Bombings in World War II: The first war decided from the air
Overview of aerial bombardment in Europe during World War II, with a detailed discussion of the Battle of Britain.
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Transcript
NARRATOR: British and American bombers over Germany - they are to force Hitler's Reich to its knees. It is the first war in history to be decided from the air. The bombings during the Second World War become ever more devastating. Even during the invasion of Poland at the beginning of the war, the German Air Force is deployed on a massive scale.
ANDRZEJ SZCZYPIORSKI: "Then came the first bombing of Warsaw and the first casualties, the first victims. The first fires were already blazing in Warsaw, not far from us in the town center. And from then on, we lived in the cellar."
NARRATOR: Warsaw is bombed into surrender. The fate of the Polish metropolis is soon overtaken by other European cities. From September 1940, it is London. England is to be forced into submission. German bombers attack the docks and factories and soon, residential areas as well. It's a traumatic experience.
JESSY STRATTON: "People were killed in streets opposite us, in shelters, everywhere all around us. It was a terrifying experience. You went to bed with the fear. Were you going to be alive the next day? Were you going to be whole as you are now when you went to bed, when you said your prayers and lived in hopes?"
NARRATOR: The biggest German air raid outside London targets Coventry in the Midlands – the center of the British arms industry. Flares launched on parachutes illuminate the target, followed by incendiary bombs. They ignite over 50 fires, which spread into a conflagration.
GERHARD BAEKER: "In Coventry all the targets lay in the center of town. At night, it was always difficult to hit the target. And it just couldn't be avoided that some bombs also overshot their mark, falling to the left, the right, in front and behind."
NARRATOR: More than 500 die. By May 1941, 42,000 Britons have lost their lives to the German bombs. Winston Churchill's response: Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind. He allows retaliation bombings of German residential areas. The first to be hit are coastal towns like Lübeck at the end of March 1942.
GERDA SÖLLNER: "Suddenly the sirens started. And at the same time as the alarm, a really terrible crack of thunder. It felt as if the whole town had just been destroyed by a single blow."
NARRATOR: More than 300 die this night in Lübeck. But it is only the beginning. By carpet-bombing the cities, Churchill seeks to break the morale of Germany's civilian population.
ANDRZEJ SZCZYPIORSKI: "Then came the first bombing of Warsaw and the first casualties, the first victims. The first fires were already blazing in Warsaw, not far from us in the town center. And from then on, we lived in the cellar."
NARRATOR: Warsaw is bombed into surrender. The fate of the Polish metropolis is soon overtaken by other European cities. From September 1940, it is London. England is to be forced into submission. German bombers attack the docks and factories and soon, residential areas as well. It's a traumatic experience.
JESSY STRATTON: "People were killed in streets opposite us, in shelters, everywhere all around us. It was a terrifying experience. You went to bed with the fear. Were you going to be alive the next day? Were you going to be whole as you are now when you went to bed, when you said your prayers and lived in hopes?"
NARRATOR: The biggest German air raid outside London targets Coventry in the Midlands – the center of the British arms industry. Flares launched on parachutes illuminate the target, followed by incendiary bombs. They ignite over 50 fires, which spread into a conflagration.
GERHARD BAEKER: "In Coventry all the targets lay in the center of town. At night, it was always difficult to hit the target. And it just couldn't be avoided that some bombs also overshot their mark, falling to the left, the right, in front and behind."
NARRATOR: More than 500 die. By May 1941, 42,000 Britons have lost their lives to the German bombs. Winston Churchill's response: Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind. He allows retaliation bombings of German residential areas. The first to be hit are coastal towns like Lübeck at the end of March 1942.
GERDA SÖLLNER: "Suddenly the sirens started. And at the same time as the alarm, a really terrible crack of thunder. It felt as if the whole town had just been destroyed by a single blow."
NARRATOR: More than 300 die this night in Lübeck. But it is only the beginning. By carpet-bombing the cities, Churchill seeks to break the morale of Germany's civilian population.
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