The Royal Air Force and the Bombing of Auschwitz: First Deliberations, January 19411
The failure of the Allies to bomb the death camp at Auschwitz II (Birkenau) during World War II has evoked a storm of controversy. Despite the various positions in the debate, the argument concerning the proposed bombing principally has focused on two issues, the prospect of bombing in 1944 and the...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2001
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| In: |
Holocaust and genocide studies
Year: 2001, Volume: 15, Issue: 1, Pages: 70-85 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The failure of the Allies to bomb the death camp at Auschwitz II (Birkenau) during World War II has evoked a storm of controversy. Despite the various positions in the debate, the argument concerning the proposed bombing principally has focused on two issues, the prospect of bombing in 1944 and the possibility of rescuing the Hungarian Jews from annihilation. The focus on the latter stages of the war and the issue of the rescue of the Hungarian Jews, although certainly understandable, has tended to over-shadow analysis and historical examination of bombing possibilities in the first years of the war. In fact, the first request for the bombing of Ausch-witz came not from Jewish leaders in the spring and summer of 1944, but rather from the Polish government-in-exile in January 1941. Furthermore, this request received consideration at the highest levels of leadership within the R.A.F. An examination of the events of early January 1941 pro-vides an additional, and important, context for evaluating the later failure of the Western Allies to launch attacks against the killing machinery lo-cated in the death camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. |
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| ISSN: | 1476-7937 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Holocaust and genocide studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/hgs/15.1.70 |