Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1943-11-05
Destruction of
Hamburg
By Walter Taub
lWNU Feature-Through special arrange
ment with Golfers Weekly

(WNU Feature-Through special arrange
ment with Golfers Weekly
Four hundred refugees from
Hamburg are now in Sweden, eye
witnesses of the greatest havoc
that ever smote any human settle
ment. The first attack on Ham
burg was delivered on the night of
July "a. The attack was concen-
trated against anti-aircraft bat
teries, with excellent results. Most
of the batteries we're silenced in a
few minutes.
Then, say these eyewitnesses,
came an absolute novelty in the
history of bombing-bearing wit
ness to the scientific care devoted
to planning the attack. Special
reconnaissance planes appeared
over the city, picking out certain
industrially important sections
with green flares dropped by
parachutes.
These flares lowered like punches
of grapes in the air and aided the
bombers coming in afterward to
drop their explosives in square
around the section thus marked, so
that buildings for whole blocks col
lapsed and all roads and communi-
cations between that section and
Che remainder of the city were
choked off.
This was not done to prevent the
inhabitants from getting out, but
to hinder the transfer of firemen
and fire-fighting apparatus from
other sections in the effort to save
war-important buildings and their
contents.
When communications were thus
closed, there began rain of incen-
diaries that spread fires over such
a large area that practically the
whole section was drowned in
flames. The work of air defense
on this and the following nights
was enormously hampered by this
simple but effective means which,
as far as | know, was applied here
for the first time.
Dazzling Paper Dropped
Mrs. Anna Johansson, refugee
in Malmoe, refers also to Sheets
of paper, black on one side and
dazzling silver on the other, drop
ped by thousands from the bomb
ers." Twenty-Five other Hamburg
Swedes attest to the correctness of
her statement Air-defense search
light beams were reflected all ways
from thes sheets, thus bing pre-
vented from reaching the raiding
aircraft with full intensity and
making the job of locating them
much more difficult.
The first assault was directed at
the inner town. The free port,
covering an area of more than
$500 acres, naturally was not
spared during this Commute at
tack, but not until the next raid on
Sunday, a day raid, was the most
devastating blow directed at this
pride of Hamburg.
That Sunday, Hamburg displayed
an unusual appearance. Even in the
forenoon, giant clouds of smoke
and dust enveloped the whole town,
darkening the sky.
Then the sirens screamed, and
big formation of American bombers
reduced to ashes the continents
biggest shipyards.
These were the plants of Blohm
and Voss, Vulkanwerft and How
aldswerft--w h ere the biggest
steamers are built, repaired and
docked.
Monday night, during the fresh
British attack, the big gas plant in
the harbor section received a direct
hit. That terrible explosion de-
prived the city of gas.
Raj Keeps Promise
That evening, none among Ham
burg's 100000 inhabitants was
willing to retire to bed, for the
Raj had dropped leaflets promis-
ing a repetition of Sundays raid
on Tuesday. Hamburger's from
whom Hitler was once compelled
to admit he had received the most
mo" votes, always listen to the
British radio and they know, there
fore, that the British keep their
promises"
On Tuesday morning at 1880,
the few remaining sirens scream