The Historical and Religious Significance of the Bombing of Civilians in World War II
By Patrick Taylor
For as long as there has been war there have been soldiers, and as long as there have been soldiers there have been civilians. A civilian is defined as any person not in armed forces yet time and time again people have launched attacks against these neutral parties for both political and economic reasons. Although these attacks have taken many forms, one of the most severe and vicious ways this has been done is through aerial bombing. This tactic can be even more harmful than other forms of attack due to its very nature. While bombings kill as many civilians as other similar attacks, aerial bombing can destroy the buildings and infrastructure of a place as well, devastating the area for years, even after the bombing has stopped.
Many areas have been affected by aerial bombing through history, but possibly none as much as London and the rest of Britain during the Blitzkrieg on Britain during World War II. Beginning on September seventh in 1940 and ending on the tenth of May in 1941, this blitzkrieg killed over 40,000 civilians and wounded more than three times that. Over half of these casualties were in London itself and at least one million of its homes were destroyed. These figures are impressive, however they cannot show exactly how much damage was actually done. When people’s homes were destroyed they had few places to go. Then during the next bombing they might not have any form of shelter and this attack will have driven more families out of their homes, creating a vicious cycle. However, homes and civilians were not the only points of this attack. Strategic military points were bombed as well, giving the British even less protection against future bombings. An article in Time magazine said it best with this quote, “With their blows at military