A comparison of the key issues raised in Hansen's account (Fire and Fury: The Allied Bombing of Germany, 1942-45) with those of Goebbels (diary) on the same subject follows:
Hansen: "It cannot be proved that bombing prevented the increase in arms production from being considerably greater than it was."
Goebbels: "The damage to our armaments potential is quite beyond repair"; "we are bombed day and night and damage to our ... armaments potential is very severe"; and "our armaments potential ... (is) being battered to such an extent that we shall be standing in a void."
Hansen: Destruction of cities "may have helped the war effort by releasing workers from non-essential occupations to work in the armaments industry."
Goebbels: "... bombed cities undergo pretty bad dislocation of public life as a result of which workers often stay away from their workbenches for weeks ... This explains the large production deficits we record"; "Destruction in the munitions industry can be more easily repaired than is the case with the disorganization in cities"; "the population ... is sunk in lethargy and looks upon events of the war with the greatest apathy. This is primarily due to months of uninterrupted enemy air bombing"; "Once again a major attack descended upon the Reich capital. One of the main targets was large munitions plants. The situation has become even more alarming in that one industrial plant after another has been set on fire."
Hansen: "The effects of these (British) raids on production (in the Ruhr) were minimal."
Goebbels: "... another exceedingly heavy (British) raid on Essen. This time Krupp has been hard hit"; "the night raid of the English on Dortmund has been extraordinarily heavy ... with industrial and munitions plants (having) been hit."
Hansen: "After two years, the effects of the (British) bomber dream was obvious to everyone but Harris himself."
Goebbels: "The Berlin munitions industry is still in bad shape. Alkett [which produced almost half of Germany's field pieces and was hit during a British raid] is almost completely destroyed"; "it is necessary that we overcome England's nerve-wracking air superiority"; "I cannot understand how the English can do so much damage."
Hansen: "They (the Americans) wanted to avoid hitting towns if they could"; "... the U.S. will not at any time direct (its) efforts towards area bombing."
Goebbels: "... frightful damage wrought daily by the American Air Force on unfortified and undefended German towns"; "The Americans over fly German territory almost unrestricted and are destroying one town after another"; "The Americans carried out heavy area bombing of (Berlin) causing fearful devastation. In extent, this raid was at least as heavy as the last terror raid."
Hansen: "Despite the failure of area bombing to deliver results ... it was clear, and increasingly so, that area bombing was not delivering results"; "... area bombing was a moral and strategic failure."
Goebbels: "... for in the last analysis all our setbacks are due to failure of the Luftwaffe to stop allied air attacks"; "Our entire military predicament is due to enemy air superiority"; "The reason for our military decay is to be found in the air terror."
more:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...g=content;col1
Esprit de Corps Sept, 2010 by Michael Jarvis