Firebombing of Dresden

Braytan Stewart G, Erin M, Lita S, Marc H

What happened?

England and America kicked Germany’s ass.

Background Info➢ The bombing was conducted February 13-15, 1945➢ At this point in the war, the Allies had begun their retaliation

against the Axis and were pushing into Germany➢ The german attack against the Allies in the Ardennes forest

in belgium was not successful leaving them weakened. In the east, the Red army had captured East Prussia and reached the Oder River, 50 miles from the german capital Berlin

➢ D-day happened 8 months before

Background Part 2 Electric Boogaloo ➢ At the time of WWII Dresden was not a

contributing factor to wartime production or industry

➢ There were no other major attacks from the Allies previous to the bombing

➢ The city of dresden, Germany was a demilitarized and “open city” which means that the city was supposed to be a safe place which is why it was filled with refugees, wounded and orphans.

What Happened (In more detail) ➢ On February 13th-15th (3 days), The British Bomber

Command hit Dresen with 2,700 tons of bombs (that's a lot of bombs)

➢ Some bombs where incendiaries which caused fires

➢ The following day The U.S Eighth Air Force hit with 400 tons of bombs (Still a lot of bombs) and another raid the day after

➢ A supposed 35,000 were killed, but some believe it could have been as many as 250,000 do to unaccounted refugees

➢ Most victims were not military but women, children and the elderly

Military SignificanceWhy bomb Dresden in the first place?

➢ Strategic location ➢ It had a substantial rail system for

transportation➢ Was seen as home to possible war-related

industries

ACTIVITY :)If you sit on the left half of the class, please get out a sheet of paper and crumple it into a ball.

The After-Math of The Bombing➢ The Firebombing Lead to the ally

predicted disruption of germany communication heading towards the eastern front.

➢ The Allies had hoped the death and destruction caused by the bombing would result in an early surrender from Germany. This plan did not succeed and Germany only surrendered after the Fall of Berlin and Hitler's suicide.

➢ The city itself was completely demolished and many historical sites had to be carefully reconstruction

Significance➢ Many historians are still in debate as to whether or not the firebombing in

Dresden was effective➢ According to sources, the city itself didn’t produce any warfare, so the only

damage done to Germany itself was the loss of thousands of civilians➢ However, many others believe that attacking Dresden was efficient to the war.➢ Inspired the Famous novel Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

KAHOOTTop 5 will receive candy

Works Cited"Bombing of Dresden." Britannica School.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2016. Web.

1 Apr. 2016.

History.com Staff. "Bombing of Dresden." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 01 Jan. 2009. Web. 01 Apr. 2016.

"Military Significance of Dresden." The Controversial WWII Bombing of Dresden. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2016.