Germany’s Forgotten City

Biking around the streets of one of Germany’s lesser known cities – delving into its controversial history and getting a taste for a city’s soul. After booking a one-way ticket to Europe, I knew this city was a must-see. Instead of studying an expensive journalism degree, I thought I’d have a crack of being out in the field. In the spirit of healthy journalism, I’ve included links to all the sources I’ve used and my script.

Thank you to Dehancer Film Emulation for helping make this video possible. Use my affiliate link “Pat_Franco” for a 10% discount on their products: https://www.dehancer.com/

[References & Script]

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1j9KQfzQ7Pqi0JSJQSUR0-r8XnW3HCE23g1-rlmjJW-4/edit?usp=sharing

Special mention to LEMMiNO for his original song BLACKOUT

[Chapters]

00:00 – Intro
01:42- Dehancer Film Emulation
02:16 – Historical Context
03:09 – Why Forgotten?
04:24 – The Firestorm
06:49 – The Aftermath
07:42 – Controversy
10:37 – Dresden’s Soul

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The same goes it’s the winners who write the history books and that’s definitely something to keep in mind when exploring Germany’s forgotten City Dresden for those of you who don’t know dresen is home to one of the most controversial events of World War II British bombers head for Dresden the

Saxony Bastion of the Nazis along the Eastern Front on the evening of February the 13th 1945 83% of the town was wiped out in a horrific Firestorm by British and American bombers an estimated 25,000 people died which are mainly all civilians a bit of debate rate is on the

Dresden bombing there are historical doubts on whether this was a legitimate attack doubts even shared by the British prime minister Winston Churchill for a little bit of context on what I’m doing earlier this year I had an existential moment I probably have a little few too many for a 20-year-old I

Thought considering the price of my journalism degree was about the same as a small apartment thanks for that Scott Morrison I thought why don’t I go travel the world and make films for a few years while I’m young so I did what any rational creature would do and booked a

One way ticket to Europe I’d heard of dresen before but not enough to make an a formed opinion so I set myself a challenge I would bike from my hostel around the city streets and Alleyways slowly unraveling one of the most controversial stories of World War too and seeing if there was anything

That this Grand City could teach Me the following video is brought to you by dehancer dehancer is a film emulation program designed to turn your footage into Nostalgia they have 63 cinematic film profiles as well as cool features like grain Hali and my personal favorite Bloom they’ve just released a new update

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Pator Franco for a 10% discount on all that products now back to the video preceded by a shower of flares German bombers reain fire and high explosive bombs in their most Savage attack on London here again is the blood of the sweat and tears that Nazi Warfare brings

To the men women and children of City town and Village civilian bombing was Common Place throughout World War II it was seen as a tactic to inflict Terror and demoralize civilians for context by 1942 British civilians had suffered in their masses from German Air Raids known as The Blitz which had killed over

40,000 people in response to an air campaign proving to be increasingly difficult the newly appointed head of the British bomber command a man nicknamed Arthur bomber Harris ordered in a new strategy known as area bombing where the RAF would bomb not just the City’s industry and infrastructure but

The civilian housing as well they soed the wind and now they are going to reap the world now when I say dresen is Germany’s forgotten City I’m referring to two things firstly when looking at World War II there are so many famous events people think of Dunkirk D-Day hoshima

And while it’s still well known the firebombing of dresen doesn’t have such a strong public knowledge and second when traveling to Germany most people think to visit Berlin for its exotic nightclubs and Munich for its famous October Fest a little light is ever shun upon Dron known as the jewel of Saxony

It was once the cultural heart of Germany there is a certain Beauty in the cracks of its overgrown buildings and a Bohemian s in the air when you walk through it especially in the city’s new town before 1945 Dresden was virtually Untouched by bombings the city was lied with centuries old architecture and

Mainly acted as a shelter for refugee chees around Germany some people even thought the city was just too beautiful to be bombed the local Nazi leader at the time was so complacent in Dresden that he made little preparation for an air attack and apart from the one major bunker that he had constructed for himself the city had very few bomb

Shelters on an unusually clear Winter’s Night hundreds of British landcasters crept across the night sky dropping aluminum foil as they went to prevent German Radars from knowing precisely where they were going at this point in the war Dresden contained no major anti-aircraft guns as they’ all been

Moved to Berlin and there was an a single German fighter that took to meet the RAF the night sky is pitted with aircraft very colored Target markers the target given by bomber command was the city’s Central Stadium the heart of residential Dron due to the conditions the Pathfinders dropped their markers

