On September 1, 1939 - the first day of World War II in Europe - President Franklin D. Roosevelt appealed to the warring nations to "under no circumstances undertake the bombardment from the air of civilian populations."

On September 1, 1939 - the first day of World War II in Europe - President Franklin D. Roosevelt appealed to the warring nations to "under no circumstances undertake the bombardment from the air of civilian populations." Just six years later, British and American Allied forces had carried out a bombing campaign of unprecedented might over Germany's cities, claiming the lives of nearly half a million civilians.
Between 1941 and 1945, Allied forces would drop more than a million tons of bombs on Germany. Britains Royal Air Force raided Germanys cities at night, having little control over where the attacks would strike. Then, during the day, Americans used precision targeting to drop explosives on strategic military targets. In this joint offensive, the British aimed to destroy the Germans will to fight, while the Americans attempted to diminish Germanys ability to fight. But over time, the strategies began to converge, and the Americans contributed to the destruction of cities and life. Some 500,000 German civilians were killed, and another 800,000 injured.
From International Emmy Award and Peabody Award-winning producer Zvi Dor-Ner ("Israel's Next War", "House of Saud") comes "The Bombing of Germany", a film that examines the defining moments of the offensive that led the U.S. across a moral divide. Weaving interviews with WWII pilots and historians with stunning archival footage of the bombing and its aftermath, this AMERICAN EXPERIENCE film is a haunting reminder of the dilemma imposed by war's civilian casualties.

Written, Produced & Directed by Zvi Dor-Ner ; A WGBH Production in Association with Spiegel TV