Tony
The book is
clearly in support of the bomber boys themselves but is ambivalent about the
effect on German morale or capability. Have you an opinion on this?
Christopher
Historians of the calibre of Max
Hastings, Richard Overy, and Robin Neillands do not agree on whether the
bombing strategy was effective or whether the bombing was excessive or morally
justified (particularly in the last few months of the war), so I don’t think
I’m qualified to give a firm view either way. I could trawl through some of the
arguments on each side of the fence, but would just be repeating what has been
said by those more knowledgeable than I am. However, if you’re interested, I’ve
included links to a couple of interesting pieces on my website
(www.manorhousepress.com) – an article by David Bashow in defence of Bomber
Command, and a debate between the philosopher A.C. Grayling and Christopher
Hitchens (the former playing the prosecution, the other the defence). What is
clear is that there were victims on the ground and victims in the air, and what
happened can only have been dreadful for all of them. Whatever the rights or
wrongs of the bombing strategy, to suggest that the airmen themselves were
somehow culpable, rather than victims of the times and circumstances through
which they lived, seems very wrong, and to judge them in hindsight and through
the lens of modern-day peacetime morality seems a flawed means of evaluating
what they did for this country when it was on its knees and engaged in a genuine
fight for survival.
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