the city.
Nick Elekes
10/4/2015 08:27:58 pm
The city is reported to be a vital command centre for the German defence against Soviet forces approaching from the east.
Ashley Jeffords
10/4/2015 08:52:13 pm
There were very few public air raid shelters—the largest, underneath the main railway station, was housing 6,000 refugees. As a result, most people took shelter in their cellars, but one of the air raid precautions the city had taken was to remove the thick cellar walls between rows of buildings, and replace them with thin partitions that could be knocked through in an emergency. The idea was that, as one building collapsed or filled with smoke, those using the basement as a shelter could knock the walls down and run into adjoining buildings. With the city on fire everywhere, those fleeing from one burning cellar simply ran into another, with the result that thousands of bodies were found piled up in houses at the end of city blocks. 10/4/2015 10:27:20 pm
The Dresden firebombing was really a warning from the bacon chomping, eagle riding, baby kissing, beer slogging American armed forces to the child devouring, virgin killing, vodka dribbling, free enterprise hating Russian forces of the superior might of the Americans since the Russians were nearing the front and eventually Dresden and therefore had to be shown to keep away.
Stephanie Johnson
10/4/2015 10:45:08 pm
Records show from February 13th to February 14th, 1945, between 35,000 and 135,000 people were killed by the allied bombing in Dresden. Historians to this day still cannot give a definite number due to all of the runaways and refugees that were unaccounted for & living in the city at the time.
Katelyn Ashcraft
10/4/2015 11:26:36 pm
There was a man named Victor Gregg who was held prisoner during the Dresden bombing and even published work after the event happened. He believed that the Dresden bombing was a war crime and still continues to think so.
Chrissy Pettit
10/5/2015 06:52:30 am
The dresden fire bombing was controversial because Dresden was neither important to German wartime production nor a major industrial center, and before the massive air raid of February 1945 it had not suffered a major Allied attack.
Gabe Cruz
10/5/2015 08:10:58 am
The bombing of Dresden was apparently one of the single most destructive bombings of the war and was considered to have no significance value to the war at all. The Germans were already close to surrendering, so this bombing was seen to just rub salt in the Germans' wounds.
Raina Feaster
10/5/2015 08:53:21 am
Dresden was a military target and the city had many factories which made it a target.
Lydia Harden
10/5/2015 09:05:57 am
35,000 or more people died during the bombings of Dresden and a fire storm was created that destroyed most of the city.
Graeson Gibson
10/5/2015 09:06:06 am
More than 3,400 tons of explosives were dropped on the city by 800 American and British aircraft. The firestorm created by the two days of bombing set the city burning for many more days, littering the streets with charred corpses, including many children. Eight square miles of the city was ruined. Also many believe that the attack was simply an attempt to punish the Germans and weaken their morale.
Noelle Soares
10/5/2015 09:07:46 am
Dresden was a city located in Nazi Germany, making it a potential target for bombing. 3,300 tons of bombs were dropped on Germany's seventh largest city. Dresden was almost completely destroyed.
Mickayla Keith
10/5/2015 10:35:40 am
They think that Dresden was a target for a few reasons. The city was not simply a cultural center, there were factories there producing weapons and equipment for the Nazi war effort. Therefore, the city was a legitimate target. It was also a rail base to send troops to the war front with the Russians. 10/5/2015 12:41:07 pm
The Dresden bombing was considered to be a saturation bombing...even though the Allies never admitted to using such tactics like the Germans. 10/6/2015 05:53:22 pm
Three months later following the bombing of Dresden, Germany surrendered to the Allies. Leave a Reply. |
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