Among the Dead Cities The History and Moral Legacy of the WWII Bombing of Civilians in Germany and Japan

by Grayling, A. C.

• ISBN13: 9780802715654
• ISBN10: 0802715656
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-03-20
• Publisher: Walker Books

Summary

"Was the bombing offensive [against civilians in Germany and Japan] a crime against humanity," writes A. C. Grayling, "or was it justified by the necessities of war? These questions mark one of the great remaining controversies of the Second World War." Their resolution, which Grayling accomplishes with great respect and with a sense of urgency, is a vital contribution to the debate about how far governments can go in the name of national security. A. C. Graylingis a professor of philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of several books, among themMeditations for the Humanist, and biographies of Rene Descartes and William Hazlitt. A fellow of the World Economic Forum and past chairman of the human rights organization, June Fourth, he contributes frequently to theFinancial Timesand theEconomist. He lives in London. InAmong the Dead Cities, the philosopher A. C. Grayling asks the provocative question: How would the Allies have fared if judged by the same standards of the Nuremberg trials? Arguing that the victor nations have never had to consider the morality of their policies during World War II, he offers a reexamination of the Allied bombing campaigns against civilians in Germany and Japan, in light of principles enshrined in the postwar conventions on human rights and the laws of war. Intended to weaken those countries' will to make war, the bombings nonetheless destroyed centuries of culture and killed some 800,000 noncombatants, injuring and traumatizing hundreds of thousands more in scores of other cities. "Was this bombing offensive justified by the necessities of war," Grayling writes, "or was it a crime against humanity? These questions mark one of the great remaining controversies of the Second World War." Their resolution is especially relevant in this time of terrorist threat, as governments debate how far to go in the name of security. Grayling begins by narrating the Royal Air Force's and U.S. Army Force's dangerous missions over Germany and Japan between 1942 and 1945. Through the eyes of survivors, he describes the terrifying experience on the ground as bombs created inferno and devastation. He examines the mind-set and thought process of those who planned the campaigns in the heat and pressure of war, and faced with a ruthless enemy. Grayling chronicles the minority voices that loudly opposed attacks on civilians, exploring in detail whether the bombings ever achieved their goal. Based on the evidence, he makes a meticulous case for, and one against, civilian bombing, and only then offers his own judgment. Acknowledging that they in no way equaled the death and destruction for which Nazi and Japanese aggression was responsible, Grayling nonetheless concludes that the bombing campaigns were morally indefensible, and that accepting that responsibility, even six decades later, is both a historical necessity and a moral imperative. "Despite the vast and growing library that is accumulating on the subject of World War II, this is a book that cannot be skipped. A. C. Grayling has tackled a subject overlooked until now--the morality of the Allies' bombing of civilians--and written about it with grace."--Mark Kurlansky, author ofSalt:A World Historyand1968 "A philosopher seeks to determine whether Allied area-bombing during World War II was a moral wrong. Lost amid the incomprehensible evil of the Holocaust, says Grayling, is a lesser, though still unforgivable, WWII transgression: the Allied forces' indiscriminate bombing of densely populated urban areas with little military significance, such as Dresden, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Examining the physical and psyc

Author Biography

A. C. Grayling is Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of several books, among them Meditations for the Humanist, and biographies of Rene Descartes and William Hazlitt. A fellow of the World Economic Forum and past chairman of the human rights organization, June Fourth, he contributes frequently to the Financial Times and the Economist. He lives in London.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. x
Picture credits	p. xi
Maps	p. xiii
Introduction: Was it a Crime?	p. 1
The Bomber War	p. 15
The Experience of the Bombed	p. 81
The Mind of the Bomber	p. 117
Voices of Conscience	p. 179
The Case Against the Bombing	p. 209
The Defence of Area Bombing	p. 247
Judgement	p. 271
Appendix	p. 283
Notes	p. 329
Bibliography	p. 345
Index	p. 349
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