Bombing of Lübeck in World War II
Encyclopedia
During World War II
, the city of Lübeck
was the first German city to be attacked in substantial numbers by the Royal Air Force
. The attack on the night of 28 March 1942 created a firestorm
that caused severe damage to the historic centre, the bombs destroying three of the main churches and large parts of the built-up area. It led to the retaliatory 'Baedeker' raids
on historic British cities.
Although a port, Lübeck was mainly a cultural centre and only lightly defended. The bombing on 28 March 1942 was the first major success for RAF Bomber Command
against a German city, and followed the Area bombing directive
issued to the RAF on 14 February 1942 which authorized the targetting of civilian areas.
Lübeck
, a Hanseatic
city and cultural centre on the shores of the Baltic Sea
was easy to find under the light of the full moon on the Saturday night of 28 March 1942, and the early hours of 29 March (Palm Sunday
), because due to the hoar frost there was a clear visibility and the waters of Trave
, Elbe-Lübeck Canal
, Wakenitz and the Bay of Lübeck
were reflecting the moonlight. 234 Wellington
and Stirling
bombers dropped about 400 tons of bombs including 25,000 incendiary device
s and a number of 1.8 tonne landmines. RAF Bomber Command
lost twelve aircraft in the attack.
There were few defences, so many crews attacked at 600 metres (2,000 feet). The attack took place in three waves, the first, which arrived over Lübeck at 23:18, consisting of experienced crews in aircraft fitted with Gee
electronic navigation systems (Lübeck was beyond the range of Gee but it helped with preliminary navigation). The raid finished at 02:58 on Sunday morning. 191 crews claimed successful attacks.
Blockbuster bomb
s in the first wave of the raid opened the brick and copper roofs of the buildings and the following incendiaries set them afire. 1,468 (or 7.1%) buildings in Lübeck were destroyed, 2,180 (10.6%) were seriously damaged and 9,103 (44.3%) were lightly damaged; these represented 62 per cent of all buildings in Lübeck. The bombing of Lübeck struck a corridor about 300 metres (330 yards) wide from Lübeck Cathedral
to St. Peter's Church, the town hall and St. Mary's Church, Lübeck
. There was another minor area of damage north of St. Giles (Aegidienkirche). St. Lorenz, a residential suburb in the west of the Holstentor
, was severely damaged. The German police reported 301 people dead, 3 people missing, and 783 injured. More than 15,000 people lost their homes.
Arthur "Bomber" Harris, Air Officer Commanding Bomber Command, described Lübeck as "built more like a fire-lighter than a human habitation." He wrote of the raid that "[Lübeck] went up in flames" because "it was a city of moderate size of some importance as a port, and with some submarine building yards of moderate size not far from it. It was not a vital target, but it seemed to me better to destroy an industrial town of moderate importance than to fail to destroy a large industrial city". He goes on to describe that the loss of 5.5% of the attacking force was no more than to be expected on a clear moon lit night, but if that loss rate was to continue for any length of time RAF Bomber Command would not be able to "operate at the fullest intensity of which it were capable".
in his book Among the dead cities makes the point that as the Area bombing directive
issued to the RAF on 14 February 1942, focused on the "morale of the enemy civil population". Lübeck, with its many timbered medieval buildings, was chosen because the RAF "Air Staff were eager to experiment with a bombing technique using a high proportion of incendiaries" to help them carry out the directive – the RAF was well aware that the techniques were effective because cities such as Coventry
had been subject to such attacks
by the Luftwaffe
during the Blitz
. Winston Churchill
wrote to the US President Franklin D. Roosevelt
to inform him that similar "Coventry-scale" attacks would be mounted throughout the summer. The Soviet leader Joseph Stalin
congratulated Churchill on the outcome, expressing his satisfaction at the "merciless bombing" and expressing the hope that such attacks would cause severe damage to German public morale – a key objective for Churchill. A series of follow-up attacks, taking much the same pattern, was mounted against Rostock
between 24–7 April 1942.
