The Parish church of St Michael's, Coventry Catheral, stands in ruins after the terrible bombings during the Blitz in November 1940 
The magnicient rebuilt Coventry CathedralFor the second successive Sunday Annie and I went to the evening service at the magnificent Coventry Cathedral. We live 6 miles from Coventry City Centre and as relative newcomers to the area we are still finding out about our locality. When I got home this evening I decided to do a bit of research about the dreadful bombing raids of Coventry by the German Luftwaffe during the Second World War.
During the war 1236 civilians of Coventry were killed in the bombing raids. It is believed the City was bombed in direct retaliation of the Allies bombing Munich – the birthplace of the Nazi Party and Adolph Hitler swore revenge on Britain. Coventry was the City that felt the wrath of the evil German leader. It is when reading stories like this about the suffering of innocent people like those in Coventry between 1939 and 1945 that the futility of war really hits home.
I am not a pacifist and sadly there are evil people in the world like Hitler and conflict is probably inevitable with people like that. I believe we should exhaust every last ounce of diplomacy and talking before resorting to a declaration of war to resolve differences. The website links below explain more about the almost total destruction of Coventry Cathedral and its magnificent rebuilding. The links also describe the wider story of the bombings in and around the City of Coventry.
During the war 1236 civilians of Coventry were killed in the bombing raids. It is believed the City was bombed in direct retaliation of the Allies bombing Munich – the birthplace of the Nazi Party and Adolph Hitler swore revenge on Britain. Coventry was the City that felt the wrath of the evil German leader. It is when reading stories like this about the suffering of innocent people like those in Coventry between 1939 and 1945 that the futility of war really hits home.
I am not a pacifist and sadly there are evil people in the world like Hitler and conflict is probably inevitable with people like that. I believe we should exhaust every last ounce of diplomacy and talking before resorting to a declaration of war to resolve differences. The website links below explain more about the almost total destruction of Coventry Cathedral and its magnificent rebuilding. The links also describe the wider story of the bombings in and around the City of Coventry.
http://www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/History.html
http://www.cwn.org.uk/heritage/blitz/
This stuff is very humbling
6 comments:
Coincidentally I am rereading Shirer's "Rise & Fall of the Third Reich" - a must read for everyone. I read it every 15 years or so to remind myself of the dangers of hyper-nationalism (and other evils of course). Despite my horror for war I am inexplicably fascinated by it. One day I plan to tour the most memorable WW2 sites in Europe.
Thanks for the tip John - I must get that book! - Feel free to look us up when you get to England - we can enjoy a pint of English Beer and reminisce about the glorious1960's, The Eagles (of ocurse), The Beatles and so it goes on .... :-)
Visiting England (mostly London and - my Mecca - Liverpool) in 2001 & 2002 was a thrill of a lifetime for me. (I still fantasize about having a second home in London.) One of the highlights of my London sightseeing was visiting the Cabinet War Rooms.
Thanks for that John and although I am obviously biased I believe London is the best City in the world. I still get a real buzz when I visit our famous capital - the novelty just never wears off.
I have not visited the Cabinet War Rooms but I will make a point of going now you have mentioned it!
Great website and blog, Trevor. I clicked your name on TomPeters! to see who you are. It's nice to meet you.
Great to ‘meet’ you too Mike - where are you based?
Through modern communication techniques I just love the way the world is becoming as small as the village I was born and raised in.... I hope we can keep in touch.
Do you visit TP Blog regularly?
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