I’d say it was the government of the time. Churchill’s cold memo repeated below shows how willing he was to betray what he had supported for years.
Quote:
“It seems to me that the moment has come when the question of bombing of German cities simply for the sake of increasing the terror, though under other pretexts, should be reviewed. Otherwise we shall come into control of an utterly ruined land… The destruction of Dresden remains a serious query against the conduct of Allied bombing. I am of the opinion that military objectives must henceforward be more strictly studied in our own interests than that of the enemy. The Foreign Secretary has spoken to me on this subject, and I feel the need for more precise concentration upon military objectives such as oil and communications behind the immediate battle-zone, rather than on mere acts of terror and wanton destruction, however impressive”
Did he not have something of a point? Also, to me, that statement appears to be questioning the conduct of the campaign rather than the conduct of the aircrews (And at the end of the day he was supposed to be in charge of it all) I don’t think that this matter is or ever was a black and white issue.
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