The German authorities mounted a prompt relief operation for the city's dispossessed. 25,000 people had been left homeless by the raid. The local branch of the National Socialist People's Welfare
(NSV) organisation opened food stores and distributed 1.8 million oranges, 10 tonnes of apples, 40,000 loaves of bread, 16,000 eggs, 5,000 pounds of butter, 3,500 cans of food, 2,800 boxes of smoked herrings and 50 barrels of Bismarck herrings. However, substantial amounts of luxury goods such as champagne, spirits, chocolates, clothing and shoes were pilfered by NSV officials. A number of them were arrested and in August 1942 three were sentenced to death for embezzlement with a further eleven jailed. The incident harmed the NSV's image, which had been positive up to that point.
The Nazi leadership was alarmed at the possible impact of the raid on civilian morale. In the opinion of Joseph Goebbels
, the Propaganda Minister, the raid fulfilled the RAF's directive, as he wrote in his diary: "The damage is really enormous, I have been shown a newsreel of the destruction. It is horrible. One can well imagine how such a bombardment affects the population." He commented: "Thank God, it is a North German population, which on the whole is much tougher than the Germans in the south or south-east. We can't get away from the fact that the English air-raids have increased in scope and importance; if they can be continued on these lines, they might conceivably have a demoralising effect on the population." Despite Goebbels' fears, civilian morale in Lübeck held up and the effect of the bombing on the city's economic life was soon overcome. To help offset the damage the raid had on German morale, the German hierarchy launched a well publicized raid on Exeter
on 23 April 1942, which was the first of the "Baedeker raids"
.
, liaison officer between US Army Air Force and RAF, and Swiss
diplomat Carl Jacob Burckhardt
, as president of the International Committee of the Red Cross
, declared the Lübeck port a Red Cross port to supply (under the Geneva Convention
) allied prisoners of war in German custody with ships under Swedish flag from Gothenburg
, which protected the city from further Allied air strikes. The mail and the food was brought to the POW camps all over Germany by truck under supervision of the Swedish Red Cross and its vice president Folke Bernadotte
, who was in charge of the White Buses
too. (Bernadotte met Heinrich Himmler
in Lübeck in spring 1945, when Himmler made his offer of surrender to the allies.)
in 1943 and sentenced to death by decapitation
, all beheaded 10 November 1943 in the Hamburg prison at Holstenglacis. Stellbrink had explained the raid next morning in his Palm Sunday sermon
as a "trial by ordeal
", which the Nazi authorities interpreted to be an attack on their system of government and as such undermined morale and aided the enemy.
The remaining and the rebuilt parts of the old town are now part of the World Heritage Site
. The memorial for the bombing is in the ground floor of the southern tower of St. Mary's church: The bells as they fell out of the burning tower. Since the reconstruction of St. Mary had priority, the reconstruction of the cathedral was not finished before 1982, the reconstruction of St. Peter not before 1986.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the city of Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
was the first German city to be attacked in substantial numbers by the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. The attack on the night of 28 March 1942 created a firestorm
Firestorm
A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires, forest fires, and wildfires...
that caused severe damage to the historic centre, the bombs destroying three of the main churches and large parts of the built-up area. It led to the retaliatory 'Baedeker' raids
Baedeker Blitz
The Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids were a series of Vergeltungsangriffe by the German air force on English cities in response to the bombing of the erstwhile Hanseatic League city of Lübeck during the night from 28 to 29 March 1942 during World War II.-Background:Lübeck was bombed on the night...
on historic British cities.
Although a port, Lübeck was mainly a cultural centre and only lightly defended. The bombing on 28 March 1942 was the first major success for RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
against a German city, and followed the Area bombing directive
Area bombing directive
The Area Bombing Directive was a directive from the wartime British Government's Air Ministry to the Royal Air Force which ordered RAF bombers to attack the German industrial workforce and the morale of the German populace through bombing German cities and their civilian inhabitants.- Background...
issued to the RAF on 14 February 1942 which authorized the targetting of civilian areas.
Main raid
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
, a Hanseatic
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
city and cultural centre on the shores of the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
was easy to find under the light of the full moon on the Saturday night of 28 March 1942, and the early hours of 29 March (Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four Canonical Gospels. ....
), because due to the hoar frost there was a clear visibility and the waters of Trave
Trave
The Trave is a river in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is approximately 124 kilometres long, running from its source near the village of Gießelrade in Ostholstein to Travemünde where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It passes through Bad Segeberg, Bad Oldesloe, and Lübeck, where it is linked to the...
