March 22, 1945
On March 22, 1945, Hildesheim was the key target of the Allied Bomber Command. British and Canadian bomber aircraft were ordered 'to destroy built up area with associated industries and railway facilities.' At 2 p.m. about 250 bomber aircraft started the attack. In the following 15 minutes, they dropped a total of 438.8 tons of high explosive and 624 tons of incendiary bombs. Almost 74% of the buildings in Hildesheim were destroyed or damaged during the attack, including nearly the entire historical city centre. 26.8% of the houses remained undamaged. The Cathedral and Saint Michael's Church were completely destroyed. The centre, which had retained its medieval character until then, was almost levelled. Although the famous historic center had little military significance, two months before the end of the war in Europe it was chosen to be destroyed in order to shatter the will to defend as part of the area bombing directive.
About 1,500 civilians were killed in the attacks in March, of which about 500 could not be identified.
Read more about this topic: Bombing Of Hildesheim In World War II
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