Figure 1.-- There was nothing that enthused Hitler more than motorich around the Reich and seig heiling adoring crowds. There are countless images of him in his collection of big Mercedes doing just that. This was during the good days into the early war years. When German armies enconntered real resistance and the bombs began falling on Germany rather than other cities, Hitler suddenly was no where to be found. Propaganda Minister Goebbels commented on this. He pleaded with the Führer to visit the bomb-damaged cities. Hitler flatly refused. The comparison with Churchill and King Gorge VI could not have been more dranmatic--and revealing.

There was quite a huge difference in how the leadership of Britain and Germany reacted to the bombing of their cities. The Germans heavily bombed Britain in the Blitz (1940-41) and then returned with the V-weapons (1944). The British were not able to heavily bomb Germany until RAF Bomber Command received modern bombers like the Lancaster. The American joined in the campaign (1943). Churchill and the King and Queen regularly engaged in walk troughs of bomb danged neighborhoods, with very few security personnel accompanying them. We constantly hear today that bombing can not crack civilian morale. Notice that you never see images like this of Hitler, Mussolini, Emperor Hirohito, or the Japanese prime-ministers that replaced Tojo commiserating with the people and visiting war damaged neighborhoods. There was nothing that enthused Hitler more than motoring around the Reich and seig heiling adoring crowds. There are countless images of him in his collection of big Mercedes doing just that. This was during the good days into the early war years. When German armies encountered real resistance and the bombs began falling on German rather than other cities, Hitler suddenly was no where to be found. Propaganda Minister Goebbels commented on this. He pleaded with the Führer to visit the bomb-damaged cities. Hitler flatly refused. The comparison with Churchill could not be more dramatic--and revealing. Some clarification is needed here. A reader write, "Interesting. I never thought of Hitler or other dictators having a guilty conscious. Only reason not to visit with the bombing victims." We did not mean to suggest that Hitler had a guilty conscious! I We certainly do not believe that he did. In fact, we think he only regretted not being able to kill more people and destroy more cities, especially Paris and London. We think the reason for not visiting heavily bombed cities was very different. He probably saw as the bombing was destroying German cities a sign that Germany was losing the war he launched. He not doubt was seeing this in daily military briefings. And he did not want to be further reminded or associated with his failure and have to answer to the German people for his failure. At the end of the War in his Berlin Bunker he blamed the German people for their weakness and non living up to his standards and of course the Jews. With the matter of walkabouts, the question of security arrangements arise.

The British

The Germans heavily bombed Britain in the Blitz (1940-41) and then returned with the V-weapons (1944). This was the case in World War I when the Germans first bombed Brutish cities. And continued yhis continued durimg World War II with a much more intense German campaign. Churchill and the King and Queen regularly engaged in walk troughs of bomb danged neighborhoods, with very few security personnel accompanying them. There are countless images of these visits which demostrated to the British people that their leaders were with them. Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mum) famously remarked after Buckingham palace was bombed that she could now look the heavily bombed East Enders 'in the eye'. And these visits were not all pleasant encounters. There were incidents of East Enders giving Churchill a telling off. But they continued throughout the War as the bombing of London picking up again with the V-weapons (1944-45).

The Germans

The British were not able to heavily bomb Germany until RAF Bomber Command received modern bombers like the Avro Lancaster in a night-time campaign, although it would be some time before they were available in numbers (1942). The American joined in the campaign in day light with the Around the Clock campaign (1943). We constantly hear today that bombing can not crack civilian morale. Notice that you never see images like this of Hitler, Mussolini, Emperor Hirohito, or the Japanese prime-ministers that replaced Tojo commiserating with the people and visiting war damaged neighborhoods. There was nothing that enthused Hitler more than motoring around the Reich and seig heiling adoring crowds. There are countless images of him in his collection of big Mercedes doing just that. This was during the good days into the early war years. When German armies encountered real resistance and the bombs began falling on German rather than other cities, Hitler suddenly was no where to be found. Propaganda Minister Goebbels commented on this. He pleaded with the Führer to visit the bomb-damaged cities. Hitler flatly refused. The comparison with Churchill could not be more dramatic--and revealing. Some clarification is needed here. Goebbels did for a time visit with bombed out Berliners. And there is even an image of Göring doing so, although he did mot get out of his car. As far as we can tell, this was a rare occasion. A reader write, "Interesting. I never thought of Hitler or other dictators having a guilty conscious. Only reason not to visit with the bombing victims." We did not mean to suggest that Hitler had a guilty conscious! I We certainly do not believe that he did. In fact, we think he only regretted not being able to kill more people and destroy more cities, especially Paris and London. We think the reason for not visiting heavily bombed cities was very different. He probably saw as the bombing was destroying German cities a sign that Germany was losing the war he had launched. He not doubt was seeing this in daily military briefings. And he did not want to be further reminded or associated with his failure and have to answer to the German people for his failure. At the end of the War in his Berlin Bunker he blamed the German people for their weakness and non living up to his standards and of course the Jews. With the matter of walkabouts, the question of security arrangements arise.

The Soviets

No country perhaps besides China was devastated more than the Soviet Union. The main cause was, however, not the bombing, although that was a factor. The main cause was the land battles and the scorched-earth policy of denying valuable assets to the other side. This was done by both the Soviets (1941-42) and Germans (1943-45) in retreat. We have never seen images of Stalin visiting ruins and comforting bombed out civilians.

The Japanese

The Japanese were bombed more thoroughly and heavily than the Germans, although for a shorter period. Emperor Hirohito never toured the ruins to commiserate with his people. Even when Tokyo outside beyond the Imperil palace was reduced to ashes. Tojo was removed from power and ended his public life before the bombing began.

The Italians

Italy as soon as it entered the War was bombed by the British (1940)., mostly northern Germany. When the Americans entered the War, they joined in on the bombing (1943). Naples and Rome were targeted. As far as we know, Mussolini never visited the bombed out areas or comforted bombed out civilians.

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Created: 6:53 PM 1/19/2023
Last updated: 5:54 PM 8/17/2024