Jus In Bello: Justice In World War II

There are three parts of a just war: justice before, during and after war. “Jus in bello is justice in war, referring to correct conduct in battle once the decision to go to war has been made, usually the concern of combatants, generals and soldiers” (Emba). Also, wars “cannot cause harm disproportionate to the amount of good it is expected to achieve”, to maintain the status of justice in war (Emba). In February of 1945 the Allies dropped firebombs on the city of Dresden, Germany. Dresden was filled with refugees seeking safety from other parts of the war. The bombing was particularly surprising because of the increased number of civilians targeted by the bombs. The conditions in Dresden also aided in the spread of the fires. “These uncontainable

The bombing of Dresden was necessary to end the war. The Germans were pushing ahead and the Allies needed a big victory to bring them closer to a final victory. “Allied forces said it was necessary if the war was to be brought to an end” (Connolly). On one hand, the Allies winning WWII would bring a greater good to the world than the bad brought by the bombing of Dresden. In addition, the Germans functioned like a well oiled machine. To achieve their goal of winning the war, the Allies needed something to stop or stall their machine. "A heavy flow of refugees from Berlin in the depth of winter coinciding with the trekking westwards of a population fleeing from Eastern Germany would be bound to create great confusion, interfere with the orderly movement of troops to the front, and hamper the German military and administrative machine” (Biddle). The chaos caused by the bombing and other movements in Germany caused such a disruption that the Germans were not as seamless as the had been. The interference with the German machine aided the Allies in winning the war. Since the result of the bombing was winning the war, it is possible to claim that if followed the rules of Jus in

According to Churchill, the purpose of the strike was to instill fear in the civilians of the Germans. “It seems to me that the moment has come when the question of bombing of German cities simply for the sake increasing the terror, though under other pretexts, should be reviewed” (Churchill). The Allies claimed the strike had other purposes, but it was largely just to inspire terror. In addition, the bombing was so terrible, caused terrible numbers of deaths and left the survivors scarred. An eyewitness recounted the events with horor, “We saw terrible things: cremated adults shrunk to the size of small children, pieces of arms and legs, dead people, whole families burnt to death, burning people ran to and fro, burnt coaches filled with civilian refugees, dead rescuers and soldiers, many were calling and looking for their children and families, and fire everywhere, everywhere fire, and all the time the hot wind of the firestorm threw people back into the burning houses they were trying to escape from” (Metzger). The murder was beyond the terms of Jus in bello. Further, international rules prohibit bombing for the purpose of terror. “One article prohibited bombing from the air "for the purpose of terrorizing the civilian population . . . or of injuring noncombatants. . . .” (Firestorms: Bombing Civilians WWII). Overall the horror caused by the bombing of Dresden