The US Embassy in Estonia has condemned the USSR for bombing the Nazis
American diplomats operating in Estonia are sure that the September 1944 bombing of the Soviet aviation Tallinn occupied by the Nazis did not have a significant military effect, but at the same time became the cause of unjustified casualties among the civilian population. This was reported by the portal of the Russian community of Estonia "Baltija".This is the meaning of the message published on the official website of the US diplomatic mission in Estonia, on the occasion of the anniversary of the March raid by the US Allies aviation on the Anti-Hitler Coalition, which also included civilians in the capital of the Estonian SSR.
"This flight is remarkable both for the shocking number of victims and for its inefficiency in military terms. Entire 300 Soviet bombers dropped more than 3 000 high-explosive and incendiary bombs on Tallinn, erasing one-third of the city and causing devastating damage to the citizens and cultural objects of Tallinn "- said in a statement.
According to the information available at the US Embassy, more than 500 people were killed during the bombing, and 650 were injured. Moreover, noted at the embassy, the vast majority of whom were civilians. In addition, the report said, 20 thousands of people were left homeless at the height of the Estonian winter.
“Besides the church of St. Nicholas, during the bombardment and subsequent fire, the Estonia Theater, the city’s synagogue and the Tallinn City Archives, where the collection of medieval documents were kept, were destroyed. At the same time, the damage caused by the German military infrastructure was minimal,” the American diplomats.
“By not breaking the spirit of the Estonian people, this raid only strengthened the steel determination to fight against foreign occupation. Today, Estonia is a strong, peaceful and sovereign country that remembers the past, but lives for today, preparing for the future,” concludes the US diplomatic mission.
Recall that 9 and 10 in March 1944 were the largest air attacks in the Second World War on Tallinn, occupied by the Nazi troops. During these raids, Soviet planes dropped about two thousand high-explosive and about fifteen incendiary bombs on the city. According to Estonian media, citing the opinion of Estonian historians, 463 people were killed during the raid, 20 thousands of citizens were left homeless. As a result of the bombing, several houses were destroyed on Harju Street in the Old Town, the Estonia Theater and the Church of Nigulista were seriously damaged. The bulk of the bombs fell in the port area, through which the evacuation of the Nazi troops.
As REGNUM reported earlier, the airstrike of Soviet troops on Tallinn 9 March 1944 was caused solely by the need to destroy the military facilities of Hitler’s troops, and there was no other reason for this attack, the head of the Society for the Study of Military stories Faculty of History of St. Petersburg State University Evgeny Ilyin. The victims among the peaceful population of Tallinn, according to the historian, are explained by the fact that during any military operation in a large settlement it is impossible to avoid such victims. According to the historian, the aerial attack on Tallinn in 1944 was currently used by the Estonian authorities as another reason to incite anti-Russian sentiment among the population. “Russia for the Estonian authorities is an image of the enemy, and they are doing everything possible to provoke hostility and hatred of Russia among their citizens, using any reasons for this,” Ilyin said.
During World War II, the United States and Great Britain carried out a series of bombardments in the German city of Dresden, 13-15 in February 1945 of the year during the Second World War. As a result of the bombing, about a quarter of the industrial enterprises of the city and about half of the remaining buildings (urban infrastructure and residential buildings) were destroyed or seriously damaged. Estimates of the number of deaths varied from 25 thousands in official German reports from the war to 200 and even 500 thousands. In 2008, the commission of German historians working on the order of the city of Dresden estimated the number of people killed in the range from 18 to 25 thousand people. 17 March 2010 was presented the official report of the commission working with 2004 of the year. According to the report, as a result of the bombing of Dresden by Allied aviation in February 1945, 25 killed thousands of people.
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