Professor claims Auschwitz SHOULD have been bombed to prevent further massacres

A Professor of Jewish Studies has claimed that the Allied forces should have gone ahead with plans to bomb Auschwitz during World War II, as a symbol of moral outrage.

Speaking in the BBC Two documentary 1944: Should we Bomb Auschwitz? Professor Michael Berenbaum of The American Jewish University in LA, said that a strike should have gone ahead despite the inevitable death toll, arguing: ‘Moral protest in the wake of genocide is much better than nothing. Much, much better than nothing.’

There were various attempts by Allied commanders and politicians to bring the plan to fruition throughout the war, but it was ultimately rejected on the grounds that British planes would not be able accurately bomb the gas chambers and railway lines.

Winston Churchill initially supported the idea, but later agreed that a precision strike had a high chance of failure, and also objected to the high death toll of innocent prisoners.

However, Professor Berenbaum said: ‘All the excuses for not bombing Auschwitz omit the most compelling reason for not bombing Auschwitz. It would have been recognition of what was happening there was totally evil and unacceptable to the world itself.’

More than 55,000 Hungarian Jews were deported to Auschwitz in 1944 and were systematically gassed and cremated in the concentration camp

Allied Forces debated bombing Auschwitz but faced a moral dilemma about whether they should kill innocent people in a bid to prevent further genocide

Professor Michael Berenbaum, co-editor of the Bombing of Auschwitz, labels a moral dilemma that he believes should have been addressed more actively, because ‘protest in the wake of genocide is much better than nothing’

Some Holocaust survivors admitted in the documentary, that they’d hoped ‘every day’ for the concentration camp to be bombed – even if they were killed in the process.

Zigi Shipper, who was sent to Auschwitz, said: ‘We didn’t care. We were hoping they should bomb that place.’

Max Eisen, who was deported to the camp in 1944, recalled a moment when Allied Forces accidentally dropped 200 bombs on the camp in an attempt to destroy a nearby factory.

‘I said “My god, finally they arrived”. I said “keep bombing the hell out of this place no matter what happens”,’ he recalled.

Viewers watching the documentary found it a difficult and ‘compelling’ watch, adding it was ‘unbelievable that this happened within living memory’.

WHY WAS THE BOMBING OF AUSCHWITZ CONSIDERED?

Following the release of the Wetzler-Vrba report in 1944, where two escaped prisoners documented the horrors they’d witness first-hand in Auschwitz, there was outrage among Allied commanders and politicians.

Before the Wetzler-Vrba protocol was released, however, Polish Army Captain Witold Pilecki, who escaped in April 1943 after voluntarily spending 945 days in Auschwitz, had already shared the horrors happening in the camp.

Witold had been sending messages to Polish officials with his own recommendations that Auschwitz should be bombed, but they went ignored.

Had his accounts of the atrocities of Auschwitz been acted upon by Allied high command, it’s no exaggeration to say that he might have single-handedly changed the course of the Second World War.

The head of RAF bomber command Richard Peirse was intrigued by the suggestion that Auschwitz should be bombed, and sent a similar request to Charles Portal, the Chief of the Air Staff, in 1941, saying that while the mission was possible, it required ministerial approval.

Peirse made no mention of the prisoners’ plight and Portal declined the plan.

It was a missed opportunity for the British to make a political declaration against Nazi atrocities and prevent further genocide.

By December 1942 Allied Forces were fully aware of the mass executions happening in Poland. British Intelligence had intercepted and decoded radio messages, which included daily prisoner returns and death tolls.

Another attempt in 1944 to bring the bombing plan to fruition after the protocol was released, with Slovak Rabbi Weissmandl sending it to everyone he could think of around the world.

The protocol reached the War Refugee Board which was the only body that specifically had the task of rescuing Jews.

It was at the same time that 55,000 Hungarian Jews has been rounded up and deported to Auschwitz, with an average of around 5,000 being executed a day between March and July that year.

Supporters of the bombing urged vital sections of the railways be decimated and the gas chamber, recognisable by the chimneys, be annihilated and save further lives.

The moral dilemma arose because the Allied Forces were not sure they wanted to sacrifice innocent prisoners and if the loss of life would be worth it.

