Monday, November 26, 2012

Bombing of Dresden '45 and Bebelplatz in Berlin

 Bombing of Dresden in '45

Source: <http://www.alien8.de>
  •  A series of Bombings that took place in February 1945
    • American and British Bombers
    • 3,300 tons
    • Subsequent firestorm
  •  Dresden - famous cultural center. 
    • Museums and other historic buildings
      • Frauenkirche
  • Dresden had been largely untouched
    • Refugees
  •  Figures for the death count range from 35,000 to 135,000
  •  The purpose behind the bombings was, "...not to reduce Germany's military potential but to strike terror into the population and leave it demoralized" (Schulze, 278).
  • The city also took extensive damage
    • 13 square miles (34 square kilometers)
  • Bombings were used for a number of different things by the Nazis:
    • Propaganda
    • Brand air martial Sir Arthur Harris as a war criminal
  • Three main reasons are commonly noted why this bombing was legitimate:
    • The city was in Nazi Germany
    • There were factories producing weapons for the war effort - also, it was a rail base of send troops to the Russian front
    • Prove military might
  •  Critics question whether these were legitimate reasons to bomb the city
    • Didn't end the war
    • Using Germany as a  "proving ground"
  • Efforts to Rebuild
Source: <http://www.cleanme.us>


























Bebelplatz in Berlin
Source: <http://www.monika-gruetters.de>
  • Unter den Linen Boulevard
  • Opernplatz - 1740; Changed in 1947 to Bebelplatz - August Beble; Social Democratic Party of Germany
  • Fredric the II - Forum Fridericianum
    • State Opera House of Berlin - initially the only one completed

    Source: <http://www.ferienwohnung-zimmer-berlin.de>
      •  First building - lead to name change
      • Destroyed in WWII
      • Rebuilt in the 1950s
    • St. Hedwig's Cathedral

    Source: <http://www.hedwigs-kathedrale.de>
      •  Began construction in 1747
      • Named for St. Hedwig - Duchess of Silesia
      • Silesian immigrants
      • Principal church of the Berlin diocese
    • The Former Royal Library

    Source: <http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de>
      • First independent library structure
      • Fire in 1945
      • Restored from 1963 to 1969
    • The Old Palace
      • Last two are now part of Humboldt University
  • May 10, 1933 Book Burning
    • Joseph Goebbels - Minister of Propaganda
      • "...cultural life in German was largely manipulated and made to serve the needs of the National Socialist state..." (Schulze, 252).
    • Weimer culture books (e.g. All Quite on the Western Front; The Magic Mountain
  • Monument in 1995
Source: <http://people.hsc.edu>



Sources:
 
"Bebelplatz." Berlin. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. <http://www.aviewoncities.com/berlin/bebelplatz.htm>.
 
"Bebelplatz." Berlin. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. <http://www.visitberlin.de/en/spot/bebelplatz>.
 
"The Bombing of Dresden." The Bombing of Dresden. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/bombing_of_dresden.htm>.
 
"Death Toll Debate: How Many Died in the Bombing of Dresden?" SPIEGEL ONLINE. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. <http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/death-toll-debate-how-many-died-in-the-bombing-of-dresden-a-581992.html>.
 
"Forum Fridericianum - "Kommode"" Forum Fridericianum - "Kommode" N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. <http://www.berlin-experience.de/pictures/fofr_1_fr.htm>.
 
"Information Portal to European Sites of Remembrance." Information Portal to European Sites of Remembrance. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. <http://www.memorialmuseums.org/eng/staettens/view/1417/Book-Burning-Memorial>.
 
"The National Archives | Heroes & Villains | Churchill & Dresden | What Did the Bombing Achieve?" The National Archives | Heroes & Villains | Churchill & Dresden | What Did the Bombing Achieve? N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/heroesvillains/g1/cs2/>.
 
"Real History and the Bombing of Dresden." Real History and the Bombing of Dresden. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. <http://www.fpp.co.uk/online/05/10/Dresden_011105.html>.
 
"Reconstruction." Staatsoper Unter Den Linden Im Schiller Theater. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. <http://www.staatsoper-berlin.de/en_EN/show/opera_reconstruct>.
 
Schulze, Hagen. Germany: A New History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1998. Print.
"Unter Den Linden." Monuments in Berlin / Senate Department for Urban Development in Berlin. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. <http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/denkmal/denkmale_in_berlin/en/unter_den_linden/bebelplatz.shtml>.
 
"Welcome!" St. Hedwigs-Kathedrale Berlin. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. <http://www.hedwigs-kathedrale.de/en/domgemeinde/welcome>.