25.8. 1944 Destructive bombing of Brno

Brno was bombed at the end of the Second World War. The industrial city became the target of Allied air raids.Thefirst one came on August 25, 1944, 200 people died.

The main target was the Lysen airplane engine factory. Due to the large dispersion, residential areas were also hit, resulting in 200 casualties. 312 bombers accompanied by 79 fighters took off from Italy.

"The American bombers' raid was intended to destroy the Flugmotorwerke Glö aircraft engine factory.ckner-Ostmark in Brno-Líšno, but also the Zbrojovka factory, the airport in Černovice and then the factory in Kuřim.However, the carpet raid also hit some adjacent residential buildings in the streets of those districts, especially in Juliánov, Židenice, Slatina, LíšCejl, killing a total of 200 people, 38 of whom have a memorial in the Židenice cemetery (Balbínova) near the entrance gate," says the Internet Encyclopaedia of Brno History.

But Brno's most terrible blow was yet to come, on 20 November. That was when 476 bombers headed for Silesia. However, due to poor visibility, a change was made and two of the three unions bombed Moravia. In three waves, about 1600 tons of bombs fell on Brno, hitting the whole centre and part of the suburbs. Six thousand inhabitants found themselves homeless. "The US officially apologised for this raid after the war," Milan and Roman Plch recall in their book The Secret Places of Nazism.

The third and again American air raid came on 19 December 1944 and caused less damage, with only nine bombs hitting the centre of Brno. But that was not all. Between April 8 and 26, during the liberation battles, the Soviet air force targeted the German-fortified city again. Dozens of deaths were caused by an air raid on the very first day.

"For the first time, sirens failed, so planes flew in completely unannounced and dropped small fragmentation bombs that did not cause major ...but they caused a great loss of life, especially in the parks where people were spending Sunday afternoons. Sabotage by German air defence was also considered," says the Internet Encyclopaedia of Brno History.

The next air raid took place four days later. The bombs hit the centre of Brno during full daylight hours. The buildings were only damaged, but the loss of life was considerable. In fact, one of the bombs hit a fully occupied tram in Joštova Street.

Sources:
Milan and Roman Plchovi, Secret Places of Nazism
Milan and Roman Plchovi, Where to Go for Military Monuments
https://encyklopedie.brna.cz/
www.brno.cz