Hamburg raids stun Germany

29th July 1943: The unprecedented scale of the destruction, thousands of dead and hundreds of thousands made homeless shocks even the Nazis

The destruction across Hamburg was complete and widespread.

It is now estimated that total civilian fatalities for the July- August raids that comprised Operation Gomorrah were around 37,000.

The raids on Hamburg were not yet over. Further USAAF daylight raids and RAF nighttime raids were to come but they would not be as devastating as the firestorm raid of 27th-28th July. Nevertheless, the leading Nazis immediately realised that they were facing an unprecedented situation.

A wave of terror radiated from the suffering city and spread throughout Germany. Appalling details of the great fires were recounted and their glow could be seen for days from a distance of 120 miles. A stream of haggard, terrified refugees flowed into the neighbouring provinces.