OPERATION GOMORRHA: The Blitz on Hamburg

Product Details

• UPC: 5034504717077
• Director: Various
• Genre: Documentary, War, History
• Number of discs: 1
• Label: Pegasus Entertainment
• Release date: 2005

Overview

Operation Gomorrah: The Blitz on Hamburg delves into the devastating aerial bombing campaign that took place during the summer of 1943, which left the once prosperous city of Hamburg in ruins. As Allied bombers relentlessly attacked the city, terrified citizens sought shelter in cellars and purpose-built bomb shelters, hoping to survive the onslaught. The aftermath of the bombings revealed a city engulfed in flames, in what would later be known as the Hamburg Firestorm.

With the level of destruction so immense that the city's culture and infrastructure were completely destroyed, Hamburg was never to recover to its former glory. The scars of the bombings still remain to this day, serving as a chilling reminder of the devastation caused by the war. This DVD features genuine wartime imagery, slideshows, and interviews with survivors, offering a compelling and thought-provoking examination of this tragic event in history.

Product Specifications

• Format: DVD
• Region: PAL All Regions
• Screen Format: 4:3
• Sound: Stereo
• Language: English
• Main feature length: Approximately 55 minutes
• Extras: 6 scene selections, slideshow, also available feature

Scene Selection

1. Allied Armies Withdraw from France
2. The Air Raids Increase
3. Survivors of the Firestorm
4. Targeting German Communications
5. Hamburg in State of Shock
6. Power Given Back to the People

Interesting Facts

• Operation Gomorrah was a series of air raids carried out by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) between July 24 and August 3, 1943.
• The bombings created a firestorm that reached temperatures of up to 1,500 °C (2,732 °F), killing an estimated 40,000 people and destroying over 8 square miles of the city.
• The devastation caused by Operation Gomorrah was one of the key factors in the decision to carry out the subsequent bombing of Dresden.

From Backside:

The aerial bombing in the summer of 1943 devastated the people, port and buildings of Hamburg, reducing a once prosperous city to nothing more than a pile of ashes. Whilst Allied bombers pounded the city, the terrified citizens took cover in cellars and purpose-built bomb shelters, in hopes of enduring the raids. Survivors emerged to find their city engulfed in flames, in what was to become known as the Hamburg Firestorm. With the level of destruction; culture and architecture being completely destroyed, the city was never to recover to its former glory. Such was the nature of the onslaught that scars of the aftermath of the bombings still remain to this day.