As a controversial and violent act of bombing a civilian city, the Dresden raids of 13 to 15 February 1945 persist in public memory and academic discussions as a symbol of destruction and whether strategic and/or area bombings are justified and necessary acts of modern war. The various ways in which the Dresden bombings have been remembered and commemorated has contributed a great deal towards this city’s enduring legacy. This thesis examines the wartime bombings of Dresden to investigate how the memory, commemoration and narrative of the Dresden raids have been shaped and framed in public and academic discourses since 1945. To do so, this study focuses on the city of Dresden during the phase of Allied occupation, the period of East Germany and briefly beyond reunification to demonstrate the ongoing and changing discursive legacy of this controversial event. / Graduate

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 274-285).