Between the 13th and 15th of February 1945, bombers from the United States and Britain carpet-bombed the city of Dresden, Germany, killing over 25,000 people over those three days. The city was demolished. The attack was justified by the Allies hoping to bring the war to a close. It was later determined that Dresden had no strategic objectives, only cultural ones.

On Jan. 8, 2025, the PBS news reported that 15-20 Palestinians were killed by Israeli bombardments. The total Israeli deaths, since the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre were 1,189. Palestinian deaths since then amount to more than 45,000, mostly women and children.

Photographs of Gaza, seen daily on news shows, look similar the ones showing the total destruction of Dresden. Why does the U.N. and the international community allow Israel to continue this genocide? How many more nights must we watch dead children pulled from demolished structures? How did we miss the lessons of Dresden?

Richard Kaye-Schiess
Shapleigh