What did Kurt Vonnegut do after the fire bombing of Dresden?
When he was an American prisoner of war in Nazi Germany, Kurt Vonnegut famously survived the 1945 aerial bombing of Dresden by hiding in the meat locker of a slaughterhouse—a harrowing experience that closely informed the plot of his masterful 1969 novel, Slaughterhouse-Five.
What is Dresden in Slaughterhouse-Five?
Until Slaughterhouse-Five was published. The American and British bombing of Dresden, Germany, which began February 13, 1945, was once viewed as an historical footnote to a much-wider story. He had witnessed the bombing as an American POW, and survived by taking shelter in a meat locker in the historic German city.
What was Dresden known for?
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony (Freistaat Sachsen) in eastern Germany. But it is perhaps best known for the massive firebombing that destroyed most of the city and killed at least 25,000 people in the last months of World War II.
How does Vonnegut describe Dresden?
Vonnegut, a Midwesterner, had never seen any city as beautiful as Dresden. Vonnegut described the scene afterward as resembling “the surface of the moon.” There were so many corpses, he wrote, that German soldiers gave up burying them and simply burned them on the spot with flame-throwers.
What similes metaphors does Billy use to describe Dresden and the bombing?
This simile is comparing Dresden to the moon, barren and empty. The moon contains no human life and is “nothing but minerals” as Vonnegut describes, meaning that it is uninhabitable, just like Dresden is now, which shows how destructive the bombing of Dresden is.
Why is the bombing of Dresden ironic?
The tragic irony of the raid on Dresden, a medieval city renowned for its rich artistic and architectural treasures, is that during the war it had never been a site of war-production or major industry. More than 3,400 tons of explosives were dropped on the city by 800 American and British aircraft.
Why is Howard Campbell Jr in Dresden?
Howard W. Campbell, Jr., the American Nazi propagandist, speaks to the weary, malnourished prisoners at the slaughterhouse. He solicits them to join his Free American Corps to fight on the Russian front, promising food and repatriation after the war.
How is Dresden described?
Dresden is the traditional capital of Saxony and the third largest city in eastern Germany after Berlin and Leipzig. It lies in the broad basin of the Elbe River between Meissen and Pirna, 19 miles (30 km) north of the Czech border and 100 miles (160 km) south of Berlin.