Director of the board John W. Pehle wanted to push ahead with the bombing but was opposed by Jewish leaders, and his efforts with US officials were met with rejection.

Pehle was told to supress his request for bombing by US Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy, with worry of the reaction from the Germans that could harm their war efforts.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill believed that the chances of success were limited, given that military commanders said that the target was beyond the ‘maximum range of medium bombardment, dive bombers and fighter bombers located in United Kingdom, France or Italy.

Military commanders said a precision strike had almost no chance of success, citing ‘technical issues’ as a reason not to go ahead, although no study was commissioned to back this up.

The inaction from the Allied Forces and the failure to bomb, according to Professor Michael Berenbaum, was seen by many in the years following ‘as a symbol of indifference’.

‘Inaction helped the Germans achieve their goals and left the victims with little power to defend themselves. The Allies did not even offer bombing as a gesture of protest.’

Viewers watching the documentary said they couldn’t believe the atrocity had happened in living memory

Auschwitz survivor Zigi Shipper (left) is featured in the BBC Two documentary where he recalls hoping the Allied Forces would bomb the camp. Survivor Max Eisen witnessed the Allied Forces accidentally drop bombs on Auschwitz and said he was glad that they had finally arrived

The Allied forces grappled with the proposed plan from as early as 1940, but there were fears the Germans would use it as a propaganda opportunity against them, in addition to grave concerns over loss of life.

‘There was a genuine debate that went on. There were very good people who were directed by the Holocaust who had lost members of their family, who weren’t sure the bombing was a good thing,’ Professor Deborah Lipstadt the co-editor of the Bombing of Auschwitz said.

The debate began after a protocol was drafted by two Auschwitz prisoners, Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler, who had cut through the fence and escaped in April 1944.

Their harrowing first-hand account was compiled into the Wetzler-Vrba report, in which they warned that the Germans were preparing the extermination of Hungarian Jews.

Professor Deborah Lipstadt explained that a genuine debate went on over the proposed plan to bomb Auschwitz: ‘There were very good people who were directed by the Holocaust who had lost members of their family, who weren’t sure the bombing was a good thing’

The Holocaust saw the persecution of six million Jews, millions of gypsies, Russians and prisoners of war in Hitler’s death camps between 1941 and 1945

The BBC Two documentary 1944: Should we Bomb Auschwitz? retells the moment of the escape of two prisoners Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler

But for months their account was largely ignored, and the gassing continued unimpeded.

‘For a lot of people it was the protocol that changed their mind, this mass killing, the only way to take out the instrument was to bomb the camp,’ Lipstadt added.

But despite initial support from Prime Minister Winston Churchill, he did not see bombing as a solution, saying that a precision bombing by from the air was impossible, and that many innocent prisoners would be killed.

The British Air Ministry was also asked to examine the feasibility of being able to accurately bomb the camp, and decided not to for ‘operational reasons’, with General Carl Spaatz there was no advantage to the victims in destroying the camp.

Their harrowing first-hand account about how Nazis were systematically killing Jews was compiled into the Wetzler-Vrba report

They warned that the Germans were preparing extermination for Hungarian Jews, but for months their account was largely ignored, and the gassing continued unimpeded

John W. Pehle, the director of the War Refugee Board (above in the documentary), was horrified by the details shared in the Wetzler-Vrba report and supported the bombing of Auschwitz

THE AUSCHWITZ BOMBING DEBATE 1940-1944

1940-1943: Polish Army Captain Witold Pilecki voluntarily went into Auschwitz for 945 days before escaping in April 1943. His report was the first comprehensive record of a Holocaust death camp. He had been sending messages to Polish officials suggesting the bombing of the camp.

JANUARY 1941: The head of Bomber command Richard Peirse sent a similar request to Charles Portal, the Chief of the Air Staff, saying that while the mission was possible, it required ministerial approval. Peirse made no mention of the prisoners’ plight.

Portal declined the plan, in turn spurning an opportunity for the British to make a political declaration against Nazi atrocities and prevent further genocide.

