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Article: Arguing over the World War II bombings of Dresden and London.
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- January 28, 2007
- Author:
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On the evening of Dec. 29, 1940, Arthur Harris looked on from the
Air Ministry roof in London as German bombers set the city ablaze.
"Well, they have sown the wind," he said. Four years and 46 days
later, Dresden reaped the whirlwind.
London survived the Luftwaffe's onslaught, and the city's
fortitude during the Blitz passed into legend. Dresden's legacy is
more problematic. Largely incinerated by British and American
bombers in mid-February 1945, it has been rebuilt and to a great
extent restored to its former glory. But its destruction often is
cited as proof that the Allies, too, committed war crimes, and that
Germans, too, were victims.
"Bomber" Harris, who ran the Royal Air Force's ...