Dresden, through World War II, was an undefended city, free of threats of being attacked; it had never had suffered any mayor damage, until February 13 1945, when it was throughly bombed by the allies. The bombing lasted around two days and Dresden was destroyed almost to ashes. Thousands of people died, innocent people who didn't deserve to die. People who where on their way home to meet their family after work, just to enjoy a happy dinner, while praying to their God they had survived this awful time of war. Only to be stoped dead by a never-ending rain of missiles.
"You don't need to worry about bombs, by the way. Dresden is an open city. It is undefended, and contains no war industries or troop concentrations of any importance." - Chapter 6, page 146
This quote
reflects the irony and black humor in "Slaughterhouse-five". What a
perfect target for the allies than to bomb an undefended, open city? If the
main objective of theirs is to exhibit power, why not do so by killing thousand
of lives in a place that is easy to attack? It's a flawless strategy, however
an inhuman one. I have always thought of war as an event filled with cruelness,
evil and desire for power. It is something that will never be justified, I
mean, how can someone justify the death of thousands of people just for the
greater good, or just to prove a point. Do we humans always have to seek
violence as our main alternative? Is it in our nature? is it an instinct?
I do not know the answer but something has to be the reason. Nonetheless,
the ones who declare war are not actually the ones fighting it; I imagine how small,
irregular, and short wars would be if the leaders themselves fought them. It
would be unwise, but more human.
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