Dresden 1945

In this compelling narrative, Alexander McKee examines motive, morality and responsibility in the horrific Allied raid on Dresden, Germany. Undefended and without strategic significance, this historic city sheltered a million people, half of them refugees. On February 13-15, 1945, 1,300 British and American aircrafts dropped 5,000 tons of incendiary and high-explosive bombs, destroying Dresden and causing a 3,000 F firestorm. Between 35,000 and 100,000 people died, among them American, British and Russian prisoners of war.Survivors' accounts capture the hope and courage that transcended the horror of the raid. In analyzing the rationale and planning behind the raid, McKee dissects the leadership egos, command rivalries, and hidden agendas that insidiously promoted terror bombing as a British policy—a policy later shared by her American ally. And in demonstrating that the Dresden raid's permanent moral cost greatly exceeded its temporary military benefits, he gives contemporary military strategist powerful reason for restraint.