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Dresden: Tuesday, February 13, 1945
Published to coincide with the bombing, this dramatic and controversial account completely re-examines the Allied attack on Dresden For decades it has been assumed that the Allied bombing of Dresden was militarily unjustifiable, an act of rage and retribution for Germany’s ceaseless bombing of London and other parts of England. Now, Frederick Taylor’s groundbreaking research offers a completely new examination of the facts, and reveals that Dresden was a highly-militarized city actively involved in the production of military armaments and communications concealed beneath the cultural elegance for which the city was famous. Incorporating first-hand accounts, contemporaneous press material and memoirs, and never-before-seen government records, Taylor documents unequivocally the very real military threat Dresden posed, and thus altering forever our view of that attack.
544 pages, Hardcover
First published February 3, 2004
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1296 people want to read
About the author
Frederick Taylor
50 books70 followersFrederick Taylor is a British novelist and historian specialising in modern German history.
He was educated at Aylesbury Grammar School and read History and Modern Languages at Oxford University. He did postgraduate work at Sussex University on the rise of the extreme right in Germany in the early twentieth century. Before embarking on the series of historical monographs for which he is best known, he translated The Goebbels Diaries 1939–1941 into English and wrote novels set in Germany.
He was educated at Aylesbury Grammar School and read History and Modern Languages at Oxford University. He did postgraduate work at Sussex University on the rise of the extreme right in Germany in the early twentieth century. Before embarking on the series of historical monographs for which he is best known, he translated The Goebbels Diaries 1939–1941 into English and wrote novels set in Germany.
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November 23, 2017
After “…the German bombing of Coventry” the author, Frederick Taylor writes “The damage inflicted on the cities infrastructure had lasted far longer and caused more long-term difficulties for war production than the actual bombing of the industrial plants” This statement on page 188 of my copy was constantly on my mind while reading this very good book on the appalling tragedy that was the bombing of Dresden on 13th, 14th and 15th February 1945.
The thought of the allies learning from the destruction of various British home cities to me highlighted the general large scale bombing that was becoming the normal course of events in the later part of the war as the allies drove home their advantage over the Third Reich. Yes the destruction was brutal and, debatably with hindsight, maybe uncalled for in certain cities, Dresden being one of those cities. But at the back of my mind was the fact that Total War was being fought and let’s recall that the Nazis themselves had evoked that chilling call back in 1943.
I am also reminded that the wholesale destruction of Warsaw with over 28,000 deaths and a reported 80% destruction of that city that had occurred as early as September 1939. With that one could go on in discussing atrocity after atrocity, man’s inhumanity to man that was the 2nd world war. Was this a war crime? Yes but then war is a crime really. In my years of reading WW2 history I have tried hard to be pragmatic as to the actions of the protagonists in terms of military action. In the end I came out of the end of this book thinking that the bombing was considered just another military action taken by the allies and that the horrific consequences to the civilian population and the cultural obliteration was never particularly on their mind. Nazi Germany needed to be defeated. Ideologies as far apart as western capitalism and eastern communism cooperated to that end.
As to the book itself it is divided into 3 parts. Part 1 is entitled Florence on the Elbe and is a history of Dresden itself from the dawns of time to the lead up to the bombing. For me this made fascinating reading as it made me realise what Dresden meant to the German Saxon people. Part 2, Total War, covers wartime Dresden from approximately the time of the Battle of the Bulge and the third part, After the Fall, covers the aftermath and beyond. The author has done a wonderful job in putting together a chronological order of events from the earliest time to the bitter tragedy that was the bombing. Part 3 also discusses opinions, controversies etc from just after the event itself through to the turn of the century. David Irving for example gets short shrift from Taylor and rightfully so. What I tend to get from books such as this is that there are always interesting events and individuals discussed that get little mention in standard historical books that I tend to read. Artists Otto Griebel and Otto Dix come to mind and in Chapter 8 we received a very interesting brief history of aerial warfare and the "laws" of said subject. The eyewitness accounts from the civilians make fascinating but also painful reading. The military accounts are very informative and interesting.
In the end though, and to quote a Goodread friends final words in a very good review of this very readable book, “The lessons are there for us all”. Indeed!
The thought of the allies learning from the destruction of various British home cities to me highlighted the general large scale bombing that was becoming the normal course of events in the later part of the war as the allies drove home their advantage over the Third Reich. Yes the destruction was brutal and, debatably with hindsight, maybe uncalled for in certain cities, Dresden being one of those cities. But at the back of my mind was the fact that Total War was being fought and let’s recall that the Nazis themselves had evoked that chilling call back in 1943.
I am also reminded that the wholesale destruction of Warsaw with over 28,000 deaths and a reported 80% destruction of that city that had occurred as early as September 1939. With that one could go on in discussing atrocity after atrocity, man’s inhumanity to man that was the 2nd world war. Was this a war crime? Yes but then war is a crime really. In my years of reading WW2 history I have tried hard to be pragmatic as to the actions of the protagonists in terms of military action. In the end I came out of the end of this book thinking that the bombing was considered just another military action taken by the allies and that the horrific consequences to the civilian population and the cultural obliteration was never particularly on their mind. Nazi Germany needed to be defeated. Ideologies as far apart as western capitalism and eastern communism cooperated to that end.
As to the book itself it is divided into 3 parts. Part 1 is entitled Florence on the Elbe and is a history of Dresden itself from the dawns of time to the lead up to the bombing. For me this made fascinating reading as it made me realise what Dresden meant to the German Saxon people. Part 2, Total War, covers wartime Dresden from approximately the time of the Battle of the Bulge and the third part, After the Fall, covers the aftermath and beyond. The author has done a wonderful job in putting together a chronological order of events from the earliest time to the bitter tragedy that was the bombing. Part 3 also discusses opinions, controversies etc from just after the event itself through to the turn of the century. David Irving for example gets short shrift from Taylor and rightfully so. What I tend to get from books such as this is that there are always interesting events and individuals discussed that get little mention in standard historical books that I tend to read. Artists Otto Griebel and Otto Dix come to mind and in Chapter 8 we received a very interesting brief history of aerial warfare and the "laws" of said subject. The eyewitness accounts from the civilians make fascinating but also painful reading. The military accounts are very informative and interesting.
In the end though, and to quote a Goodread friends final words in a very good review of this very readable book, “The lessons are there for us all”. Indeed!
February 4, 2021
Page 178 (my book)
By 1944 the combined Anglo-American air forces were massive. In December of that year Bomber Command had at its disposal 1,513 bombers (it would reach 1,609 by April 1945). The Eight U.S. Army Air Force now had 1,826 bombers, with hundreds of new aircraft being produced every month… During the course of 1944 the balance of power in the air had changed even more dramatically than that on the ground. The sheer quantity of new aircraft and trained air crew – particularly American – would alone have guaranteed such a shift.
This book is a thorough examination of the bombing and especially the prelude to the Dresden air raids prior to February 13, 1945.
We are given a short history of the city of Dresden including its embrace of Nazism in the 1930s. All of the Dresden industries, as in all of Germany, were turned over to support the massive war effort of the Wehrmacht, the Luftwaffe and even components were being manufactured for U-boats. There were also large freight yards in Dresden – it was a transportation hub for troops going to the Eastern front, which in February of 1945 was only about fifty miles away.
The author also provides us with a brief history of aerial warfare from World War I onwards. The blitz in England is covered and how bombing raids were evolving technically – particularly the use of incendiaries. Bombing raids on Germany for many years were the primary way for the Western Allies to hit back at Germany. As planes evolved their distances increased along with the ability of fighter aircraft to accompany Allied bomber planes and protect them from the Luftwaffe.
Many cities in Germany had been pulverized by Allied bombers.
Page 366-67
[by the end of 1944] Allied power to inflict harm was now to all intents unlimited. Nowhere and no one in Germany was safe. For a regime that based itself on brute strength – and viewed failure as proof of inferiority – this was an absolutely intolerable situation.
Sometimes raids were “successful” and others less so. In Dresden on February 13 a first wave of British bombers dropped incendiaries and bombs around 10PM. The second wave of British bombers arrived a few hours later. This added to the conflagrations and the firestorms already in progress. For those on the ground the situation became ruthless. A firestorm sucks the oxygen from the air to feed the growing fires – so many victims died of asphyxiation – their bodies being intact in the cellars in which they were hiding. Survival became a matter of sheer luck and the avoidance, if possible, of being engulfed in flames. The author recounts the harrowing stories of some of the survivors.
