This week in the War, 27 April–3 May 1942: The Baedeker Blitz

Posted on May 1, 2014 by secondbysecond

All that remains of Saint Bartholomew's Church in Norwich after the Luftwaffe's 'Baedeker' raid of 27 April 1942 [Creative Commons Share Alike 3.0 Unported Author: Northmetpit]

All that remains of Saint Bartholomew’s Church in Norwich after the Luftwaffe’s ‘Baedeker’ raid of 27 April 1942 [Creative Commons Share Alike 3.0 Unported; Author: Northmetpit]

German publisher Karl Baedeker began producing travel guides in the 1820s and their scope and popularity continued to grow for well over a century.

After an air raid by the RAF destroyed much of the ancient city centre of the German town of Lubeck on the night of 28/29 March 1942, Hitler vowed vengeance.

The result, known as the Baedeker Blitz, was a series of revenge raids against British cities whose historical, cultural or architectural value merited at least three stars in Baedeker’s guide to Great Britain.

Baedeker's 1937 guide to Great Britain [Creative Commons Share Alike 2.5 Generic Author: User:Ww2censor]

Baedeker’s 1937 guide to Great Britain [Creative Commons Share Alike 2.5 Generic; Author: User:Ww2censor]

Norwich was bombed by the Luftwaffe, this week in the war, on 27 April 1942, and again on 29 April along with York.

Bath and Exeter and, later, Canterbury were all hit in the Luftwaffe’s Baedeker raids. Over 1,600 civilians died with a like number being injured.

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2 Responses to This week in the War, 27 April–3 May 1942: The Baedeker Blitz

  1. Mary Ann Clarke Scott says:
    May 2, 2014 at 3:08 pm

    I remember visiting Canterbury Cathedral on a school trip when I was 18, and being deeply moved by the bombed ruins and the memorial that post war students built. As a naive kid from Canada, this was my first physical, visceral experience of the war on the land and people. Until then it all had been very abstract. The memory has stayed with me.

    I’m also curious about York. What dates was it bombed and which buildings or monuments were damaged or destroyed, which gates of the wall, etc. Do you have those details?

    Thanks for your blog. I continue to enjoy it.

    • secondbysecond says:
      May 2, 2014 at 3:29 pm

      York was bombed in the early hours of the morning of 29 April 1942. The Guildhall was destroyed as were Saint Martin’s Church and the Rowntree chocolate factory. York Minster was untouched.

      Thanks for your continuing support of the blog.

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