Published in 1969 Kurt Vonnegut's novel follows Billy Pilgrim's time-travelling leaps and bounds. Captured by the Germans, Billy survives the firebombing of Dresden as a prisoner, mirroring Vonnegut's own experience.
In late December 2019 I walked around Dresden, mostly around the actual Slaughterhouse 5, now a convention and event center. Now protected, the original architecture is largely intact.
It was neither fun nor uplifting. In the four raids between 13 and 15 of February 1945, 722 heavy bombers of the British Royal Air Force and around 527 of the United Stated Army Air Forces dropped more than 3.900 tons of high-explosive bombs and incendiary devices on the city.
An estimated 22.700 to 25.000 people were killed, although larger figures have been claimed.
Large variations in the claimed death toll fueled controversy, as the German government conflated the figure to 200.000. City authorities, at the time, estimated up to 25.000 victims, a figure supported by subsequent investigations.
So it goes.