The Dresden Firebombings were justified

However, he claims that there were numerous flaws in my case, even when I used his own sources in the first place. The Leap of Faith Pro claims that it was confirmed that Dresden was a war city, supplying ammunition and transportation for the German war effort. And although some may see Wikipedia as a reliable source, I have found countless links saying that little was every known about Dresden being a war city[1][2][3]. A source from History. com even goes so far as to say "Dresden was neither a war production city nor a major industrial center[4]. " The speculation that led a fear-ridden attack on Germany's beautiful city accomplished little more than destroying German lives, economy, culture, and morale. Two Wrongs do not Make a Right Pro claims that because Nazi Germany used firebombings against the Allies that it was justified to use firebombings as a retaliatory attack. This, of course, is not true. If the Allies had started employing concentration camps, would that be justified solely because Nazi Germany had? Of course not. One cannot justify a crime by pointing fingers and saying other people did it first. Introduction of Japan Pro states the the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, like the firebombings of Dresden, were justified. This for several reasons is not true. Firstly, many, including the creators of the atomic bomb, have considered the dropping of atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki to be war crimes. Albert Einstein himself claimed that it was completely unjustified [5]. The act is widely seen as immorally wrong and one of most regrettable acts in American history. In fact, one of the only reasons to justify the bombings of Japan was that there was no end in sight, but seeing as the firebombings of Dresden occurred after Japan had surrendered from the war, after Germany had already lost its desperate counteroffensive to the East (a factor that Pro overlooks when claiming that Hitler was still a threat on the Easter front), and after peacetime negotiations had already begun, the justification of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki do not even apply to this situation[4]. Not to mention, the firebombings of Dresden was a greater attack on civilian lives, claiming 135,000 deaths, many of which were just refugees [6]. Florance in Flames Pro agrees that a large city of great cultural and historical significance was destroyed. He then proposes that question "Does this mean the bombing of Wieluń was a war crime? The Germans destroyed 75% of the city. Wieluń was a cultural centre for Poland, was this a war crime? " The answer, simply, is "yes. " The bombings of both cities have been treated as war crimes and similarly, both cities were cultural centers that were bombed in a terrifying, heartless fashion[7]. And so should the bombings of Dresden. Defending the Eastern Front Pro includes a theory that states "If Hitler could defeat the Russians on the Eastern front, there was a chance that he could have defeated the Allies on the Western front and secured a fair armistice. " He claims that Nazi Germany still had a chance and would still engage in war. However, he fails to recognize that Germany had already failed to successfully fend off the Eastern front with it's last counterattack. The Red Army had already crushed the Eastern Front and was less than 50 miles from Berlin at the time of the firebombings. In fact, the reason there were so many refugees in Dresden was because refugees had fled from Berlin, fearing the closing Allies [4]. Therefore, there was indeed an end in sight. Japan had surrendered, the Allies were quickly closing in on Berlin, and Nazi Germany's resistance was low. Dresden: The Victim of a Pointlessly Unjustified Attack Dresden, a city that was only a part of the war by being a train station, was destroyed by flames that would engulf the lives of 135,000 innocent men, women and children, many of whom were refugees. Culture, art and history burned as German morale was already at an all-time low and a German surrender was imminent. It is for these reasons that the attacks on Dresden were unjustified. Many lives and much culture were taken for little to no reason at all. This is why I ask you, the reader, to vote Con. Thank you for this great debate, Pro! Sources 1. . http://www.gocornerstore.com... 2. . http://kalw.org... 3. . http://whitelake.patch.com... 4. . http://www.history.com... 5. . http://www.doug-long.com... 6. . http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu... 7. . http://www.history.com...