19/02/05

Noted for its beauty, it was a city of culture. With little or no defence, it was also a sitting target. It was obliterated, 1,500 aircraft pounding it for 12 hours.

The saddest part of the pattern bombing of German cities that culminated in the destruction of Dresden was that it took place when it was obvious who the winner of the war would be, and in no way hastened the end.

Bomber Command always held the moral high ground over the Luftwaffe but lost it by concentrating attacks on the civilian population at such a late stage. - Douglas Punchard, Kirkbymoorside.

DRESDEN was a military target. When it was bombed, the only aim was the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany.

If we remember Dresden then we should not forget the destruction of Warsaw and Stalingrad - the list is endless.

Like Winston Churchill, Arthur (Bomber) Harris was the right man at the right time.

Bomber Command was the only means after Dunkirk to take the war to Germany.

There has been no medal struck for the men of Bomber Command: 56,000 of them gave their lives for us. We must never forget this. - S Shields, Secretary, Bomber Command Association, No 3 North-East Branch, Saltburn.

THERE are still people who condemn the bombing of Dresden.

Do they not realise that in all-out war you destroy your enemy or your enemy destroys you?

At that time, London was under attack from German rockets and flying bombs. Neither carried bomb aimers (as the Allied bombers did) so the explosions occurred in shopping centres, hospitals, schools etc.

The number of civilians killed in Dresden has been compared to the six million the Germans murdered in concentration camps. But if Hitler had won the war there would have been millions more murdered.

The RAF blew up the laboratories where, with heavy water, the Germans might have produced an atom bomb. Any guesses where Hitler would have dropped that? London.

Sitting in the rear turret of a Lancaster bomber returning from a night raid on Berlin, nine hours 25 minutes in freezing cold wearing oxygen masks, I saw the fires in Dresden. What were my thoughts? I recalled the bombing of Marsh Road in Middlesbrough, the wounded taken to the first aid post at the corner of Cannon Street/Lord Street and the bodies and parts of bodies being taken up to the North Riding Infirmary in Newport Road and the dead lying around after Middlesbrough railway station was blown up. And I wished more and more German cities were burning. - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.

NEO-Nazis see the bombing of Dresden as a war crime, even daring to call it an act of genocide.

This is the height of hypocrisy, for while the estimated death of 35,000 people at Dresden is tragic, it is nothing compared to the 11 million men, women and children murdered in the concentration camps, nor with the additional 44 million from all nations, races, cultures, creeds and colours, who lost their lives fighting Nazi Germany.

Nazism purposely started a war to enslave other nations, with the ultimate goal bringing about the racial genocide of billions of people worldwide, simply because they were not of Germanic descent. In relation to Britain, that would have meant the mass murder of anyone of Irish, Scottish or Welsh descent, something for those who support the NF and BNP to think about. - CT Riley, Spennymoor.

HUNTING

I WISH to support A Parkin (HAS, Feb 17) who condemns hare coursing and the Waterloo Cup.

There may be arguments in favour of foxhunting as the only means of fox control, but there can be no arguments in favour of hare coursing.

To capture an innocent hare, whose numbers are declining in the countryside, transport it many miles, and let it free to be chased and often killed by greyhounds (solely to "test" the dogs), is revolting. Those hares which escape are free in an alien environment, far from their original territory.

Would we tolerate it if feral cats were treated like this? Of course not, so why did we ever tolerate hare coursing? - Eric Gendle, Nunthorpe.

I WRITE this on St Valentine's Day when expressions of love and goodwill make our society a better place in which to live.

Not so for the people who gather to watch the Waterloo Cup, brought forward to escape the ban on hare coursing.

Foxhunting is bad enough, but hare coursing is beyond the pale. The greyhounds have been trained to kill these defenceless creatures and know nothing else.

If this is how thousands of blood-thirsty so-called 'human beings' derive their pleasure then we should pity them too.

The Countryside Alliance sees wild creatures as their playthings to be ill-treated and then killed for pleasure.

The miners felt the full force of the law in 1984 so let's hope the law is equally enforced in 2005 and beyond. - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE

I AM writing to complain about this week's University Challenge between Durham and Balliol College, Oxford.

When the scores were Oxford 60, Durham 65, Oxford buzzed and answered "Canterbury" followed by a hesitation and then another of their team saying "Cantering". Quizmaster Jeremy Paxman said he would accept "Cantering" as the correct answer.

Later, the Oxford captain answered "Republic" to the starter question, hesitated, and then said "Commonwealth" which Mr Paxman accepted.

He normally accepts only the first answer, which was obviously incorrect.

The scores were so close that if either of these answers had been disallowed, Durham would have won. Baliol were declared winners and they clearly cheated.

I videoed this programme and have rewound the relevant questions several times. There should at least be a rematch or, more fairly, Durham should be declared the winners. - JM Armstrong, Darlington.

IRAQ

IN some places in Iraq, turnout in the elections was 72 per cent. This shows that there is tremendous interest by the people in the wellbeing of their country and in their first elections in 50 years.

Some sceptics have said that Iraq is not yet ready for democracy. This is rubbish. Democracy means equality and, most of all, freedom. It allows people to express their wishes through the ballot box. It is immaterial which constitution it is based upon - a constitution can easily be amended to suit any country's need.

Some sceptics also say that the elected government will be a puppet for the West. Again rubbish.

Iraq is one of the largest suppliers of oil in the world and the elections will be the first stage of a regeneration of a prosperous country. Hospitals, schools and business can be again restored with help from the West and it just may be that the thousands of people who have died over the past few years may not have died in vain. - Bernard McCormick, Newton Aycliffe.

* Sport Hear All Sides: See Page 25