In the afternoon the arrival of American bombers was less “successful” due to the decreased visibility from the fires and smoke.
The efficacy of a raid was due to a variety of factors, weather being a primary one. Unfortunately for the people of Dresden the night on February 13 was optimal for the British bombers. Dresden had only suffered through two minor raids prior, so much of the city was intact – another factor adding to the optimal conditions for incendiary bombs. When large parts of a city had been reduced to rubble, incendiary bombs were far less effective. Also, Dresden had little experience in dealing with air raids. The leaders were deficient and corrupt in providing air raid shelters. There was virtually no protection because anti-aircraft guns had been moved to the Eastern Front – which added to the “successful” conditions for a bombing raid.
The author explores the morality of the raid. Some in England – a minority – said that bomber command had gone too far. The author does make counterpoints to this. Dresden had been known and visited by many Europeans and U.K. visitors because it was a cultural centre prior to the 1930s. However. Dresden residents raised little protest in November,1938 (Kristallnacht) when the Semper synagogue, the largest synagogue in Germany, was burnt down. In January of 1945 the Germans withdrew from Warsaw, which in the eighteenth century had been Dresden’s sister city. “Between October, 1944 and January, 1945 German forces destroyed 80 percent of its center street by street, building by building.” (page 206) Many more Poles died in Warsaw than in Dresden.
Page 373
Dresden was by no means the last of the major attacks launched by the RAF against German towns and cities in the first months of 1945. In the course of March 1945 Bomber Command dropped more than sixty-seven thousand tons of bombs on Germany. This represented not just the greatest tonnage of any single month between 1939 and 1945, but was only slightly less than the entire tonnage dropped during the first three years of the war.
We do come out of this book with an understanding of what total war is.
By 1944 the combined Anglo-American air forces were massive. In December of that year Bomber Command had at its disposal 1,513 bombers (it would reach 1,609 by April 1945). The Eight U.S. Army Air Force now had 1,826 bombers, with hundreds of new aircraft being produced every month… During the course of 1944 the balance of power in the air had changed even more dramatically than that on the ground. The sheer quantity of new aircraft and trained air crew – particularly American – would alone have guaranteed such a shift.
This book is a thorough examination of the bombing and especially the prelude to the Dresden air raids prior to February 13, 1945.
We are given a short history of the city of Dresden including its embrace of Nazism in the 1930s. All of the Dresden industries, as in all of Germany, were turned over to support the massive war effort of the Wehrmacht, the Luftwaffe and even components were being manufactured for U-boats. There were also large freight yards in Dresden – it was a transportation hub for troops going to the Eastern front, which in February of 1945 was only about fifty miles away.
The author also provides us with a brief history of aerial warfare from World War I onwards. The blitz in England is covered and how bombing raids were evolving technically – particularly the use of incendiaries. Bombing raids on Germany for many years were the primary way for the Western Allies to hit back at Germany. As planes evolved their distances increased along with the ability of fighter aircraft to accompany Allied bomber planes and protect them from the Luftwaffe.
Many cities in Germany had been pulverized by Allied bombers.
Page 366-67
[by the end of 1944] Allied power to inflict harm was now to all intents unlimited. Nowhere and no one in Germany was safe. For a regime that based itself on brute strength – and viewed failure as proof of inferiority – this was an absolutely intolerable situation.
Sometimes raids were “successful” and others less so. In Dresden on February 13 a first wave of British bombers dropped incendiaries and bombs around 10PM. The second wave of British bombers arrived a few hours later. This added to the conflagrations and the firestorms already in progress. For those on the ground the situation became ruthless. A firestorm sucks the oxygen from the air to feed the growing fires – so many victims died of asphyxiation – their bodies being intact in the cellars in which they were hiding. Survival became a matter of sheer luck and the avoidance, if possible, of being engulfed in flames. The author recounts the harrowing stories of some of the survivors.
In the afternoon the arrival of American bombers was less “successful” due to the decreased visibility from the fires and smoke.
The efficacy of a raid was due to a variety of factors, weather being a primary one. Unfortunately for the people of Dresden the night on February 13 was optimal for the British bombers. Dresden had only suffered through two minor raids prior, so much of the city was intact – another factor adding to the optimal conditions for incendiary bombs. When large parts of a city had been reduced to rubble, incendiary bombs were far less effective. Also, Dresden had little experience in dealing with air raids. The leaders were deficient and corrupt in providing air raid shelters. There was virtually no protection because anti-aircraft guns had been moved to the Eastern Front – which added to the “successful” conditions for a bombing raid.
The author explores the morality of the raid. Some in England – a minority – said that bomber command had gone too far. The author does make counterpoints to this. Dresden had been known and visited by many Europeans and U.K. visitors because it was a cultural centre prior to the 1930s. However. Dresden residents raised little protest in November,1938 (Kristallnacht) when the Semper synagogue, the largest synagogue in Germany, was burnt down. In January of 1945 the Germans withdrew from Warsaw, which in the eighteenth century had been Dresden’s sister city. “Between October, 1944 and January, 1945 German forces destroyed 80 percent of its center street by street, building by building.” (page 206) Many more Poles died in Warsaw than in Dresden.
Page 373
Dresden was by no means the last of the major attacks launched by the RAF against German towns and cities in the first months of 1945. In the course of March 1945 Bomber Command dropped more than sixty-seven thousand tons of bombs on Germany. This represented not just the greatest tonnage of any single month between 1939 and 1945, but was only slightly less than the entire tonnage dropped during the first three years of the war.
We do come out of this book with an understanding of what total war is.
March 14, 2017
Well rounded history of the controversial bombing of Dresden between February 13 and 15, 1945. The allies showered Dresden with 3,900 tons of high-explosive bombs and incendiary devices, resulting in a horrendous firestorm killing up to 25,000 (per the more reasonable, non-German propagandist estimates released immediately after the bombing). Some say the "Florence on the Elbe" should not have been targeted such, especially the populous city center. Others say The attacks were fully justified, as Dresden served as a communications and manufacturing hub for the German war effort. Another interesting thought I took away from this book is that the bombing of Dresden served as a warning to the rapidly advancing Russians - to not advance too far west! So, was the bombing justified? Read this excellent book and decide for yourself!
January 7, 2018
Wow! 6/5 stars!
This account and discussion of one of the most controversial things that the Allies committed in the Second World War is chilling.
Which ever side of the fence you sit, read this book before you comment or opine. The last chapter provoked me to think again on what I believe.
War is wrong and I hope that I never have to make any decisions that these people involved had to. Hindsight is a wonderful and privileged thing.
Go in peace.
This account and discussion of one of the most controversial things that the Allies committed in the Second World War is chilling.
Which ever side of the fence you sit, read this book before you comment or opine. The last chapter provoked me to think again on what I believe.
War is wrong and I hope that I never have to make any decisions that these people involved had to. Hindsight is a wonderful and privileged thing.
Go in peace.
March 2, 2016
Empecé este libro porque quería documentarme sobre Dresde, la ciudad de la antigua Alemania del Este donde he estudiado alemán en julio y agosto. No ha sido una lectura seguida: a finales de junio avancé bastante pero en los dos meses siguientes, como estudiante y turista y divirtiéndome por vacaciones, toqué poco esta obra.
Me ha parecido un trabajo de divulgación excelentemente documentado y razonado, constando al final una extensa bibliografía. Sin embargo, se me ha hecho un poco largo y, por momentos, repetitivo. El objetivo para el que lo usé se ha visto satisfecho: aun cuando el libro describe al pormenor la trágica noche del 13 al 14 de febrero de 1945 (uno de los bombardeos más sistemáticos y destructivos de la historia), nos pone en antecedentes desde los remotos orígenes de la ciudad en la Edad Media, cuando era un poblado fronterizo entre sajones y eslavos. Y sigue con detalle contándonos su desarrollo en la época barroca, cuando se ganó el apelativo de la “Florencia del Elba”, su destrucción a manos de los prusianos en la Guerra de los Siete Años, el crecimiento del antisemitismo en el siglo XIX, el período de entreguerras y el ascenso del nazismo, antes de entrar propiamente en la descripción minuciosa de las horas de terror que supuso la destrucción a manos de los aliados de uno de los tesoros culturales de la humanidad. Sí he echado en falta más noticias del Dresde comunista y sobre todo del Dresde posterior a la reunificación alemana; pero, claro, el subtítulo del libro acota el interés del autor y una historia general de la ciudad habría sido un trabajo excesivamente extenso.
