What Should We Do With Germany After the Second World War?

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The final part of this evening is going to be a summing up, short summing up speeches by each of our panelists. During which time ushers will be going round with boxes into which you will be casting your votes. All you have to do is rip it up and put either yes or no for the motion that the Allied bombing of German cities was unjustifiable or no against the motion if you feel it isn't. If you are still undecided or are principled abstainer on this, please put the entire ticket into the box. You all have a ticket, an entry slip, which if I'm not mistaken, that Anthony, will you give us the benefit of your conclusions?

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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