 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
This complete destruction was due partly to the English and partly to the Russians, and it seemed to me monstrous. Contemplation of the less accountable razing of Dresden by my own countrymen sickened me. I felt that when the Germans were obviously about to surrender that was enough, and that to destroy not only 135,000 Germans but also all their houses and countless treasures was barbarous.
Source： The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell, v.3 chap. 1: Return to England, 1969
More info.: https://russell-j.com/beginner/AB31-070.HTM
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Once a war starts, it never ends just in time. There is almost always excessive destruction.
When the war is over, many war crimes have been overlooked because the majority of the population supported the war, so it is better not to blame some leaders. In Japan, some former Class A war criminals were exonerated by the US Government and returned to politics.
By the way, there are some wording conventions that you should be aware of. One example is the use of the words ‘kokumin (people)’ and ‘kokka’ (nation). Quite often, the word ‘nation’ is used when the word ‘people’ should be used, or the word ‘people’ is used when the word ‘nation’ should be used, often blurring the focus of the issue. Politicians often make such misrepresentations. A large number of people becoming wealthy does not equal a prosperous state: an increase in GDP means that the state has become wealthier. However, if economic inequality and the gap between rich and poor widens, there will be a division among the population, resulting in a situation where the state is prospering but the population is not necessarily getting richer.
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