Stuttgart was an important industrial centre in southern Germany and was repeatedly selected as a major target by Allied bomber forces.
Major raids took place on:
5 May 1942
7 May 1942
23 November 1942
12 March 1943
15 April 1943
21 February 1944
2 March 1944
15/16 March 1944
25/26 July 1944
29 July 1944
13 September 1944
20 October 1944
The most severe raid took place on 15–16 March 1944, when 813 RAF bombers dropped about 2,600 tons of bombs. Around 700 people were killed.
In July 1944, three major raids devastated much of the city centre and left around 100,000 people homeless.
Notice in an air-raid shelter: “Quiet! Sit down immediately! No smoking.”
A total of 53 air raids on Stuttgart killed 4,477 people according to the figures cited here. The city’s location in a valley intensified fire and smoke in some districts, and many people were unable to reach shelters or tunnels in time. Nearly 900 victims were burned or died from smoke and toxic gases.
4,500 dead
