Hitler had already invaded Poland, Norway, and Denmark. He'd shown what he was capable of. You'd better thwart a snake before it strikes.
Also, Hitler had ordered the Luftwaffe to strafe French civilians fleeing the battle areas on foot on the roads. The purpose of this, according to the Nazis, was to create terror.
As for Dresden, it was a major rail center. The Red Army was about 120 miles to the East and advancing, and destroying the center of Dresden would prevent German troops from retreating through the city to avoid capture. Implying that the bombing ws a "war crime" is a myth made up by the neo-Nazis (in which category I place Robert White and TRH, BTW) in order to minimize the Holocaust by implying that our side did it too. According to a German commission early in this century, between 18,000 and 25,000 were killed and most of them were civilians. Was it justified?
That's like asking if Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justified. Maybe or maybe not. But one thing is certain. You can take a stroll along the quay at Pearl on a Sunday morning without being burned to death by Japanese airplanes, can't you.
