Classic Debate: The Allied bombing of German cities in World War II was unjustifiable

Intelligence Squared

News, Society & Culture, Arts, News Commentary

4.2 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 16 August 2025

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

No one doubts the bravery of the thousands of men who flew and died in Bomber Command. The death rate was an appalling 44%. And yet until the opening of a monument in Green Park in 2012 they had received no official recognition, with many historians claiming that the offensive was immoral and unjustified. How can it be right, they argue, for the Allies to have deliberately targeted German cities causing the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians? Even on a strategic level the offensive failed to bring about the collapse of civilian morale that was its intention. Others, however, maintain that the attacks made a decisive contribution to the Allied victory. Vast numbers of German soldiers and planes were diverted from the eastern and western fronts, while Allied bombing attacks virtually destroyed the German air force, clearing the way for the invasion of the continent. Arguing for the motion were AC Grayling, philosopher and author of 'Among the Dead Cities: Is the Targeting of Civilians in War Ever Justified?'; and Richard Overy, Professor of history at Exeter University who has published extensively on World War II and air power in the 20th century. Arguing against them were Antony Beevor, award-winning historian and author of the No. 1 international bestseller 'The Second World War'; and Patrick Bishop, historian and author of 'Bomber Boys'. The debate was chaired by Jeremy O'Grady, Editor-in-chief of The Week magazine and co-founder of Intelligence Squared. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Your trading strategy is how you interact with the markets.
0:03.0	So why let a rigid trading interface limit your potential?
0:07.0	Cracken Pro is more than just flexible.
0:09.0	It's an extension of your trading strategy.
0:11.0	Drag, drop, resize and expand every pixel.
0:15.0	Start with preset layouts, then move modules and widgets wherever you want them.
0:19.0	Pro is designed for you, buy you. Head to pro.crakken.com and trade without tradeoffs. Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Ah, Benny's parents, thanks for coming. Ayah. So, Benny has really blossomed this term. You're telling me, he outgrew his bike. We sold it, on eBay. Oh, that's not quite what I meant. It's free to sell on there. Free to sell? Easy too. Sold Benny's bike, your guitar, my jacket. You sold my guitar? Shall we talk about Benny? When it's this easy to sell for free, you can't help but say you on it's eBay.
0:56.8	Things people love. T's and Cs apply, exclusive vehicles.
1:00.3	Welcome to Intelligence Squared, where great minds meet.
1:04.0	Today we're bringing you a classic debate from 2012.
1:07.9	The role of bomber command in World War II is highly contentious, but was the offensive on
1:13.1	German cities a moral and unjustified, or was it a decisive contribution to the Allied
1:18.2	victory?
1:20.3	Intelligence Squared brought together three of Britain's most distinguished World War II historians
1:24.7	and one of our best-known moral philosophers to debate this very question.
1:28.3	Arguing in favour of the motion, the Allied bombing of German cities in World War II was unjustifiable,
1:34.3	were philosopher A.C. Grayling and history professor Richard O'Vry. Opposing them were historians Anthony Beaver and Patrick Bishop.
1:42.3	The debate was chaired by Editor-in-Chchief of the week magazine, Jeremy O'Grady.
1:47.6	Now let's join Jeremy with more.
1:50.6	Welcome, ladies and gentlemen.
1:52.9	It's so nice to see so many of you here today.
1:56.9	And I think tonight is all going to be about the intersection of moral principle and historical fact,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Intelligence Squared, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Intelligence Squared and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.