Operation Gomorrah, the bombing of Hamburg

British night raids and American daylight raids struck Hamburg for eight days and seven nights. On the night of 27–28 July a firestorm swept through the crowded working-class districts east of the centre, and an estimated 34,000 to 40,000 people died over the whole operation. About a million people fled the city. The ruined church of St Nicholas was kept as a memorial against war.