El bombardeo fue una pesadilla. Algo que me ha fatigado un poco ha sido el intento del autor de combatir mitos y falsedades sobre el mismo, lo que hacía un poco marear la perdiz con una lluvia de datos. La idea que se desprende es una atrocidad justificada: Dresde no era una ciudad tan inocente como quieren hacer ver los neonazis alemanes: era cuna de cultura, sí, pero también prestaba un considerable apoyo al esfuerzo de guerra alemán.
Aunque muy bien escrita, no recomendaría esta lectura para simples propósitos de entretenimiento: sí la recomiendo, por supuesto, a quien, como yo, tenga un particular interés por esa ciudad.
Me ha parecido un trabajo de divulgación excelentemente documentado y razonado, constando al final una extensa bibliografía. Sin embargo, se me ha hecho un poco largo y, por momentos, repetitivo. El objetivo para el que lo usé se ha visto satisfecho: aun cuando el libro describe al pormenor la trágica noche del 13 al 14 de febrero de 1945 (uno de los bombardeos más sistemáticos y destructivos de la historia), nos pone en antecedentes desde los remotos orígenes de la ciudad en la Edad Media, cuando era un poblado fronterizo entre sajones y eslavos. Y sigue con detalle contándonos su desarrollo en la época barroca, cuando se ganó el apelativo de la “Florencia del Elba”, su destrucción a manos de los prusianos en la Guerra de los Siete Años, el crecimiento del antisemitismo en el siglo XIX, el período de entreguerras y el ascenso del nazismo, antes de entrar propiamente en la descripción minuciosa de las horas de terror que supuso la destrucción a manos de los aliados de uno de los tesoros culturales de la humanidad. Sí he echado en falta más noticias del Dresde comunista y sobre todo del Dresde posterior a la reunificación alemana; pero, claro, el subtítulo del libro acota el interés del autor y una historia general de la ciudad habría sido un trabajo excesivamente extenso.
El bombardeo fue una pesadilla. Algo que me ha fatigado un poco ha sido el intento del autor de combatir mitos y falsedades sobre el mismo, lo que hacía un poco marear la perdiz con una lluvia de datos. La idea que se desprende es una atrocidad justificada: Dresde no era una ciudad tan inocente como quieren hacer ver los neonazis alemanes: era cuna de cultura, sí, pero también prestaba un considerable apoyo al esfuerzo de guerra alemán.
Aunque muy bien escrita, no recomendaría esta lectura para simples propósitos de entretenimiento: sí la recomiendo, por supuesto, a quien, como yo, tenga un particular interés por esa ciudad.
April 28, 2018
-Algo más que el fruto de las políticas de bombardeos de Harris.-
Género. Ensayo.
Lo que nos cuenta. El libro Dresde (publicación original: Dresden. Tuesday, February 13. 1945, 2004), con el subtítulo El bombardeo más controvertido de la Segunda Guera Mundial, es una monografía sobre el polémico, para algunos, bombardeo de la ciudad de Dresde los días 13 y 14 de febrero de 1945 durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Ensayo.
Lo que nos cuenta. El libro Dresde (publicación original: Dresden. Tuesday, February 13. 1945, 2004), con el subtítulo El bombardeo más controvertido de la Segunda Guera Mundial, es una monografía sobre el polémico, para algunos, bombardeo de la ciudad de Dresde los días 13 y 14 de febrero de 1945 durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
July 13, 2010
I well rounded look at the fire bombing of Dresden, one of the more controversial of the Allies Air Campaign over Germany. The author brings the vibrancy of the city to the pages. By telling the history of the iconic Saxon city and its people right up to the day of the bombing.
Frederick Taylor then leads us into the hell of the night and following days, letting the people who lived through it tell their stories. Along with this he also tells the story of the people involved and their reasons behind the bombing of Dresden. A moving narrative of the horror unleashed by area bombing and the subsequent firestorm. A book that should not be left unread.
Frederick Taylor then leads us into the hell of the night and following days, letting the people who lived through it tell their stories. Along with this he also tells the story of the people involved and their reasons behind the bombing of Dresden. A moving narrative of the horror unleashed by area bombing and the subsequent firestorm. A book that should not be left unread.
March 14, 2016
As someone who has spent a great deal of her professional life teaching in the broader category of World War II, I am well aware of the way that the whole question of the bombing campaign carried out by Britain over Germany while under the command of Arthur (Bomber) Harris has polarised public opinion.
I fully support the conclusions reached by Taylor in his book, the raid was justified. Britain was at war, I repeat, Britain was at war with Germany. Following Dunkirk, the only way that Britain could respond to German aggression before the June 1944 landings was in the air, it was, in fact a Second Front. During the period of the bombings, the brunt of the attack against the German forces was being borne by Russia, and, by their actions, Bomber Command was showing Stalin that the other Allied forces were doing their bit to win the war. I am not saying that vengeance for London, Coventry, Southampton and dozens of other British cities did not play a part, it did, and the bombing raids over Germany were a terrific boost for the flagging morale on the home front. Dresden was not just a cultural centre, its converted porcelain factories were supplying the German army with precision instruments such as bomb-sights, fuses and radios, as well as vast quantities of bullets. It was also an important link in the railway system, a town where thousands of German troops were shunted onto trains bound for the Russian Front. Thousands of man hours, and reports from agents on the ground within Germany provided the intelligence that RAF Bomber Command used to formulate its decisions as to which German city would be targeted. War is a brutal business.
I fully support the conclusions reached by Taylor in his book, the raid was justified. Britain was at war, I repeat, Britain was at war with Germany. Following Dunkirk, the only way that Britain could respond to German aggression before the June 1944 landings was in the air, it was, in fact a Second Front. During the period of the bombings, the brunt of the attack against the German forces was being borne by Russia, and, by their actions, Bomber Command was showing Stalin that the other Allied forces were doing their bit to win the war. I am not saying that vengeance for London, Coventry, Southampton and dozens of other British cities did not play a part, it did, and the bombing raids over Germany were a terrific boost for the flagging morale on the home front. Dresden was not just a cultural centre, its converted porcelain factories were supplying the German army with precision instruments such as bomb-sights, fuses and radios, as well as vast quantities of bullets. It was also an important link in the railway system, a town where thousands of German troops were shunted onto trains bound for the Russian Front. Thousands of man hours, and reports from agents on the ground within Germany provided the intelligence that RAF Bomber Command used to formulate its decisions as to which German city would be targeted. War is a brutal business.
March 20, 2017
Taylor's book on Dresden is really three books in one - a history of Saxony, a history of aerial bombardment and finally a history of the bombing of Dresden in the Second World War. He would have done well to only write the final book. One doesn't get to the actual event until halfway through the book which makes for an at time tedious read. In addition, Taylor uses a lot of cliches and statement which insult the reader's intelligence such as when he tells us the invention of the airplane changed warfare forever...
What is interesting about Taylor's book, and in spite of the filler, is his attempt at a revisionist history of what is long considered to be an allied atrocity without parallel. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't really pull it off and one comes away from it feeling that his argument is that Germany deserved the firebombing of Dresden. It is clear he doesn't intend this but nonetheless this is the logic of his argument.
Further he uses sources uncritically when they suit him and then especially critically when they do not.
All in all, this book could have benefited from a good editor and from being a few hundred pages lighter.
What is interesting about Taylor's book, and in spite of the filler, is his attempt at a revisionist history of what is long considered to be an allied atrocity without parallel. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't really pull it off and one comes away from it feeling that his argument is that Germany deserved the firebombing of Dresden. It is clear he doesn't intend this but nonetheless this is the logic of his argument.
Further he uses sources uncritically when they suit him and then especially critically when they do not.
All in all, this book could have benefited from a good editor and from being a few hundred pages lighter.
