5.9A Why is Sir Arthur Harris such a controversial figure?

On 13 February 1945, 805 British bomber planes dropped 2690 tons of bombs on the German city of Dresden. The city blazed for seven days, during which time an estimated 150,000 people were burned to death. Dresden was one of many cities damaged by area bombing - a tactic used by both sides. These films explain how this devastating type of attack came to be used and show the attractive city of Dresden before much of it was destroyed.

ON THE CHIN!
8 MINS 20 SECS, SOUND, B/W, 1942

Contains distressing footage.

An American Pathé special correspondent, Quentin Reynolds, RAF Bomber Command, and Air Marshal Harris feature in an item about the RAF bombing of Cologne in Germany. The newsreel was released in cinemas on 8 June 1942.

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THE CITY OF THE ARTS - DRESDEN
2 MINS 23 SECS, SILENT, B/W, 1935

In this travelogue from the 1930s, Pathé visits the city of Dresden in Germany and sees what the city has to offer, much of which must have been lost in the bombing of Dresden during the Second World War.

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BOMBER HARRIS LEAVING RAF
1 MIN 31 SECS, SOUND, B/W, 1945

As Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris leaves the RAF, British Pathé takes a brief look back at his career.