Why was Marshall Harris never brought before a war crimes court for the bombing of Dresden?

Question

Dresden was a civillian city, the allies knew that, yet they under the command of marshall Harris bombed it repeatedly and 250,000 civillian refugees died in the fires. Should this not have been a war-crime?

I'd have to agree with quasimod on this. He should have been punished but he was on the winning side of the war. However, there was no factories or military in Dresden (unlike London), just refugees and civillians

My history book says completly different to what Ray

"over a quarter of a million civillians were killed in the allied bombing of the city Dresden"

Maybe the book is wrong, I don't know, I'm only trying to find out if its true or not

http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/CARPET+BOMBING+RAIDS

book was wrong at least about the casulies but not about its strategic importance

Answer 1

No war crime trial because we won the war and not the germans or the Japanese. had it been the other way around, Harris, Halsey, McArthur, patton, FDR, Churchill, Stalin, Montgomery, Bradley and a host of other military and politicians would have been in the docket.


To the victor goes the spoils.

Answer 2

An opinion was rendered in international courts to wit:

"in the light of international humanitarian law, it should be borne in mind that during the Second World War there was no agreement, treaty, convention or any other instrument governing the protection of the civilian population or civilian property, as the Conventions then in force dealt only with the protection of the wounded and the sick on the battlefield and in naval warfare, hospital ships, the laws and customs of war and the protection of prisoners of war"

At the time, "total war" meant the civilians on both sides faced indiscriminate aerial bombing, including incendiary attacks, nuclear attacks, and assaults on centers of culture/churches/schools, etc.

A change in the Geneva Conventions, beginning in 1949 were the results from the uproar of the fire bombing of Dresden, nuclear attacks on Japan, and other indiscriminate carpet bombing during WW II.

Therefore, in answer to your question, there were no specific treaties or conventions broken AT THE TIME of the bombings and therefore it was not a war crime, these prohibitions all came after the war.

Answer 3

Here we go again. My standard reply to this answer is below. The figures for people killed at Dresden wil never be certain but the Germans themselves had an "official" figure of 25,000


The bombing of Dresden by RAF Bomber Command AND the USAAF was NOTa mistake or a War Crime.
In early 1945 the war was far from over. The Allies were still camped outside the borders of Germany, V2 rockets were still falling. The Allies had just fought the battle of the Bulge where the supposedly defeated Germans suddenly punched a huge hole in the Allied lines, German Rocket and Jet aircraft were coming off the production lines and proceeding to rip the hell out of the allied air fleets.

It was an operation undertaken due to many reasons.

1. A request from the Russians at the Yalta conference in February
1945. General Antonov "We want the Dresden railway junction bombed"
Meeting between the Chiefs of staff as reported by an interpreter.
2. It was a German base of operations against Marshall Koniev`s left
flank as he advanced into Germany. (See above) Captured German High
Command documents from Berlin 1945 "Dresden is to be fortified as a military strongpoint, to be held at all costs."
3. Munitions storage in the old Dresden Arsenal.
4. Troop reinforcement and transport centre shifting an average 28
troop trains through the marshalling yards every day.
5. Communications centre. Most of the telephone lines connecting
High Command to the Eastern front went through Dresden.
6. Quote from The Dresden Chamber of Commerce 1944. "The work rhythm of Dresden is determined by the needs of our army."
There were 127 factories in the Dresden Municipal area. The most
famous of these was Zeiss the celebrated camera and optics maker. In 1945 it was turning out Bomb aiming apparatus and Time fuses. (If you think the Dresden China Works making those lovely shepherdesses are more famous, they are actually made in Meisen 12Km down the River and always have been.)
A factory that previously made Typewriters and sewing machines was making Guns and ammunition
The Waffle and Marzipan machine manufacturer was producing
torpedoes for the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe.
The arts and crafts workshops in the old town were using their
woodworking skills to make the tail assemblies for V-1s.
Other factories were turning out such non warlike goods as
Searchlights, Aircraft components, Field Telephones and 2 way radios.
Yet another quote, "Anyone who knows Dresden only as a cultural
city would be very surprised to be made aware of the extensive and
versatile activity that make Dresden ONE OF THE FOREMOST INDUSTRIAL LOCATIONS OF THE REICH. (My Capitals)
Sir Arthur Harris? A Post war exponent of the bombing campaign?
Nope both wrong.
It comes from the Dresden City Council Yearbook of 1942.

The casualty figures of 130,000 to 350,000 were created by, first, Goebbels to try and stop the bombing of Germany`s industry by mobilising world opinion and secondly by the Russians after the war to "prove" what barbarians the Western Allies were. These figures were then touted about by people like David Irving, a notorious holocaust denyer and others with an axe to grind. They are, quite simply, a falacy and propaganda figures only.

Ray.

Answer 4

Hmmm. Wasn't London a civilian city?

I suspect if you dig into it, you'll find the reason Dresden was bombed. There may have been munitions factories, massive train yards, or something like that. Unfortunately the bombs of the WWII era were not precise.

Answer 5

Your casualty figures are complete rubbish - even wilder than David irving's . In fact at most 35,000 died in the fires. If Harris honestly believed it was shortening the course of the war, then it wasn't a war crime.
No Germans were tried for their area bombings either.

Answer 6

I hope so, after all Butler is alleged to have said..'if they had had the right questions'. What a joke. It may not have been his role to bring down Blair, but he clearly shirked responsibility...and now he is speaking up for an open inquiry - which we deserve. But New Labour are liars and traitors, and of course, the Tories also supported the war. But Blair deserves to serve some porridge!

Answer 7

Because he wasn't flying any of the planes that dropped the bombs.... he was drinking tea in England at the time. (A great alibi.)

On top of that he did it to take pressure off the Soviets in the East...... not because the West wanted to........ they had to keep comrade Stalin happy.

Answer 8

Because he was on the winning side.