bombing of Dresden

E718901

World War II event strategic bombing war crime allegation

The bombing of Dresden was a devastating Allied air raid in February 1945 that destroyed much of the historic German city and killed tens of thousands of civilians, sparking enduring controversy over its military necessity and morality.

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Observed surface forms (3)

Surface form	Occurrences
Bombing of Dresden in World War II	3
Allied bombing of Dresden	1
World War II bombing of Dresden	1

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	World War II event ⓘ strategic bombing ⓘ war crime allegation ⓘ
aftermath	destruction of cultural landmarks ⓘ large number of refugees killed ⓘ
aircraftUsed	Avro Lancaster bombers NERFINISHED ⓘ Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers NERFINISHED ⓘ Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers NERFINISHED ⓘ Handley Page Halifax bombers NERFINISHED ⓘ
authorWhoDepicted	Kurt Vonnegut NERFINISHED ⓘ
belligerent	Royal Air Force NERFINISHED ⓘ United Kingdom NERFINISHED ⓘ United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States United States Army Air Forces NERFINISHED ⓘ
codename	Operation Thunderclap (associated planning concept) NERFINISHED ⓘ
commander	Arthur Harris NERFINISHED ⓘ Carl Spaatz NERFINISHED ⓘ
conflict	World War II ⓘ
controversy	allegations of terror bombing ⓘ debate over proportionality of force ⓘ dispute over military necessity ⓘ
country	Nazi Germany ⓘ
depictedIn	Slaughterhouse-Five NERFINISHED ⓘ
destroyed	Frauenkirche in Dresden NERFINISHED ⓘ Semperoper surroundings ⓘ Zwinger Palace area NERFINISHED ⓘ
endDate	1945-02-15 ⓘ
estimatedDeaths	25000 ⓘ approximately 25000 civilians ⓘ
historicalAssessment	often cited as example of area bombing ⓘ subject of post-war moral debate ⓘ
impact	long-term reconstruction of Dresden city center ⓘ significant civilian displacement ⓘ symbol of destruction of war in Germany ⓘ
justification	disruption of German communications ⓘ support to Soviet offensive on Eastern Front ⓘ
literature	Slaughterhouse-Five NERFINISHED ⓘ
location	Dresden NERFINISHED ⓘ
memorial	Dresden Frauenkirche reconstruction ⓘ annual remembrance ceremonies in Dresden ⓘ
partOf	Allied strategic bombing campaign ⓘ
result	destruction of large parts of Dresden ⓘ firestorm in Dresden ⓘ heavy civilian casualties ⓘ
startDate	1945-02-13 ⓘ
target	Dresden city center NERFINISHED ⓘ industrial facilities in Dresden ⓘ railway infrastructure in Dresden ⓘ
timePeriod	February 1945 ⓘ

Referenced by (8)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Frauenkirche → destroyedInEvent → bombing of Dresden ⓘ

subject surface form: Frauenkirche (Dresden)

this entity surface form: Bombing of Dresden in World War II

World War II bombing → hasNotableEvent → bombing of Dresden ⓘ

World War II atrocities → includesEvent → bombing of Dresden ⓘ

this entity surface form: Allied bombing of Dresden

Slaughterhouse-Five → notableEventDepicted → bombing of Dresden ⓘ

this entity surface form: Bombing of Dresden in World War II

Bomber Harris → notableOperation → bombing of Dresden ⓘ

subject surface form: Arthur Harris

The Mighty Eighth → notableOperation → bombing of Dresden ⓘ

Tokyo air raids → relatedTo → bombing of Dresden ⓘ

this entity surface form: Bombing of Dresden in World War II

Altstadt → wasHeavilyDamagedIn → bombing of Dresden ⓘ

subject surface form: Altstadt (Dresden)

this entity surface form: World War II bombing of Dresden