How Many Died in the Bombing of Dresden?

[v2]

The question of many people died in the World War II Allied bombing of Dresden has been politically charged for decades. Now, a commission of historians has said the real total could be much lower than previously thought. But the debate likely won't go away...

more: Death Toll Debate: How Many Died in the Bombing of Dresden? - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

 

[ToughOmbre]

Not controversial to me. 55 to 60 million people died in WW II, majority were civilians. Adjusting/revising the number of casualties of a single raid 60 years later is rather pointless.

War is hell.

TO

 

[Erich]

well it is more than 18,000 but not 150-250,000 in my estimation. my relatives in Germany still believe the highest total and truthfully there we so many refugees and large families retreating from the Soviets they were bottlenecked in the old town trying to get out at all hours of the day and night

I could easily grasp some 35,000 killed and the possibility of much more if neighbor towns like Meißen are included and other major cities that the RAF and US AF's attacked in February of 45 to the overall total.

 

[timshatz]

35k is the number I've heard that sounded accurate as well. Heard the propaganda types added the 100K number.

 

[TenGunTerror]

It's not too well known because the rich history of Dresden being destroyed is focused on much more

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

When I was in Dresden a few months ago the widely accepted figure there is 35K to 45K. At least that was the number they were throwing around in the museums.

 

[Vassili Zaitzev]

I think it's around the 35K mark. I don't think it can be over 100k.

 

[lesofprimus]

To be honest, all the research and investigation into this is almost irrelevant... Theres no accurate way to figure the total number out... Even if they counted every single corpse they found or dug up 54 years ago, the number would still be far off the mark...

500lb bombs dont just kill with fragments, they also dismember....

The number of refugees, POW's, slave labor hands, civilians and German troops that were in and around Dresden is a wild guess, so figuring a proportion of those killed is a mathmatical equation with no solution....

 

[Erich]

remember also that the Soviets were also bombing this city agreed with Les no way of a truthful and accurate account

 

[RabidAlien]

I would place the number pretty high up, somewhere between 50k and 150k. Mainly due to the sheer volume of Displaced Persons. One city would get bombed, the survivors would march to the next town. Then the next. Then the next (you get the picture). One has to assume that it was a pretty frikkin large crowd that was huddled in basements and burned-out buildings. And regardless of what the census said before the war, the population would have changed so often and so drastically as the tides of war/destruction/labor shifted and surged during the course of the war, those numbers would have been meaningless. I don't think anyone will ever know how many people were lost in Dresden, and the best anyone can do will be a reasoned guess.