With an unwavering accuracy and in a series of two waves each 3 hours apart thousands of explosives punched holes through the city’s rooftops below followed by waves of incendies that set everything on fire the technique was perfected to create Maximum Destruction it was terrifying at first I thought it

Was the end of the war but when it didn’t stop I believed it was the end of the world dresden’s tightly packed streets and medial wooden houses were the perfect fuel for the fire and sturdy winds expanded the Flames across the city in a soul feeding Blaze the result

Was an Unstoppable Firestorm uprooting trees and lifting people into the air all I saw was Rubble Rubble Rubble burned houses and people searching for loved ones they had no belongings anymore and the dead were everywhere reports reveal that those who tried to escape the fire by running into

The reservoir were boiled alive and that those who stayed in their cellers were simply cooked by the heat it’s a horror that one can’t even begin to imagine an image straight from Dante’s Inferno the Americans arrived the next morning the bombers were aimed at the military marshalling yards in the city’s industry

But due to all the smoke in the air this unfortunately just caused further destruction it took 7 days for a team to enter the city’s one main air raid shelter but once inside they discovered a horrible sign all 1,000 people had melted all they found was BR green

Liquid and Bones dresen is known as The Raid that went horribly right 25,000 people mainly or civilians lost their lives dren today has been completely rebuilt it’s a we ju position a place so beautiful was once home to such a terrible event the old Town district has been meticulously constructed to what it

Once was and if you didn’t know what had happened here you’d be none the wiser immediately after the attack the public was shocked it wasn’t like what they hadd heard before Joseph Gobles the Nazi propaganda minister at the time decides to spin the story claiming that 200,000 civilians had died instead of

25,000 even Winston Churchill expressed doubts immediately after the attack it takes years for dresen to recover after Soviet occupation it wasn’t until 2005 that the city’s main Lutheran Church was fully refurbished the sound of church bells finally ringing after decades was a symbolic moment in the city’s history a controversial debate on the

Dresen F storm continues today historians questioned whether the destruction of German cities actually thwarted the Nazi war effort or simply caused the death of civilians some historians have noted dren’s industrial significance his factories were being used for the war effort and the central rail Hub was acting as a corridor for

German reinforcements towards the Eastern Front a common argument behind dren’s bombing was that it was in retaliation to the Nazis Blitz of British cities yet many also argue that dresen was a complete moral failing for the Allies the dreaden fire bombing occurred towards the end of the war when Nazi

Strength was dwindling and the Soviet Army was advancing from the East although it was was not known that the end of the war would only be 3 months away Victor Greg is a World War II veteran who was a prisoner of war and Dron at the time it dehumanizes everything that

Anything that you’ve experienced before I’ve been through six years of war I’d lost all but three of the 28 BLS I joined up with in 1937 uh I’ve been in every battle in the Middle East I’ve been in Italy i’ come home I’d been captured on them but

Nothing think prepared me for seeing women and children a light flying through the air I I never blame the Airmen I’ll never blame them cuz Uh they was the same as to say BLS in the Merchant Navy they’re putting their life at risk every time they went went up and they lost a lot of men 50 55,000 but uh I said and I still say and I’ve said it in print and I’ve said it on

Broadcast I’ll never forgive the people who ordered those raids we were supposed to be the good guys we was going to war to rescue Europe from the easil evil of the third right and we finished up in wor NOA I’m not I’m not going to say

We because what what annoys me is all this was done in our name Arthur Harris is one of the most controversial figures to emerge from World War II it wasn’t until 2011 that obom command received the memorial in Britain more than 65 years after the war and only then with great controversy I

Find it interesting in history how there can be multiple interpretations of the same event the story of dresen paints an interesting and relevant picture it reminds us to remember the Forgotten victims of war while also recognizing the evil that led to World War III most importantly it’s about remembering the

Thousands of people who tragically lost their lives on February the 13th today dresen is a beautiful place its City Soul still shines like a Jew and is one of my favorite spots in Europe after a long day I decided to finish off with a beer in the park my legs needed a break from all the historical barking I’d done like me

There were hundreds of people drinking beer in dren’s park quirky CAF is are LED amongst its hidden Alleyways which then turn into bars once the sky goes from Blue to Black dresen carries a heavy past blacken bricks on the city’s buildings are entrenched with a reminder

Of a terrible event yet I can see how the place has moved forward I set out to explore one of the less known corners of Europe and josen is not disappointed if you ever make your way through the capital of Saxony I’d highly suggest that you do some historical biking on an

Overcast day Dresden you truly are a for Gem