1942-1943: Allied Forces were aware of the mass executions happening at the death camps in Poland. British Intelligence had intercepted and decoded radio messages which included daily prisoner returns and death tolls.

APRIL 1944: Two Jewish prisoners, Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler, escaped Auschwitz and wrote a first-hand account about how Nazis were systematically killing Jews, compiled into the Wetzler-Vrba report.

MAY 1944: First proposal to bomb Auschwitz was made by a Slovak rabbi, Weissmandl. A junior official on the War Refugee Board Benjamin Akzin made a similar recommendation, along with his director John W. Pehle, they wanted to push ahead with the bombing but were opposed by Jewish leaders.

JUNE 1944: Pehle was told to supress his request for bombing by US Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy.

JULY 1944: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said he did not see bombing as a solution. Military commanders said a precision strike had almost no chance of success, citing ‘technical issues’ as a reason not to go ahead.

AUGUST 1944: The US Army Air Forces eventually carried out a bombing operation but against a factory adjacent to the camp. Despite perfect weather conditions, 315 prisoners were killed, 525 seriously harmed, and 900 lightly wounded.

NOVEMBER 1944: Pehle leaked the Wetzler-Vrba protocol to the media following refusal to bomb Auschwitz. On the day it was released the Nazis destroy the gas chambers in an attempt to hide the evidence.

JANUARY 27 1945: Auschwitz was liberated by the Soviet Red Army. A day now commemorated as International Holocaust Memorial Day, of which was the 75th anniversary in 2019.

Because of the protocol the Jewish leaders now knew the fate of the deportees, they didn’t want to turn it into a Jewish war because the future of the world was at stake.

John W. Pehle, the director of the War Refugee Board, was horrified by the details shared in the Wetzler-Vrba report, and met with the Jewish Labour Committee and the head of the Rescue Department of the World Jewish Congress A. Leon Kubowitzki.

He was torn but ultimately wanted to push for the bombing in a bid to stop further genocide.

But Pehle couldn’t force the war board to act and so instead he leaked the protocol in November 1944 to the press with a letter – it sent shockwaves around the world.

‘We did too little and we did too late,’ Pehle said.

The day the protocol was released the Nazis destroyed the gas chambers in an attempt to hide the evidence – but it didn’t work.

An aerial view of Auschwitz showed that the armed forces would need precision to bomb the gas chambers, something their planes couldn’t achieve

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill chose not to bomb Auschwitz saying it wasn’t a solution, and it’s believed that the plan wasn’t taken to President Roosevelt (right) as Allied Forces instead prepared to

WHAT WAS THE AUSCHWITZ CONCENTRATION CAMP?

Auschwitz was a concentration and extermination camp used by the Nazis during World War Two.

The camp, which is located in Poland, was made up of three main sites. Auschwitz I, the original concentration camp, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, a combined concentration/extermination camp and Auschwitz III–Monowitz, a labour camp, with a further 45 satellite sites.

Birkenau became a major part of the Nazis’ ‘Final Solution’, whereby they sought to rid Europe of Jews.

An estimated 1.3 million people were sent to the camp, of whom at least 1.1 million died – around 90 percent of which were Jews.

Since 1947, it has operated as Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, which in 1979 was named a World Heritage Site by Unesco.

Auschwitz was an extermination camp used by the Nazis in Poland to murder more than 1.1 million Jews

Since 1947, it has operated as Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, which in 1979 was named a World Heritage Site by Unesco

Two months later, on January 27 1945, Auschwitz was liberated by the Soviet Red Army. They were moved and shaken by what they saw, seen something horrific beyond belief.

Many wish the Allied Forces had pushed to bomb as a statement that they wouldn’t stand for the mass execution of innocent people.

‘I would advocate bombing as a statement of moral outrage, but do I think it would have solved the problem? No. And I think the critics who say it would have, haven’t read the history well.

‘But moral protest in the wake of genocide is much better than nothing. Much, much better than nothing,’ Prof Berenbaum concluded.

Prof Lipstadt added: ‘I think it’s important to those who have been subjected to genocide for the world to say, “we do give a damn” because you don’t know when it is going to happen next.’

1944: Should we Bomb Auschwitz? is available to watch on BBC iPlayer