Auschwitz and Anglo-American Air Power: Historical Debates and Military Capabilities

Perhaps the hardest fact for Holocaust historians, survivors, and observers to accept remains the West's non-use of direct military force to relieve Jewish suffering. The picture of American and British bombers clouding the Third Reich's skies has provoked a particularly inviting question. Why did neither country bomb the gas chambers and crematoria at Auschwitz? The dispute itself contains many facets: government and military unwillingness to bomb these targets; bombing ability and proficiency; German ability to repair damage and continue operations; and the question of whether it was appropriate to kill Jews in order to save Jews. The final point concerns the probability that the missions themselves would have killed many Jews through stray bombs and inaccurate bombing. Attempting to settle these issues has occupied many writers since the 1960s. Historians, journalists, and others have expressed opinions, laid blame, and analyzed military and governmental efforts and capabilities. Why Auschwitz? Of the six Nazi extermination camps, only it remained in operation after mid-July 1944. Before that date, bombing could not have occurred due to the intelligence shortfalls. Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka, were all dismantled by the fall of 1943. Majdanek had ceased gassing operations by the fall of 1943, and the Germans had evacuated the camp in July 1944.Air Force Inst of Tech Wright-Patterson AFB OH is the author of 'Auschwitz and Anglo-American Air Power: Historical Debates and Military Capabilities' with ISBN 9781423583318 and ISBN 1423583310.