, Elbe-Lübeck Canal
Elbe-Lübeck Canal
The Elbe-Lübeck Canal is an artificial waterway in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It connects the Elbe and Trave rivers, hence constituting an accessway from the Elbe to the Baltic Sea. It is long; the northern terminus is Lübeck, the southern terminus is the town of Lauenburg...
, Wakenitz and the Bay of Lübeck
Bay of Lübeck
The Bay of Lübeck is a basin in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of German lands of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein. It forms the southwestern part of the Bay of Mecklenburg....
were reflecting the moonlight. 234 Wellington
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
and Stirling
Short Stirling
The Short Stirling was the first four-engined British heavy bomber of the Second World War. The Stirling was designed and built by Short Brothers to an Air Ministry specification from 1936, and entered service in 1941...
bombers dropped about 400 tons of bombs including 25,000 incendiary device
Incendiary device
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices or incendiary bombs are bombs designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using materials such as napalm, thermite, chlorine trifluoride, or white phosphorus....
s and a number of 1.8 tonne landmines. RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
lost twelve aircraft in the attack.
There were few defences, so many crews attacked at 600 metres (2,000 feet). The attack took place in three waves, the first, which arrived over Lübeck at 23:18, consisting of experienced crews in aircraft fitted with Gee
GEE (navigation)
Gee was the code name given to a radio navigation system used by the Royal Air Force during World War II.Different sources record the name as GEE or Gee. The naming supposedly comes from "Grid", so the lower case form is more correct, and is the form used in Drippy's publications. See Drippy 1946....
electronic navigation systems (Lübeck was beyond the range of Gee but it helped with preliminary navigation). The raid finished at 02:58 on Sunday morning. 191 crews claimed successful attacks.
Blockbuster bomb
Blockbuster bomb
Blockbuster or "cookie" was the name given to several of the largest conventional bombs used in World War II by the Royal Air Force...
s in the first wave of the raid opened the brick and copper roofs of the buildings and the following incendiaries set them afire. 1,468 (or 7.1%) buildings in Lübeck were destroyed, 2,180 (10.6%) were seriously damaged and 9,103 (44.3%) were lightly damaged; these represented 62 per cent of all buildings in Lübeck. The bombing of Lübeck struck a corridor about 300 metres (330 yards) wide from Lübeck Cathedral
Lübeck Cathedral
The Lübeck Cathedral is a large brick Lutheran cathedral in Lübeck, Germany and part of Lübeck's world heritage. It was started in 1173 by Henry the Lion as a cathedral for the Bishop of Lübeck. It was partly destroyed in a bombing raid in World War II , and later reconstructed. The organ by Arp...
to St. Peter's Church, the town hall and St. Mary's Church, Lübeck
St. Mary's Church, Lübeck
The Lutheran Marienkirche in Lübeck was constructed between 1250 and 1350. For many years it has been a symbol of the power and prosperity of the old Hanseatic city, and as Germany's third largest church it remains the tallest building of the old part of Lübeck. It is larger than Lübeck Cathedral...
. There was another minor area of damage north of St. Giles (Aegidienkirche). St. Lorenz, a residential suburb in the west of the Holstentor
Holstentor
The Holsten Gate is a city gate marking off the western boundary of the old center of the Hanseatic city of Lübeck. This Brick Gothic construction is one of the relics of Lübeck’s medieval city fortifications and the only remaining city gate, except for the Citadel Gate...
, was severely damaged. The German police reported 301 people dead, 3 people missing, and 783 injured. More than 15,000 people lost their homes.
Arthur "Bomber" Harris, Air Officer Commanding Bomber Command, described Lübeck as "built more like a fire-lighter than a human habitation." He wrote of the raid that "[Lübeck] went up in flames" because "it was a city of moderate size of some importance as a port, and with some submarine building yards of moderate size not far from it. It was not a vital target, but it seemed to me better to destroy an industrial town of moderate importance than to fail to destroy a large industrial city". He goes on to describe that the loss of 5.5% of the attacking force was no more than to be expected on a clear moon lit night, but if that loss rate was to continue for any length of time RAF Bomber Command would not be able to "operate at the fullest intensity of which it were capable".