July 13, 2017
If you want details on every aspect of the February 1945 Dresden raid, I recommend this book. Only about 60% of the book seems to be on the actual event, however, because the author takes a broad view of the topic and provides a large amount of historical background to the city as well as its post-war developments. A few more maps would have helped the reader make sense of some of the detailed author and eyewitness accounts of the events at street level. The facts and the myths of the raid are exposed, examined, and challenged where necessary.
July 13, 2019
On the morning of February 13 1945, Dresden was in full flower. For centuries, the capital of Saxony had been enticing visitors from near and far to sample its delights: sumptuous royal palaces, glorious churches, a pleasing climate and a thriving cultural scene. Not for nothing was Dresden known as "Florence on the Elbe".
Even the worst of the Second World War appeared to have skirted Dresden in deference to its charms. The mighty cities of Hamburg and Berlin, Leipzig and Cologne had not escaped the horrors of aerial bombing. But Dresdeners believed they were safe. After all hadn't the English always loved Dresden, and didn't Churchill have a favourite aunt there?
On the morning of February 14, Dresden was in ruins. Tens of thousands lay dead: incinerated or asphyxiated by a terrible firestorm wrought by deadly incendiary devices.
For the Allies, the Dresden raids were among the most successful of the whole war, and the bomber squadron, commanded by Arthur Harris, returned to England in a blaze of glory. But as the scale of the death toll emerged and word began to spread that one of Europe's most enchanting cities had been laid waste, doubts began to surface. Even Churchill appeared to be distancing himself from the bombing of Dresden.
Yet, as Frederick Taylor's impressive book shows, Dresden was not the delicate china ornament she appeared to be. Beneath the beautiful facade, ugly forces were at work.
The city had been a Nazi stronghold, even before Hitler came to power, and Dresden’s Jews were among the very first in Germany to experience the petty prejudices that would escalate into state-engineered extermination. Once the war began, Dresden, a city once geared to precision engineering and tobacco, was at the forefront of the military effort. Cameras and cigarettes were forsaken for gun-sights and bullets.
All of which is not to say that Dresden deserved its appalling fate. But, as Taylor says in his preface, a legend has grown up that the city was an innocent victim, singled out for unusually harsh treatment. The bombing of Dresden, Taylor finds, was unusual only in its terrible success. Forces that had worked against the Allies elsewhere in Germany suddenly and briefly combined in their favour. Technology, weather, lack of air defences and above all the grossly inadequate nature of air raid shelters for the bulk of the populace ensured Dresden would become the unlucky target of a perfect aerial operation.
The book is a remarkable melange of scholarship, journalism and storytelling. Taylor focuses not only on the big story, but on the people at its heart – British airmen, Jewish families, the odious governor of Dresden.
The eyewitness accounts are especially affecting. Those Dresdeners who thought they might escape the awful heat of the firestorm sought refuge in water tanks and fountains, only to be drowned or boiled alive. But while the destruction of Dresden was a nightmare for most, it came as a godsend for the city’s few remaining Jews. Only days away from deportation to the death camps, they tore the yellow stars from their clothes and took flight from the blazing city.
The author's detailed research included access for the first time to papers previously locked away in the German Democratic Republic. Keen to perpetuate the politically expedient myth of their Soviet masters that closer to 250,000 than 25,000 perished in the bombings, the East Germans always claimed that Dresden showed the West at its worst.
Taylor is a self-confessed "pacifistically-inclined baby-boomer". But it’s clear that in the course of writing this book, he was forced to re-examine his feelings about war, and to place himself in the wartime mindset. In February 1945, no-one knew a long and brutal conflict that had already cost millions of lives was in its closing months. Even before the full horror of the Holocaust became public knowledge, a Nazi victory was a real and fearful prospect. In that context, says Taylor, Dresden was a legitimate target.
Even the worst of the Second World War appeared to have skirted Dresden in deference to its charms. The mighty cities of Hamburg and Berlin, Leipzig and Cologne had not escaped the horrors of aerial bombing. But Dresdeners believed they were safe. After all hadn't the English always loved Dresden, and didn't Churchill have a favourite aunt there?
On the morning of February 14, Dresden was in ruins. Tens of thousands lay dead: incinerated or asphyxiated by a terrible firestorm wrought by deadly incendiary devices.
For the Allies, the Dresden raids were among the most successful of the whole war, and the bomber squadron, commanded by Arthur Harris, returned to England in a blaze of glory. But as the scale of the death toll emerged and word began to spread that one of Europe's most enchanting cities had been laid waste, doubts began to surface. Even Churchill appeared to be distancing himself from the bombing of Dresden.
Yet, as Frederick Taylor's impressive book shows, Dresden was not the delicate china ornament she appeared to be. Beneath the beautiful facade, ugly forces were at work.
The city had been a Nazi stronghold, even before Hitler came to power, and Dresden’s Jews were among the very first in Germany to experience the petty prejudices that would escalate into state-engineered extermination. Once the war began, Dresden, a city once geared to precision engineering and tobacco, was at the forefront of the military effort. Cameras and cigarettes were forsaken for gun-sights and bullets.
All of which is not to say that Dresden deserved its appalling fate. But, as Taylor says in his preface, a legend has grown up that the city was an innocent victim, singled out for unusually harsh treatment. The bombing of Dresden, Taylor finds, was unusual only in its terrible success. Forces that had worked against the Allies elsewhere in Germany suddenly and briefly combined in their favour. Technology, weather, lack of air defences and above all the grossly inadequate nature of air raid shelters for the bulk of the populace ensured Dresden would become the unlucky target of a perfect aerial operation.
The book is a remarkable melange of scholarship, journalism and storytelling. Taylor focuses not only on the big story, but on the people at its heart – British airmen, Jewish families, the odious governor of Dresden.
The eyewitness accounts are especially affecting. Those Dresdeners who thought they might escape the awful heat of the firestorm sought refuge in water tanks and fountains, only to be drowned or boiled alive. But while the destruction of Dresden was a nightmare for most, it came as a godsend for the city’s few remaining Jews. Only days away from deportation to the death camps, they tore the yellow stars from their clothes and took flight from the blazing city.
The author's detailed research included access for the first time to papers previously locked away in the German Democratic Republic. Keen to perpetuate the politically expedient myth of their Soviet masters that closer to 250,000 than 25,000 perished in the bombings, the East Germans always claimed that Dresden showed the West at its worst.
Taylor is a self-confessed "pacifistically-inclined baby-boomer". But it’s clear that in the course of writing this book, he was forced to re-examine his feelings about war, and to place himself in the wartime mindset. In February 1945, no-one knew a long and brutal conflict that had already cost millions of lives was in its closing months. Even before the full horror of the Holocaust became public knowledge, a Nazi victory was a real and fearful prospect. In that context, says Taylor, Dresden was a legitimate target.
February 20, 2019
Goebbels propaganda portraited the destruction of Dresden as a war crime. After the war, the British felt it was a bombing too far, and today anti-war and German far right activists, Russian and anti-British propagandists are using it again as a propaganda tool.
The general public, me included, knows little about it.
I tried to find out more and I was mesmerised by the objectivity of this book, very well researched and written in an enthralling style.
It is a thoroughly documented tome (500 pgs.) on the bombing of Dresden in the context of the history of the town (sacked several times by other Germans, including Frederick the Great), the German indiscriminate bombing during the WW2 (Hitler’s order for attacks against the British cultural centres had stated cold- bloodedly that “preference is to be given to those where attacks are likely to have the greatest possible effect on civilian life) and the Bomber Command bombing of Germany.
Much attention is given to the life of its inhabitants, too many of who died during the bombing or, in case of the Jews, were exterminated by the Nazi regime.
The fate of Dresden was a result of a lot of factors. The town was involved in war production, it was a transport hub, the British wanted to help the Russian offensive (the Red Army was only 60 miles to the west of the city at the time) and to show the Russians they are still a force to reckon with, the town didn’t have any anti bombing support (the British didn’t know it), the air shelters were very poor. On top of all this, the Bomber Command learnt the lessons from the past and their bombing was more efficient, especially when the weather was favourable, as unfortunately it was the case that day.
