Essay/Term paper: Forgotten war crimes

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Humanities Essays

Forgotten War Crimes


"The holocaust was such an unthinkable horror, the Nazi dictatorship so
uniquely evil, that the calculated firebombing of more than half a Milan
defenseless civilians in the dying days of the war had just fallen by the
wayside."1 History is defined as all recorded events of the past, but with
textbooks, historical journals, and other respected documentaries all denying,
or refusing to acknowledge and give responsibility, the ruthless and criminal
bombing of Dresden does not change the fact that it occurred. Thus history is
biased by those who write it, and should not be taken as the whole truth; after
all, over two hundred thousand innocent civilians lost their lives and do not
deserve to be forgotten simply because America does not want to take
responsibility actions and admit to what happened. This tragic event is simply
swept under that carpet and neglected and termed a strategic bombing with
military objectives. This bombing may have been strategic but it certainly did
not have any military objectives which are stated throughout much of American
history. It was, however, the strategic bombing and slaughtering of a quarter
million innocent civilians.
American history textbooks and documentaries state that the official
objective in the bombing of Dresden was to destroy railway yards, thus delaying
or preventing the deployment of German troops to the eastern front. To destroy
rail-lines and rail yards, precision bombing is used. Contradicting this
statement is the fact that the American planes flying over Dresden were not
armed with precision bombs but instead with high explosive incendiaries used to
create firestorms. What is also ironic is that after the bombing, not a single
rail-line or rail yard had been disturbed.
Other historical journals provided via the American government claim
that Dresden contained a number of bunkers being used to house German Troops.
Although Dresden did contain bunkers, they were being used to house American and
British prisoners of war.
By using such high explosive incendiaries and such elaborate bombing
patterns, Allied bombers were successful in creating one of the most devastating
firestorms claiming upwards of two hundred thousand innocent lives and utterly
destroying on the most culturally historic centers in the world. This bombing
should be termed a failure since the stated objectives were not accomplished; or
should America admit to what the real objective was, to break the will of the
German people by killing innocent civilians?
Despite the way Dresden has been recorded throughout American history,
America committed one of the worst war crimes to date and should take
responsibility for out atrocious actions. "You can't have a situation where
national histories continue to persist, and each country picks out the good
things it did."1