Aftermath and retaliation
A. C. GraylingA. C. Grayling
Anthony Clifford Grayling is a British philosopher. In 2011 he founded and became the first Master of New College of the Humanities, a private undergraduate college in London. Until June 2011, he was Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London, where he taught from 1991...
in his book Among the dead cities makes the point that as the Area bombing directive
Area bombing directive
The Area Bombing Directive was a directive from the wartime British Government's Air Ministry to the Royal Air Force which ordered RAF bombers to attack the German industrial workforce and the morale of the German populace through bombing German cities and their civilian inhabitants.- Background...
issued to the RAF on 14 February 1942, focused on the "morale of the enemy civil population". Lübeck, with its many timbered medieval buildings, was chosen because the RAF "Air Staff were eager to experiment with a bombing technique using a high proportion of incendiaries" to help them carry out the directive – the RAF was well aware that the techniques were effective because cities such as Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
had been subject to such attacks
Coventry Blitz
The Coventry blitz was a series of bombing raids that took place in the English city of Coventry. The city was bombed many times during the Second World War by the German Air Force...
by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
during the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
. Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
wrote to the US President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
to inform him that similar "Coventry-scale" attacks would be mounted throughout the summer. The Soviet leader Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
congratulated Churchill on the outcome, expressing his satisfaction at the "merciless bombing" and expressing the hope that such attacks would cause severe damage to German public morale – a key objective for Churchill. A series of follow-up attacks, taking much the same pattern, was mounted against Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
between 24–7 April 1942.
The German authorities mounted a prompt relief operation for the city's dispossessed. 25,000 people had been left homeless by the raid. The local branch of the National Socialist People's Welfare
National Socialist People's Welfare
The Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt , meaning "National Socialist People's Welfare" was a social welfare organization during the Third Reich. The NSV was established in 1933, shortly after the NSDAP took power in Germany...
(NSV) organisation opened food stores and distributed 1.8 million oranges, 10 tonnes of apples, 40,000 loaves of bread, 16,000 eggs, 5,000 pounds of butter, 3,500 cans of food, 2,800 boxes of smoked herrings and 50 barrels of Bismarck herrings. However, substantial amounts of luxury goods such as champagne, spirits, chocolates, clothing and shoes were pilfered by NSV officials. A number of them were arrested and in August 1942 three were sentenced to death for embezzlement with a further eleven jailed. The incident harmed the NSV's image, which had been positive up to that point.
The Nazi leadership was alarmed at the possible impact of the raid on civilian morale. In the opinion of Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
, the Propaganda Minister, the raid fulfilled the RAF's directive, as he wrote in his diary: "The damage is really enormous, I have been shown a newsreel of the destruction. It is horrible. One can well imagine how such a bombardment affects the population." He commented: "Thank God, it is a North German population, which on the whole is much tougher than the Germans in the south or south-east. We can't get away from the fact that the English air-raids have increased in scope and importance; if they can be continued on these lines, they might conceivably have a demoralising effect on the population." Despite Goebbels' fears, civilian morale in Lübeck held up and the effect of the bombing on the city's economic life was soon overcome. To help offset the damage the raid had on German morale, the German hierarchy launched a well publicized raid on Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
on 23 April 1942, which was the first of the "Baedeker raids"
Baedeker Blitz
The Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids were a series of Vergeltungsangriffe by the German air force on English cities in response to the bombing of the erstwhile Hanseatic League city of Lübeck during the night from 28 to 29 March 1942 during World War II.-Background:Lübeck was bombed on the night...
.
Red Cross port
In 1944 Eric WarburgEric M. Warburg
Eric M. Warburg was a member of the prominent Warburg family of German-Jewish bankers. Although he was the founder of the small New York firm that later became Warburg Pincus, and a partner in M.M.Warburg & CO he is most known for his efforts to strengthen German-American relations, for which he...
, liaison officer between US Army Air Force and RAF, and Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
diplomat Carl Jacob Burckhardt
Carl Jacob Burckhardt
Carl Jacob Burckhardt was a Swiss diplomat and historian. His career alternated between periods of academic historical research and diplomatic postings; the most prominent of the latter were League of Nations High Commissioner for the Free City of Danzig and President of the International...
, as president of the International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
, declared the Lübeck port a Red Cross port to supply (under the Geneva Convention
Geneva Convention (1929)
The Geneva Convention was signed at Geneva, July 27, 1929. Its official name is the Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Geneva July 27, 1929. It entered into force 19 June 1931. It is this version of the Geneva Conventions which covered the treatment of prisoners of war...