At that time, the war was still on - the Germans declared “total” war and they only surrendered a week after Hitler’s death. V1 and V2 raids on Antwerp, Paris, London and southern England will continue for another month after the bombing of Dresden.
The destruction of Dresden shortened the war. By how much, we cannot say, but at that time this was an imperative.
I try to sympathise with the fate of German population, but their barbaric conquest had to be defeated and they are to be blamed for all the horrors they unleashed.
Nevertheless, it is a very sad story that we should learn from.
The general public, me included, knows little about it.
I tried to find out more and I was mesmerised by the objectivity of this book, very well researched and written in an enthralling style.
It is a thoroughly documented tome (500 pgs.) on the bombing of Dresden in the context of the history of the town (sacked several times by other Germans, including Frederick the Great), the German indiscriminate bombing during the WW2 (Hitler’s order for attacks against the British cultural centres had stated cold- bloodedly that “preference is to be given to those where attacks are likely to have the greatest possible effect on civilian life) and the Bomber Command bombing of Germany.
Much attention is given to the life of its inhabitants, too many of who died during the bombing or, in case of the Jews, were exterminated by the Nazi regime.
The fate of Dresden was a result of a lot of factors. The town was involved in war production, it was a transport hub, the British wanted to help the Russian offensive (the Red Army was only 60 miles to the west of the city at the time) and to show the Russians they are still a force to reckon with, the town didn’t have any anti bombing support (the British didn’t know it), the air shelters were very poor. On top of all this, the Bomber Command learnt the lessons from the past and their bombing was more efficient, especially when the weather was favourable, as unfortunately it was the case that day.
At that time, the war was still on - the Germans declared “total” war and they only surrendered a week after Hitler’s death. V1 and V2 raids on Antwerp, Paris, London and southern England will continue for another month after the bombing of Dresden.
The destruction of Dresden shortened the war. By how much, we cannot say, but at that time this was an imperative.
I try to sympathise with the fate of German population, but their barbaric conquest had to be defeated and they are to be blamed for all the horrors they unleashed.
Nevertheless, it is a very sad story that we should learn from.
December 30, 2017
I bought this book in a bookstore in Dresden, itself. Having visited the city as part of a recent trip to Germany, I was mesmerized by its beauty and haunted by its past. I had to learn more. In particular, I wanted a better factual framework for tackling the long debated question of whether the allied bombing of Dresden, at the end of the war, when Germany was all but defeated, was justified. Taylor's book provided that framework and so much more. Not only does he artfully tackle the moral questions associated with the bombing, he tells a phenomenal story. He describes the bombing and the events that led to it from a variety of perspectives - Dresden residents, Jews and half-Jews living in the city, city leaders, and, of course, the bombers themselves. This 360 view of the event provides the reader with a rich context for understanding the circumstances that gave rise to the destruction of the city. As for whether the bombing was justified, I have my own view, after having finished the book, but I would encourage you to read it and draw your own conclusions.
May 19, 2018
It's epic, it's legendary... I could only talk in superlatives about this one. I also can't imagine anything being left out.
There's only one thing, maybe. The words "fine city" in the context of whether or not such "fine city" should have been bombarded or not were used so many times that it got me thinking.
Should the cultural, architectural, or whatever status from the domain of "fine" even be the topic, or criterion, when deciding about whether or not to unleash hell on it for the sake of, perhaps, saving lives of the millions?
Like, oh, you #in the "fine" city# have nice facades, gargoyles and who did you say was your architect? OK, keep producing tons of stuff for the military and give pass to trains transporting Jews to the death camps.
You, in the #trash city#, when did you last time put paint on your houses? How about some garden decor? Something's wrong with your trash service? Here are you bombs.
There's only one thing, maybe. The words "fine city" in the context of whether or not such "fine city" should have been bombarded or not were used so many times that it got me thinking.
Should the cultural, architectural, or whatever status from the domain of "fine" even be the topic, or criterion, when deciding about whether or not to unleash hell on it for the sake of, perhaps, saving lives of the millions?
Like, oh, you #in the "fine" city# have nice facades, gargoyles and who did you say was your architect? OK, keep producing tons of stuff for the military and give pass to trains transporting Jews to the death camps.
You, in the #trash city#, when did you last time put paint on your houses? How about some garden decor? Something's wrong with your trash service? Here are you bombs.
March 9, 2020
Sullo stesso tema lessi anni fa Apocalisse a Dresda: I bombardamenti del febbraio 1945 di David Irving, che mi impressiono (e piacque) molto, e cambió la mia visione su molti aspetti della WWII.
Successivamente venni a conoscenza del ruolo di Irving sul negazionismo (c’è anche il film La verità negata); infatti il libro di Irving è da prendere con le molle per alcune cifre e fonti taroccate dalla propaganda nazista.
Questo di Frederick Taylor invece contiene i dati ad oggi più recenti e sicuri. Efficaci anche i capitoli dedicati al contesto storico della città, alla sua situazione nel periodo nazista, e nel chiarire l’evoluzione dell’uso di bombardamenti aerei fino al 1945.
Ps: Mattatoio n. 5 o La crociata dei bambini di Kurt Vonnegut è il terzo libro oltre ai due sopraindicati consigliato da Alessandro Barbero nella puntata di Passato e Presente Dresda 1945: l’inferno di fuoco
Successivamente venni a conoscenza del ruolo di Irving sul negazionismo (c’è anche il film La verità negata); infatti il libro di Irving è da prendere con le molle per alcune cifre e fonti taroccate dalla propaganda nazista.
Questo di Frederick Taylor invece contiene i dati ad oggi più recenti e sicuri. Efficaci anche i capitoli dedicati al contesto storico della città, alla sua situazione nel periodo nazista, e nel chiarire l’evoluzione dell’uso di bombardamenti aerei fino al 1945.
Ps: Mattatoio n. 5 o La crociata dei bambini di Kurt Vonnegut è il terzo libro oltre ai due sopraindicati consigliato da Alessandro Barbero nella puntata di Passato e Presente Dresda 1945: l’inferno di fuoco
October 30, 2025
The bombing of Dresden near the end of World War II by the RAF and the American 8th Air Force has always been one of the more controversial raids on the Allied side during the course of the war. The author explores the morality of the bombing, looking at the arguments that the city was defenseless and wasn't a major producer of war materials to it was a vital military headquarters and the Soviets were requesting assistance. The end result was a literal firestorm that killed thousands of people. Very well researched, looking at the history of Dresden through the decision to bomb the city and the aftermath. The city's destruction became a rare propaganda coup for Germany at the end of the war.
September 6, 2012
This book is well worth reading. The unification of Germany allowed access to many records that were previously unavailable to western historians as well as to many survivors. This is as an objective and balanced history of the bombing of Dresden as you're going to find. The author takes great pains in presenting and debunking many of the myths that sprung up over the years.
You learn a lot about the history of Dresden,"Florence on the Elbe." The city was famous worldwide for its architecture and other treasures. The Nazis played up this angle in their propaganda after the bombing raids to portray Dresden as a city devoid of military targets. The author points out just the opposite. Dresden was well known for making cameras before the war, along with china. These industries were converted into war industries, often using prisoners of war and slave labor (Jews and citizens of conquered countries). In addition, Dresden was a communication and transportation hub for the Eastern Front.
You learn about the development of bombers, beginning in World War I through the Spanish Civil War and into World War II. The British learned a lot about area bombing of cities from the German's bombing raid on Coventry in 1940. High explosives destroyed water mains and blocked streets with bomb craters and piles of rubble. They also blew out windows and walls, creating drafts which allow the fires created by incendiaries to spread out of control. Despite advancements such as Pathfinders dropping flares to mark bombing targets, bomb master aircraft hovering over the target area to direct bomber flights, radar and radio direction finding equipment, "precision bombing" often wasn't very precise due to cloud cover and other factors. The destruction of huge areas in cities and their infrastructure often had a longer lasting effect than direct hits on targets.
The British learned how to create firestorms. Several factors came together to make Dresden a horrible example of just how destructive area bombing can be. The Germans in Dresden didn't help matters. They didn't construct air raid shelters that would keep out carbon monoxide. Consequently many of the victims died of carbon monoxide poisoning or asphyxiation before the flames reached them. The residents of Dresden also followed instructions to remain in their bomb shelters rather than go back up into their houses and other buildings and extinguish the small fires caused by the incendiaries before they caught hold and got out of control.
