Ultimately, who was morally responsible for the civilian deaths and destruction of Dresden in WWII?

Question

Was it the Allies? Or was it Hitler, for starting the war in the first place?

Answer 1

Without Hitler's aggression and genocide, there wouldn't be any war, thus no additional deaths in Dresden. Hence, it's the fault of the aggressor starting the war, Hitler.

Answer 2

Those who try to moralize or humanize total war are the ones most likely defeated. That, to me, was the lesson of Dresden, Hiroshima and Nagasaki....

Answer 3

there was plenty of atrocities to go around for everyone in WWII ...

Dresden
atomic bombings of Japan
the Holocaust
Japanese experiments on Chinese & American prisoners
The Bataan death march
The brutal Russian occupation of Eastern Germany

we can't really use peacetime morals to judge those people in that war.

Answer 4

Both I guess. But, it was our bombers doing the dropping. A horror of war.