) allied prisoners of war in German custody with ships under Swedish flag from Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, which protected the city from further Allied air strikes. The mail and the food was brought to the POW camps all over Germany by truck under supervision of the Swedish Red Cross and its vice president Folke Bernadotte
Folke Bernadotte
Folke Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg was a Swedish diplomat and nobleman noted for his negotiation of the release of about 31,000 prisoners from German concentration camps during World War II, including 450 Danish Jews from Theresienstadt released on 14 April 1945...
, who was in charge of the White Buses
White Buses
"White Buses" refers to a program undertaken by the Swedish Red Cross and the Danish government in the spring of 1945 to rescue concentration camp inmates in areas under Nazi control and transport them to Sweden, a neutral country...
too. (Bernadotte met Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
in Lübeck in spring 1945, when Himmler made his offer of surrender to the allies.)
Lübeck martyrs
A group of three Catholic clergymen (Johannes Prassek, Eduard Müller and Hermann Lange) and an Evangelical Lutheran pastor, Karl Friedrich Stellbrink, were arrested following the raid, tried by the People's CourtPeople's Court (German)
The People's Court was a court established in 1934 by German Chancellor Adolf Hitler, who had been dissatisfied with the outcome of the Reichstag Fire Trial . The "People's Court" was set up outside the operations of the constitutional frame of law...
in 1943 and sentenced to death by decapitation
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
, all beheaded 10 November 1943 in the Hamburg prison at Holstenglacis. Stellbrink had explained the raid next morning in his Palm Sunday sermon
Sermon
A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts...
as a "trial by ordeal
Trial by ordeal
Trial by ordeal is a judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused is determined by subjecting them to an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience...
", which the Nazi authorities interpreted to be an attack on their system of government and as such undermined morale and aided the enemy.
Reconstruction and memorial
Under wartime and postwar conditions it took until 1948 to remove most of the construction waste and demolition rubble.The remaining and the rebuilt parts of the old town are now part of the World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
. The memorial for the bombing is in the ground floor of the southern tower of St. Mary's church: The bells as they fell out of the burning tower. Since the reconstruction of St. Mary had priority, the reconstruction of the cathedral was not finished before 1982, the reconstruction of St. Peter not before 1986.
Chronology for air raids on Lübeck
- 28/29 March 1942: first and main RAF raid, followed by some minor raids in connection with the bombing of other north German cities as targets.
- 16 July 1942: 21 Stirlings in an RAF raid. Only 8 aircraft reported bombing the main target; 2 Stirlings were lost.
- 24/25 July 1943: first raid of the Battle of Hamburg, 13 RAF MosquitoDe Havilland MosquitoThe de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
s carried out diversionary and nuisance raids to Bremen, Kiel, Lübeck and Duisburg. - 25 August 1944 (Eighth Air ForceEighth Air ForceThe Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
Mission 570): 81 B-24s bombed aircraft component plants in Lübeck— Local sources reported 110 dead including 39 Zwangsarbeiter (forced (slave) labourers). - 15/16 September 1944: diversionary raid by 9 RAF Mosquitoes. The main raid was on Kiel with other cities hit by diversionary raids.
- 2/3 April 1945: training raid by one RAF aircraft.
- 3 May 1945 in a tactical operation the USAAF Ninth Air ForceNinth Air ForceThe Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
flew armed reconnaissance around Kiel and Lübeck, and A-26 InvaderA-26 InvaderThe Douglas A-26 Invader was a United States twin-engined light attack bomber built by the Douglas Aircraft Co. during World War II that also saw service during several of the Cold War's major conflicts...
s of the XXIX Tactical Air Command (Provisional)XXIX Tactical Air CommandThe XXIX Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Weimar, Germany...
hit shipping in the Kiel-Lübeck area.
See also
- Lübecker Märtyrer in the German Wikipedia
- The tragedy of the sinking of the SS Cap ArconaSS Cap ArconaThe Cap Arcona was a large German luxury ocean liner, formerly of the Hamburg-South America line. It transported passengers between Germany and South America up until 1940 when it was taken over by the German Navy....
on 3 May 1945 happened on the Bay of LübeckBay of LübeckThe Bay of Lübeck is a basin in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of German lands of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein. It forms the southwestern part of the Bay of Mecklenburg....
close to the port of Neustadt in HolsteinNeustadt in HolsteinNeustadt in Holstein is a town in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the Bay of Lübeck , approx...
and not in Lübeck itself.