The stories of most of the German civilians are touching, including Jews who were actually saved by the bombing from being rounded up and sent to concentration camps. You also hear the stories of individual aircrews. Of course the stories of the Nazi leadership are repelling.
As horrible as the destruction and loss of life was, one of the greatest myths about the bombing raids is the number of people killed. Nazi propaganda inflated the numbers by an order of magnitude. The best estimates range from 25,000-45,000 killed. And stories about American fighters strafing fleeing civilians turned out to be civilians getting hit by stray bullets from fighter dogfights fought at low altitudes over Dresden.
If you're going to read one book about the bombing of Dresden, other than reading Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse Five" (he was a prisoner of war in Dresden at the time of the bombing raids), read this book.
You learn a lot about the history of Dresden,"Florence on the Elbe." The city was famous worldwide for its architecture and other treasures. The Nazis played up this angle in their propaganda after the bombing raids to portray Dresden as a city devoid of military targets. The author points out just the opposite. Dresden was well known for making cameras before the war, along with china. These industries were converted into war industries, often using prisoners of war and slave labor (Jews and citizens of conquered countries). In addition, Dresden was a communication and transportation hub for the Eastern Front.
You learn about the development of bombers, beginning in World War I through the Spanish Civil War and into World War II. The British learned a lot about area bombing of cities from the German's bombing raid on Coventry in 1940. High explosives destroyed water mains and blocked streets with bomb craters and piles of rubble. They also blew out windows and walls, creating drafts which allow the fires created by incendiaries to spread out of control. Despite advancements such as Pathfinders dropping flares to mark bombing targets, bomb master aircraft hovering over the target area to direct bomber flights, radar and radio direction finding equipment, "precision bombing" often wasn't very precise due to cloud cover and other factors. The destruction of huge areas in cities and their infrastructure often had a longer lasting effect than direct hits on targets.
The British learned how to create firestorms. Several factors came together to make Dresden a horrible example of just how destructive area bombing can be. The Germans in Dresden didn't help matters. They didn't construct air raid shelters that would keep out carbon monoxide. Consequently many of the victims died of carbon monoxide poisoning or asphyxiation before the flames reached them. The residents of Dresden also followed instructions to remain in their bomb shelters rather than go back up into their houses and other buildings and extinguish the small fires caused by the incendiaries before they caught hold and got out of control.
The stories of most of the German civilians are touching, including Jews who were actually saved by the bombing from being rounded up and sent to concentration camps. You also hear the stories of individual aircrews. Of course the stories of the Nazi leadership are repelling.
As horrible as the destruction and loss of life was, one of the greatest myths about the bombing raids is the number of people killed. Nazi propaganda inflated the numbers by an order of magnitude. The best estimates range from 25,000-45,000 killed. And stories about American fighters strafing fleeing civilians turned out to be civilians getting hit by stray bullets from fighter dogfights fought at low altitudes over Dresden.
If you're going to read one book about the bombing of Dresden, other than reading Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse Five" (he was a prisoner of war in Dresden at the time of the bombing raids), read this book.
February 4, 2018
Review originally published at Book of Bogan.
The bombing of Dresden during the Second World War has become one of those events which have brought into question the 'righteousness' of some of the Allies actions in that conflict. It does seem strange, however, that this one incident should have drawn such ire, in a war where a thousand other outrages occurred. This book seeks not only to examine what occurred on that fateful night, and the following day, but to unpack some of the mythology, and propaganda which surrounds the history of the event, as it has been told previously. Dresden is not only a history book in itself, it serves as a critique of some of the previous literature which covers the bombing of Dresden.
The author proposes that part of the reason the bombing was so offensive was the historic nature of the city; its beautiful works of art and architecture, and the beginning of the book is a retelling of much of the history of the city itself, reaching far back beyond the Second World War. This serves to provide interesting context and background to a layperson such as myself to whom Dresden might have otherwise been just another city. As he works his way into the subject, he sets about debunking some of the allegations that the city was a wholly non-military target, by explaining some of the factories and works which were producing war materiel.
The author brings us the stories of the aircrews who were flying the missions, putting a human face on the air war. To borrow an excuse from another party, it is true that they were just following orders, and that decisions were being made in the war cabinet far above them. It also brings us the very human stories of the ordinary German citizens who were living desperate lives of deprivation under wartime conditions. The author does an excellent job of capturing their terrifying experiences, and torment which resulted from the loss of their loved ones.
There is no getting around the fact that war is a brutal thing, and there are always going to be brutal acts and incidents which - while seemingly justified at the time - in hindsight seem unconscionable or unforgivable. One only has to look at the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan that came some 6 months after the Dresden raids to see further acts of brutality which ultimately changed the course of history, and the world as a whole. The book does not seek to excuse, or scold any parties, and takes a fairly neutral stance, rather focusing on bringing the reader the very human stories of the people who were suffering on the ground through the great firestorm.
Written with the benefit of hindsight, and with access to historical records, and personal interviews, Dresden is a wonderful piece of narrative non-fiction that is engaging, heart-wrenching and thought-provoking throughout.
The bombing of Dresden during the Second World War has become one of those events which have brought into question the 'righteousness' of some of the Allies actions in that conflict. It does seem strange, however, that this one incident should have drawn such ire, in a war where a thousand other outrages occurred. This book seeks not only to examine what occurred on that fateful night, and the following day, but to unpack some of the mythology, and propaganda which surrounds the history of the event, as it has been told previously. Dresden is not only a history book in itself, it serves as a critique of some of the previous literature which covers the bombing of Dresden.
The author proposes that part of the reason the bombing was so offensive was the historic nature of the city; its beautiful works of art and architecture, and the beginning of the book is a retelling of much of the history of the city itself, reaching far back beyond the Second World War. This serves to provide interesting context and background to a layperson such as myself to whom Dresden might have otherwise been just another city. As he works his way into the subject, he sets about debunking some of the allegations that the city was a wholly non-military target, by explaining some of the factories and works which were producing war materiel.
The author brings us the stories of the aircrews who were flying the missions, putting a human face on the air war. To borrow an excuse from another party, it is true that they were just following orders, and that decisions were being made in the war cabinet far above them. It also brings us the very human stories of the ordinary German citizens who were living desperate lives of deprivation under wartime conditions. The author does an excellent job of capturing their terrifying experiences, and torment which resulted from the loss of their loved ones.
There is no getting around the fact that war is a brutal thing, and there are always going to be brutal acts and incidents which - while seemingly justified at the time - in hindsight seem unconscionable or unforgivable. One only has to look at the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan that came some 6 months after the Dresden raids to see further acts of brutality which ultimately changed the course of history, and the world as a whole. The book does not seek to excuse, or scold any parties, and takes a fairly neutral stance, rather focusing on bringing the reader the very human stories of the people who were suffering on the ground through the great firestorm.
Written with the benefit of hindsight, and with access to historical records, and personal interviews, Dresden is a wonderful piece of narrative non-fiction that is engaging, heart-wrenching and thought-provoking throughout.
September 3, 2018
As a Dresden resident, I felt I had to read this book. If I did not do so immediately upon arrival, it was probably because I thought reading about the annihilation of a city could not be very interesting. I was wrong. It might not be, it cannot be, as exciting? action-packed? as books on Stalingrad, Berlin or D-day, but Taylor´s book is much more than “We got there, dropped some bombs, burned the city to the ground, got back home for breakfast”. To begin with, is a good introduction to Dresden/Saxon history. To the best of my knowledge, there is not much available in English for the general market. Actually, this seems to be the only book in English about the city you can get here. Many might be things one can read in the Wikipedia today, or visiting the local museums, but as the history moves to the prewar years, and gets more detailed, a lot of the information was new to me. The history of the Jews in Dresden was particularly moving, testimonies have a different meaning after walking those same streets. It stops being “The Germans did this”, or “the Nazis did that”, and it becomes “my neighbor did it to my other neighbor”.
It also a very good starting point for those of us who do not much about area bombing, or aerial warfare in general. Its explanation on how the technology, and its application, changed through the war makes the thesis “the bombing of Dresden, horrible as it was, wasn’t exceptional,” very compelling. Prior to reading this book I had been of the opinion the Western Allies could have certainly refrained in this and other city bombings. I am sure that is still (or could be) true, but I think I have a better understanding of why they did not restrain, here or elsewhere.
