The Destruction of Dresden: The Most Appalling Air Attack of WW II(A Ballantine War Book)

by David Irving

Book Overview

AT 10.10 P.M. ON THE NIGHT of February 13-14, 1945 the R.A.F. Master Bomber broadcast the cryptic order: 'Controller to Plate-Rack Force: Come in and bomb glow of red T.I.s as planned.' The ill-famed... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0007E7VLA
• Release Date: January 1965
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 278 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.

Customer Reviews

HISTORY AT ITS BEST

I HAVE READ AND EVALUATED ALL OF DAVID IRVINGS BOOKS---HE IS A GENIUS---HIS BOOKS ARE A "MUST READ"

A fascinating document and a remarkable effort

First, a disclaimer: a couple of "reviewers" here have seen fit to dismiss David Irving's "Destruction of Dresden" because they dislike the author (or rather, his controversial positions on some matters irrelevant to this book). This is the worst of prejudice--to "kill the messenger" just because one dislikes an unrelated message. In fact, David Irving's great accomplishments with this book stand aside from his other works, and are essentially above reproach. The scholarship for this book is exemplary. It was exhaustively researched and is thoroughly referenced. (There are hundreds of footnotes citing primary sources, and lengthy appendices.) Irving interviewed hundreds of first-hand witnesses from all relevant nations. He nonetheless manages to avoid sensationalizing the events. Even more importantly, "The Destruction of Dresden" attempts to acquaint a largely ignorant world (outside of Germany) with one of the most horrific military atrocities of World War Two. That it happened to have been committed by the "righteous" Allies, rather than "the usual culprits" disturbs many people to no end. It is vital to recognize that Mr. Irving never sides with the Germans, nor does he justify the persecution of Jews and other victims of wartime atrocities. Indeed, he repeatedly sympathizes with Jewish victims, and criticizes the men in power who were responsible for making the decisions that harmed innocent people of all backgrounds. To claim that Jews, homosexuals, Gypsies and the other recognized groups of victims are the only people deserving of our pity, or to profess that the Allies were always more ethical than the Axis powers is to perpetuate a lie and to denigrate the losses of all who suffered. Mr. Irving deserves our respect and willingness to be objective for having written this book. Ironically, this--the first and best-researched book on the firebombing of Dresden--is now banned in Germany, due to political pressures there against Irving's other views about the War. No doubt this pleases many people who would much rather the world remain ignorant of what really happened when "the good guys" decided to wipe out a city and managed to kill a couple hundred thousand of its civilian inhabitants, with little thought and no remorse.

Attack on a million civilians

This well-documented story of the greatest one-night massacre in human history is a must-read for anyone interested in modern history, WW2, warfare in general, and human failure. Irving's book describes in detail the air war in Europe during WW2, which culminated in the attack of Allied planes on Dresden on February 13 and 14, 1945. The book is full of technical and human details and well illustrated. Convincing evidence is presented that this attack targeted the civilian population and left strategic targets including the bridges over the river Elbe intact. It has been impossible to estimate the death toll accurately (35,000 - 135,000) because of the large number of Eastern European refugees fleeing the advancing Red Army only 100 miles of Dresden. Non-citizens included American and British prisoners of war in or near Dresden, and one of them, Kurt Vonnegut, wrote a famous novel, Slaughterhose Five, about it. Irving's book analyzes the technical and human background of the attack in depth and with great precision. He also expresses his opinion clearly that the destruction of this beautiful historic city at a time when Germany's military defeat was clear should never have happenend.

REAL HISTORY OF ALLIED BOMBING EFFORTS AIMS AND EFFECTS

Hugely dificult to research, this in depth account of the planned systematic destruction of a large city of no military consequence raises horendous questions which will simmer for decades.Irving provides a slightly clouded mirror, but not so clouded as to startle us as to what we see.