German study concludes 25,000 died in Allied bombing of Dresden

Comments

By Douglas Stanglin, USA TODAY

Updated

A five-year official study of the Allied bombing of Dresden in World War II has concluded that as many as 25,000 people died, far fewer than most historians have estimated, the BBC reports.

The study by The Dresden Historians' Commission was aimed at ending a heated debate on the casualty figure from the raid on the German city by British and American warplanes Feb. 13-15, 1945.

Far-right groups in Germany have claimed that the attack and ensuing firestorm killed up to 500,000 people and constituted a war crime.

The Telegraph in Britain says the bombing has long been a cause of tensions between the two countries and noted that protesters demanding an apology threw eggs at Queen Elizabeth II when she visited the city in 1992.

The commission used records from city archives, cemeteries and other official registries as well as eyewitness and published reports, the BBC says.

(Posted by Doug Stanglin)

To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

About Doug Stanglin

Doug is an unrepentant news junkie who loves breaking news and has been known to watch C-SPAN even on vacation. He has covered a wide range of domestic and international news stories, from prison riots in Oklahoma to the Moscow coup against Mikhail Gorbachev. Doug previously served as foreign editor at USA TODAY. More about Doug

About Michael Winter

Michael Winter has been a daily contributor to On Deadline since its debut in January 2006. His journalism career began in the prehistoric Ink Era, and he was an early adapter at the dawn of the Digital Age. His varied experience includes editing at the San Jose Mercury News and The Philadelphia Inquirer.