The section on the bombing itself is concise enough to give you a clear idea of how the events developed (details are important) and the testimonies are, again, sufficient to give you a clear impression of the horror the population had to experience. It does not dwell on it, and that is something I can appreciate.
For me, two things could have been improved. One is the city map. Although it is clear which areas where bombed, it is not detailed enough as to include the names of the streets, and I would have appreciated that at least those mentioned where somehow marked. It is also my impression not all the names of the streets have been updated, and therefore cannot be readily located in Google Maps, although a quick visit to the local wiki was sufficient.
A highly recommendable book for Dresden residents and WWII enthusiasts.
It also a very good starting point for those of us who do not much about area bombing, or aerial warfare in general. Its explanation on how the technology, and its application, changed through the war makes the thesis “the bombing of Dresden, horrible as it was, wasn’t exceptional,” very compelling. Prior to reading this book I had been of the opinion the Western Allies could have certainly refrained in this and other city bombings. I am sure that is still (or could be) true, but I think I have a better understanding of why they did not restrain, here or elsewhere.
The section on the bombing itself is concise enough to give you a clear idea of how the events developed (details are important) and the testimonies are, again, sufficient to give you a clear impression of the horror the population had to experience. It does not dwell on it, and that is something I can appreciate.
For me, two things could have been improved. One is the city map. Although it is clear which areas where bombed, it is not detailed enough as to include the names of the streets, and I would have appreciated that at least those mentioned where somehow marked. It is also my impression not all the names of the streets have been updated, and therefore cannot be readily located in Google Maps, although a quick visit to the local wiki was sufficient.
A highly recommendable book for Dresden residents and WWII enthusiasts.
June 1, 2010
The bombing of Dresden gets a revisionist makeover in Taylor's account. He seeks to legitimize it by revealing the military industry the city was home to, and by recounting the political climate it harbored. This is all well and good, but Taylor runs into some trouble when faced with the hard reality of the bombing itself; he moves away from the abstract political to focus in on the realistic personal. The accounts of civilian death cannot be ignored, and to his credit, Taylor never does, but neither does he fully reconcile these horrors with his thesis of the attack's necessity. The excellent information he gathers is never honed to a coherent point or ever comes to grips with his intended premise.
I recommend this only as an account of Dresden, not as the final word on the controversy surrounding it; and the prose was rather clunky into the bargain.
I recommend this only as an account of Dresden, not as the final word on the controversy surrounding it; and the prose was rather clunky into the bargain.
April 18, 2024
An account of the very controversial, and most think, overly punitive and dreadful fire bombing of Dresden.
This happened a mere two months before the beast Hitler outed himself. Dresden had very little military value to the Germans at this point..
Pg 365. RAF mostly responsible, the US had a stricter policy of precision bombing.
On Feb. 3, 1945 US 8th AF had devastated the entire administrative center in Berlin, this during a daylight raid.
Pg. 367. Hitler heard of the destruction of Dresden with a face of stone and fists clenched.
Goebbels was reportedly shaking with rage and suggested that Boss start executing Allied POWs, one for each civilian killed in Dresden.
Graffitti was found all over the Reich:
Enjoy the War, for the peace will be terrible.
This happened a mere two months before the beast Hitler outed himself. Dresden had very little military value to the Germans at this point..
Pg 365. RAF mostly responsible, the US had a stricter policy of precision bombing.
On Feb. 3, 1945 US 8th AF had devastated the entire administrative center in Berlin, this during a daylight raid.
Pg. 367. Hitler heard of the destruction of Dresden with a face of stone and fists clenched.
Goebbels was reportedly shaking with rage and suggested that Boss start executing Allied POWs, one for each civilian killed in Dresden.
Graffitti was found all over the Reich:
Enjoy the War, for the peace will be terrible.
September 29, 2017
I know embarrassingly little about WWII beyond the broad outlines, one of those being the firebombing of Dresden. This book describes the firebombing in full, heartbreaking, detail. But it's not just a documentary of the event. Taylor, while in no way downplaying the tragedy, makes a convincing case for Dresden as a legitimate wartime target. In explaining the circumstances leading up to 02/13/45, you also get a brief history of the Saxony region, of air war (especially the British Bomber Command), and the seeds of the Cold War. Keep Wikipedia and Google Maps handy, and by reading Dresden, you will get deeper insight into the larger war.
May 19, 2018
Although the focus of the book is the bombing in February 1945, the book also includes a brief history of Dresden and Saxony, the Nazi era, events in England and Europe during WWII and the development of military technology that made the devastating bombing possible. The author discusses the role the city played in Nazi warfare production and the half truths that resulted from Nazi and Communist propaganda. There are also interviews with survivors of the bombings. Highly recommend this book.
April 16, 2018
Very balanced account of an event for which the ordinary airmen who took part in it have been vilified by other writers for the purposes of propaganda both extreme right wing and extreme left wing. It's chilling to realize that the view of the Dresden bombings, held by history, is one of Goebbels's last and most effective pieces of propaganda!
May 9, 2014
Don't waste your time. I couldn't read even half of it. Get to the point! It doesn't I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.
May 6, 2019
Very good book -- grisly and historical.
November 22, 2023
Even before the events unfolding in the Gaza Strip as of this writing (20 November 2023) raised yet again the question of how to balance the destruction of military objectives against the often-concomitant loss of civilian lives and property, historians had been debating the issue with regard to one of the most notorious and perhaps infamous episodes of the air war over Germany: the destruction of the ancient and beautiful city of Dresden by RAF Bomber Command and the U.S. 8th Air force on Feb. 13-14, 1945, which resulted in the loss of perhaps 25,000 to 40,000 lives and reduced most of one of Europe’s most gorgeous urban areas and best-known cultural centers to a wasteland of incinerated rubble; perhaps the city that first comes to mind when considering Air Marshal Arthur Harris’ promise that, the Germans having sown the wind during the Blitz, they would afterward reap the whirlwind many times over.
Frederick Taylor’s masterfully researched work, often drawing on primary German sources unavailable to Western researchers until after the fall of East Germany in 1990-91, deals in a balanced, carefully nuanced and non-preachy way with all the issues revolving around the tragedy of Dresden: was the city a legitimate military target? Was its destruction at this late stage of the war really necessary or make a difference since Germany’s defeat was an inevitability in February 1945? What were the factors in Bomber Command’s decision to engage in “area bombing”--targeting of civilian areas, as well as those deemed militarily necessary—with high-explosive and incendiary devices in the hopes of creating an all-consuming “firestorm” which would consume everything in its path? What role did public opinion and politics play (for instance, desire for revenge for the 1940 bombing of London and destruction of Coventry) in the decision to raid Dresden? How did the Germans, the Western allies, and the Soviets exploit Dresden for propaganda purposes both during and after the war, and how has the interpretation of the significance and meaning of the bombing seesawed from one extreme to the other over the decades since?
Included are many first-hand descriptions of the horror of the Dresden firestorm from some who managed to survive by being far enough away to be spared the worst of its effects, or who providentially found a route of escape when most of their family members and friends did not. Since many of those who died did so by asphyxiation (the hurricane-strength force of the flames drew all the oxygen out of the air in shelters and nearby streets, and was sort of a black hole of fire, strong enough to sweep people off their feet and suck them in) it is amazing that anyone managed to escape at all to tell the story.
This review will not attempt to answer the questions posed above. Readers are urged to peruse this account and decide for themselves, especially since the experience of Dresden was mirrored by many other cities in Germany (Hamburg, Rostock, Lubeck, and others) which suffered similarly, as did, indeed, the cities of Britain and Japan upon which destruction was inflicted. Suffice it to say that the basic question—does the attainment of a military objective justify the large-scale destruction of civilians and cities—has no definitive answer; it depends on whom is asked, the context within which each decision to bomb was made, and a host of ancillary factors, and upon the values, ethics and principles of both the questioners and respondents. What is unquestionable, however, is the tremendous sense of loss and futility inevitably accompanying the perusal of any such account. Although the appearance of Dresden today is encouraging, and undeniably beautiful, after decades of rebuilding that has tried to recreate the city as it was, the sense of sadness because of what was lost forever is inescapable. What is saddest of all is that these issues must still be confronted today.
