Terror From the Sky: The Bombing of German Cities in World War II

Published by Berghahn Books 2010

Terror From the Sky

The Bombing of German Cities in World War II

Edited by: Igor Primoratz

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781845458447

Overview
Contents

About this book

In this first interdisciplinary study of this contentious subject, leading experts in politics, history, and philosophy examine the complex aspects of the terror bombing of German cities during World War II. The contributors address the decision to embark on the bombing campaign, the moral issues raised by the bombing, and the main stages of the campaign and its effects on German civilians as well as on Germany’s war effort. The book places the bombing campaign within the context of the history of air warfare, presenting the bombing as the first stage of the particular type of state terrorism that led to Hiroshima and Nagasaki and brought about the Cold War era “balance of terror.” In doing so, it makes an important contribution to current debates about terrorism. It also analyzes the public debate in Germany about the historical, moral, and political significance of the deliberate killing of up to 600,000 German civilians by the British and American air forces. This pioneering collaboration provides a platform for a wide range of views—some of which are controversial—on a highly topical, painful, and morally challenging subject.

Author / Editor information

Igor Primoratz is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, and Professorial Fellow at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, Charles Sturt University, Canberra. His publications include Banquos Geist: Hegels Theorie der Strafe (Bouvier, 1986), Justifying Legal Punishment (Humanities Press, 1989, 1997), and Ethics and Sex (Routledge, 1999), and a number of edited books, including Terrorism: The Philosophical Issues (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004) and Civilian Immunity in War (Oxford University Press, 2007).

Reviews

“Terror from the Sky raises a number of interesting questions about the often overlooked practical and moral implications of the Allied bombing of Germany. It draws our attention to the morally contentious aspects of the campaign and explains why this subject has received so little attention up until now.” · English Historical Review

“This is an interesting, informative, and important work. Overall, the quality of the essays is very high, and the focus of the book is on a topic of great importance.” · Stephen Nathanson, Northeastern University

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Introduction Igor Primoratz Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
PART I THE BOMBING
CHAPTER 1 The Bombing Campaign the RAF Stephen A. Garrett Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	19
CHAPTER 2 The Bombing Campaign the USAAF Douglas P. Lackey Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	39
CHAPTER 3 Under the Bombs Earl R. Beck Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	60
CHAPTER 4 Firestorm Martin Middlebrook Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	85
PART II THE MORAL ISSUES
CHAPTER 5 Can the Bombing Be Morally Justified? Igor imora Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	113
CHAPTER 6 Four Types of Mass Murderer: Stalin, Hitler, Churchill, Truman Douglas P. Lackey Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	134
CHAPTER 7 Was It Genocidal? Eric Markusen and David Kopf Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	158
PART III THE DEBATES
CHAPTER 8 The British Debate Mark Connelly Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	181
CHAPTER 9 The German Debate Lothar Kettenacker Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	203
Notes on Contributors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	223
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	225
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	235

Language: English
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 256
Keywords: History: World War II; History: 20th Century to Present

eBook

Published: June 1, 2010
ISBN: 9781845458447