Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Houlihan
Jim, just to play Devil's Advocate, I don't know if Rotterdam can really be classified as a "war crime." Everything I've read indicates that the mission was supposed to be called off, but that a communications error allowed it to proceed.
So, while it was no doubt a tragedy on multiple levels, the intent seems to be missing, which precludes criminal status. Definitely an error, and most probably an avoidable one, but not necessarily a war crime.
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General Schmidt had requested a delay, that is true. Why this delay was not carried out is, and will remain always a question as there is no documentation. One theory is a "simple" miscommunication. Another is that it was intentional (perhaps by Goering himself). In my opinion it falls into the category of "war crime" either way. If a man pulls a trigger and "recklessly" kills another man that is manslaughter, a fairly serious felony. This was reckless at the very least, and perhaps intentional.
Again, it's just an theory, but consider the later bombing of Belgrade (which was strictly to punish the civilian population -- in fact wasn't it code named "Operation Punishment"?), and the planned destruction of Paris and one sees a pattern that suggests that this may have been more sinister than a simple "miscommunication".