***** review by Chuck Graham *****
Frederick Taylor’s masterfully researched work, often drawing on primary German sources unavailable to Western researchers until after the fall of East Germany in 1990-91, deals in a balanced, carefully nuanced and non-preachy way with all the issues revolving around the tragedy of Dresden: was the city a legitimate military target? Was its destruction at this late stage of the war really necessary or make a difference since Germany’s defeat was an inevitability in February 1945? What were the factors in Bomber Command’s decision to engage in “area bombing”--targeting of civilian areas, as well as those deemed militarily necessary—with high-explosive and incendiary devices in the hopes of creating an all-consuming “firestorm” which would consume everything in its path? What role did public opinion and politics play (for instance, desire for revenge for the 1940 bombing of London and destruction of Coventry) in the decision to raid Dresden? How did the Germans, the Western allies, and the Soviets exploit Dresden for propaganda purposes both during and after the war, and how has the interpretation of the significance and meaning of the bombing seesawed from one extreme to the other over the decades since?
Included are many first-hand descriptions of the horror of the Dresden firestorm from some who managed to survive by being far enough away to be spared the worst of its effects, or who providentially found a route of escape when most of their family members and friends did not. Since many of those who died did so by asphyxiation (the hurricane-strength force of the flames drew all the oxygen out of the air in shelters and nearby streets, and was sort of a black hole of fire, strong enough to sweep people off their feet and suck them in) it is amazing that anyone managed to escape at all to tell the story.
This review will not attempt to answer the questions posed above. Readers are urged to peruse this account and decide for themselves, especially since the experience of Dresden was mirrored by many other cities in Germany (Hamburg, Rostock, Lubeck, and others) which suffered similarly, as did, indeed, the cities of Britain and Japan upon which destruction was inflicted. Suffice it to say that the basic question—does the attainment of a military objective justify the large-scale destruction of civilians and cities—has no definitive answer; it depends on whom is asked, the context within which each decision to bomb was made, and a host of ancillary factors, and upon the values, ethics and principles of both the questioners and respondents. What is unquestionable, however, is the tremendous sense of loss and futility inevitably accompanying the perusal of any such account. Although the appearance of Dresden today is encouraging, and undeniably beautiful, after decades of rebuilding that has tried to recreate the city as it was, the sense of sadness because of what was lost forever is inescapable. What is saddest of all is that these issues must still be confronted today.
***** review by Chuck Graham *****
September 30, 2020
A brilliantly researched and written account of one of the most infamous bombing raids of WW2. Taylor brings the personal stories to life and his accounts of the bombing raids is second to none. He has managed to place a balanced analysis as why the Dreseden attack has engendered so much negatvity for the allies and Britain's Bomber Command in particular. The book reads more like a good thriller rather than a dry historical account and it is definitely a page turner and as such should be fully accessible to all readers.
I am not 100% in agreement with all his assessment, in particular that Dresedeners were Pro-Nazi. There are clear and well documented accounts that during the early years of the Nazi regime that Dresden was not readily taken with it (see Travellers in the Third Reich) and I believe that through out, a great many Dresdeners remained aloof from the regime. There is no doubt that the majority of Germans partook in and supported the Nazi regime, the question is whether they did so willingly and ulitmately whether that deserved the type of blanket bombing of cities. Ultimately this area is always open to interpretation and is an interesating area for further research.
If you want to read a first rate book that opens this fascinating event to scrutiny, then you must read this, you won't be disappointed
Along with Taylor's book on the Berlin Wall, Dresden will remain in my bookcase.Travellers in the Third Reich: The Rise of Fascism Through the Eyes of Everyday People
I am not 100% in agreement with all his assessment, in particular that Dresedeners were Pro-Nazi. There are clear and well documented accounts that during the early years of the Nazi regime that Dresden was not readily taken with it (see Travellers in the Third Reich) and I believe that through out, a great many Dresdeners remained aloof from the regime. There is no doubt that the majority of Germans partook in and supported the Nazi regime, the question is whether they did so willingly and ulitmately whether that deserved the type of blanket bombing of cities. Ultimately this area is always open to interpretation and is an interesating area for further research.
If you want to read a first rate book that opens this fascinating event to scrutiny, then you must read this, you won't be disappointed
Along with Taylor's book on the Berlin Wall, Dresden will remain in my bookcase.Travellers in the Third Reich: The Rise of Fascism Through the Eyes of Everyday People
September 6, 2023
From the author:
"Dresden remains a terrible illustration of what apparently civilized human beings are capable of under extreme circumstances, when all the normal breaks on human behavior have been eroded by years of total war. The bombing of Dresden was not irrational, or pointless - at least not to those who ordered and carried it out, who were immersed deep in a war that had already caused tens of millions of lives, might still cost millions more, and who could not read the future. Whether it was wrong - morally wrong - is another question. When we think of Dresden, we wrestle with the limits of what is permissible, even in the best of causes."
I have read a number of World War II history books as I find the subject to be incredibly interesting on many different levels. I was not familiar with Dresden in detail but this book has changed that. For a historian there is an incredible amount of detail and substantiation. I however was not reading it as a historian but as a person genuinely interested in the story of people and in the understanding of how such a tragedy could evolve.
This book gave me great insight into what I wanted to understand. I was very interested in the author's insights into political vs. military decisions. Also it was interesting to read about the additional impact as the end of the war drew near of the military ally (Russia) becoming a political foe.
But there was also a tremendous amount of detail and history that I did not need for my purpose. That is the only reason I gave it four stars instead of five.
"Dresden remains a terrible illustration of what apparently civilized human beings are capable of under extreme circumstances, when all the normal breaks on human behavior have been eroded by years of total war. The bombing of Dresden was not irrational, or pointless - at least not to those who ordered and carried it out, who were immersed deep in a war that had already caused tens of millions of lives, might still cost millions more, and who could not read the future. Whether it was wrong - morally wrong - is another question. When we think of Dresden, we wrestle with the limits of what is permissible, even in the best of causes."
I have read a number of World War II history books as I find the subject to be incredibly interesting on many different levels. I was not familiar with Dresden in detail but this book has changed that. For a historian there is an incredible amount of detail and substantiation. I however was not reading it as a historian but as a person genuinely interested in the story of people and in the understanding of how such a tragedy could evolve.
This book gave me great insight into what I wanted to understand. I was very interested in the author's insights into political vs. military decisions. Also it was interesting to read about the additional impact as the end of the war drew near of the military ally (Russia) becoming a political foe.
But there was also a tremendous amount of detail and history that I did not need for my purpose. That is the only reason I gave it four stars instead of five.
July 6, 2023
Dresden stepped away from tragedy and became myth. And this book tries to show the entire context, numbers, and human tragedy in order to ground the events and explain why this particular bombing still captures everyone's imagination and still is a highly debated historical event.
The book clarified a lot of things for me - especially when it comes to what actually happened and how it all came to be used by both Nazi and Soviet propaganda. The best part however was related to the actual witness accounts. I wish this part of the book had been longer. My mind simply cannot comprehend the scale of the destruction and loss and the real human voices help with that.
As for the "why", I get it and I don't. The author explains in detail why the city was chosen and how it was made a target. And yet, it's hard to talk about any kind of moral superiority when reading the accounts of the civilians caught in a situation of pure hell. At the end of the book, I felt challenged morally and still have no answers. Perhaps that is the purpose of it all.
I wish we could say "never again", but never again happened once again in my news feed.
The book clarified a lot of things for me - especially when it comes to what actually happened and how it all came to be used by both Nazi and Soviet propaganda. The best part however was related to the actual witness accounts. I wish this part of the book had been longer. My mind simply cannot comprehend the scale of the destruction and loss and the real human voices help with that.
As for the "why", I get it and I don't. The author explains in detail why the city was chosen and how it was made a target. And yet, it's hard to talk about any kind of moral superiority when reading the accounts of the civilians caught in a situation of pure hell. At the end of the book, I felt challenged morally and still have no answers. Perhaps that is the purpose of it all.
I wish we could say "never again", but never again happened once again in my news feed.
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