Friday, February 13, 1945 22:13
Dreden was changed forever on that day.
To quote my supervisor:
One of the hardest moments to swallow in American/ Ally history is the
decision to obliterate the city of Dresden at the end of World War 2. The city
was designated as the seat of post war government by the ally forces. It was
also a main center of the Red Cross for the area. It was a cultural treasure of
Baroque architecture and art with little strategic military importance. It was
the destination for countless refugees fleeing the advance of the Red
Army.
Taking all that into consideration, the heads of Allied forces decided that
a “show of strength” was needed to quickly bring the end of the war. They
ordered the repeated bombing of the city with 3,900 tons of explosives and
firebombs, killing tens of thousands of people, mostly refugees and civilians.
The raids were designed to be about 3 hours apart, so that the second would come
as the fires from the first raid were being fought. The attacks created fires so
intense, that the updraft pulled everything in surrounding areas, people
included, into the fire.
Not a proud moment in the fight against the great evil
of the Twentieth Century. It sometimes makes it hard to see who the good guys
were, as is often the case in war. Today, many people try to use the history of
these attacks to defend the racist philosophies that cased the war in the first
place. The Germans living in Dresden have a good argument against that. They say
that the Neo-Nazis are arguing from forgetfulness, revenge, and hate.
Instead, they remind people that the bombing of Dresden was caused by the German aggression against freedom and democracy in the first place, and that the story
is a good reminder of the evils of extreme politics and war that everyone in the
world should remember and heed.
decision to obliterate the city of Dresden at the end of World War 2. The city
was designated as the seat of post war government by the ally forces. It was
also a main center of the Red Cross for the area. It was a cultural treasure of
Baroque architecture and art with little strategic military importance. It was
the destination for countless refugees fleeing the advance of the Red
Army.
Taking all that into consideration, the heads of Allied forces decided that
a “show of strength” was needed to quickly bring the end of the war. They
ordered the repeated bombing of the city with 3,900 tons of explosives and
firebombs, killing tens of thousands of people, mostly refugees and civilians.
The raids were designed to be about 3 hours apart, so that the second would come
as the fires from the first raid were being fought. The attacks created fires so
intense, that the updraft pulled everything in surrounding areas, people
included, into the fire.
Not a proud moment in the fight against the great evil
of the Twentieth Century. It sometimes makes it hard to see who the good guys
were, as is often the case in war. Today, many people try to use the history of
these attacks to defend the racist philosophies that cased the war in the first
place. The Germans living in Dresden have a good argument against that. They say
that the Neo-Nazis are arguing from forgetfulness, revenge, and hate.
Instead, they remind people that the bombing of Dresden was caused by the German aggression against freedom and democracy in the first place, and that the story
is a good reminder of the evils of extreme politics and war that everyone in the
world should remember and heed.
Dresden after the bombing
With that said, here is some lighter news. I've officially applied for my Visa. You aren't supposed to smile with your teeth showing for the picture. We all went to get our pictures taken, and the girl told me that I could smile a little. Thinking I was doing that, I got my picture taken. The result: Mean Deer in the Headlights. That's right. There's no turning back. The redeeming quality of that is that my hair looks really good. My teammates' pictures are just as great. It was a funny day for pictures. The day after, we had to get up to be at the Visa office at 8am so there wouldn't be any waiting. Well, didn't have to. Jason made us because he's mean.
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