The History of the Second World War

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Patrick: Because of the realities of the situation, bombing was both inevitable and justified. Anthony: We exemplify moral courage by looking back at our actions even at the time of great danger to us. The last point I'd like to make is that we still haven't quite come to the nub of at what point an absolute moral principle should be altered by the facts. And please do turn up and see whether you agree or vehemently disagree with that.

No one doubts the bravery of the thousands of men who flew and died in Bomber Command. The death rate was an appalling 44%. And yet until the opening of a monument in Green Park this year they have received no official recognition, with many historians claiming that the offensive was immoral and unjustified. How can it be right, they argue, for the Allies to have deliberately targeted German cities causing the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians? Even on a strategic level the offensive failed to bring about the collapse of civilian morale that was its intention. Others, however, maintain that the attacks made a decisive contribution to the Allied victory. Vast numbers of German soldiers and planes were diverted from the eastern and western fronts, while Allied bombing attacks virtually destroyed the German air force, clearing the way for the invasion of the continent. In this debate from October 2012, philosopher and author A C Grayling and Professor of History at Exeter University Rochard Overy...

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