Was Allied bombing of Germany Jan - April 1945 a war crime?

Prolly not, Boss . . . neither this, nor the Hiroshima/Nagasaki thing are likely to go away any time soon. Every generation will produce crops of authors who will bully-rag the subjects. I am rather interested, though, in an aspect which people usually don't refer to in these brouhahas. The English do not constantly throw Sheffield, Coventry and the V-weapons up in the collective face of the Germans, but the Dresden thing is getting great mileage right now. Similarly, Americans do not constantly tax the Japanese with Pearl Harbor and the Bataan Death March. But of the most pathological interest to me, is that Brits and 'Mericans are the ones most likely to rake their respective societies over the coals on these topics.

Set, Anglo-Americans are notorious for being renders of their garments and pourers of ash over their own heads. Group guilt and a need to hash over one's misdeeds are symptoms of a group neurosis. Once we feel sorry about something, we are never satisfied with just saying, sincerely, "I'm sorry. My bad. I made a terrible mistake," and then just let it go. Other peoples seem to be able to do this in their stride and go on and atone for their mistakes without talking about them. I blame it all on an unhealthy dependence on psychotherapy.

hmm
intersting isnt it maybe in an alternative history where britain lost the war which at many points was very possible it would have been considered one but it would be difficult to decide with whom the blame would lie and rarely is someone from a winning side( not that anyone truly wins with war) ever accused or tried or war crimes especially when its debateble as to wether a crime exsists.

Set

Interesting point. Victors' turned survivors' guilt complex maybe? I don't know. No one has clean hands in war. Churchill considered using anthrax against Germany, only deterred by their ability to reciprocate in kind. (and probably more efficiently). Had Hitler won would his heirs now be fretting about V2 missiles on London? I doubt it. On the other hand I am quite sure there would now be a large but mainly silent (and probably quite ineffective) opposition among ordinary German people deploring what was done in their name.

I really don't think the Anglo Saxons, have any claim to moral superiority when it comes to apportioning blame or guilt.

The whole "collective guilt" thing just scalds my . . . you know. Special interest groups know how to play it to the hilt, too. A little (very little) accurate history, with a heaping helping of fairy tale can and is routinely used to make the case for one group or another being victims who therefore rate special treatment. I personally feel that a just society looks to amerliorate the conditions of all citizens without regard to putative membership in an oppressed minority. Special pleading is very effective, and i consider it very wrong. We can't send the Israelis back to Europe, and the other places from which they or their ancestors came. The Dutch bought Manhattan for a song, not the Americans, so forget about the American Indian Movement ponying up with sixty guilders to get it back. Although rather irreverent, i go along with the "oops, my bad," and then get on with it advice offered above.

can't disagree there Set. Suffering from mega cold (and old herbal recipe based on alcohol) so on first reading I can't actually take in all your meaning. But if I could, I'm sure I would find something to disagree with, just to be socialble like (snot not tears)

I understand that this topic is on the allied bombing of Germany, but let's put that into perspective with the information provided in this link. http://www.histclo.hispeed.com/essay/war/swc/swc-mk.html

I don't know if anyone posted this link before, but it's a 20th Century appendix to CI's link (sort of).

http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/war-1900.htm

Yes,because the nazis was before the bombing beaten. Many innocent humans died,however some peoples was are guilty.

Re: Was Allied bombing of Germany Jan - April 1945 a war cri

yes it was war crime, same as american nuclears bomb, and same as massive killing of SS soldiers in Dachau by "allied"...

bm

bmp3 Great stuff!

Hey Rosoner, if you're going to spout that tripe, it helps to put a gloss of accuracy on what you post--the camps were not run by the SS per se, but rather, by the Sicherheits Dienst, the SD.

Set, it is the Archives that I found interesting enough to bookmark. The exchanges between you and Asherman are priceless. I repeat; where can I buy the book?

I don't need no steenking book . . .

Me neither; I gots my Classic Comix

When Truman decided to use his nuclear arsenal, it was an untested piece of military equipment. For Truman, it was about the anticipated loss of lives. It was estimated that 1 million allied lives would be lost during an attack on main land Japan. That did not count the loss of Japaneese lives. All during WW II it became acceptable to bomb civilian area. This was done by ALL countries during the war. When Truman was faced with the decision to drop the untested weapon in the ocean or to drop it on Japan he said "the world will not care that I killed fish." He made the decision faster than he could snap his fingers. No one knew the capabilities of the bombs, or if they would even work. Japan was also in the position to surrender after the first bomb but elected not to.

Which has what, precisely, to do with the Allied bombing of Germany in 1945?

sorry, I lost my brain. How could anyone consider bombing Germany a war crime after all the attrocities they did. They consistantly bombed cities with civilian. They paid ne respect to schools, churches or hospitals. Every country involved in WWII could have been prosecuted for war crimes under todays rules.

Don't be snide. This is the Allied Bombing of Germany thread. Your previous comments were not appropriate to this thread, they belonged in the Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki thread. Get snotty with someone else . . .