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77-449: Solingen is called the "City of Blades", and has long been renowned for the manufacturing of fine swords, knives, scissors and razors made by firms such as WKC , DOVO, Wüsthof , Zwilling J. A. Henckels , Böker , Güde, Hubertus, Diefenthal, Puma, Clauberg/Klauberg, Eickhorn, Linder, Carl Schmidt Sohn, Dreiturm, Herder, Martor Safety Knives, Wolfertz, Ralf Aust and numerous other manufacturers. The medieval swordsmiths of Solingen designed

154-557: A military strategy is distinct both from close air support of ground forces and from tactical air power . During World War II, many military strategists of air power believed that air forces could win major victories by attacking industrial and political infrastructure , rather than purely military targets. Strategic bombing often involved bombing areas inhabited by civilians , and some campaigns were deliberately designed to target civilian populations in order to terrorize them and disrupt their usual activities. International law at

231-577: A trolleybus network, one of only three in Germany remaining besides Eberswalde and Esslingen am Neckar . The nearest airports are Düsseldorf Airport and Cologne Bonn Airport . Both airports can be reached by train from Solingen-Hauptbahnhof (change trains at Köln Messe/Deutz station for the S-Bahn 13 to Cologne Bonn Airport). Other easily reached airports are Frankfurt Airport ( ICE train stop ), Dortmund Airport (railway station " Holzwickede " on

308-605: A Northern Europe blacksmith centre. Swords from Solingen have turned up in places such as the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the British Isles. Northern Europe prized the quality of Solingen's manufactured weaponry, and they were traded across the European continent. Solingen today remains the knife-centre of Germany. It was a tiny village for centuries, but became a fortified town in the 15th century. After being ravaged by

385-473: A baseball and softball club from Solingen. The club was founded in 1991 and the first men's team was promoted to the first division of the Baseball Bundesliga for the 2003 season. It has played there in every season since, winning the league championship in 2006 and 2014. The club claims over 250 members. The Schachgesellschaft Solingen e.V. 1868 is best known for its chess team, which plays in

462-404: A conclusion that a grave threat to a moral order would justify the use of an indiscriminate force. Air Marshal Sir Robert Saundby concluded his analysis of the ethics of bombing by these words, A study of the ethics of bombing cannot fail to remind one that man is an illogical creature, still far more swayed by emotion than by calm reason. Man has wonderful powers of self-deception, and of

539-629: A council and a mayor since 1374, the year the town was granted its charter. The mayor changed annually on 24 June. Solingen has had a mayor since 1896. During the Nazi era (1933–1945), the mayor was appointed by the NSDAP and not democratically elected by the people of Solingen. After the Second World War, the military government of the British occupation zone appointed a Lord Mayor . From 1946,

616-465: A perfect geometric grid for calculations and measurements." In his book, Augen am Himmel ( Eyes on the Sky ), Wolfgang Schreyer wrote: Frampol was chosen as an experimental object, because test bombers, flying at low speed, weren't endangered by AA fire. Also, the centrally placed town hall was an ideal orientation point for the crews. We watched possibility of orientation after visible signs, and also

693-603: A post-war debate if it was moral. Three separate lines of ethical reasoning emerged. The first was based on the Just War theory and emphasized that noncombatants possess an inherent right to be spared from the harm of war and should not be intentionally targeted. Noncombatant immunity and proportionality in use of force were insisted upon. The second approach was grounded in the so-called "industrial web theory" that proposed to concentrate on destroying enemy military, industrial, and economic infrastructure instead of forces in

770-748: A representative of the entire Bergisches Land region. The team plays its home games at both Solingen's Klingenhalle (2,600 seats) and Wuppertal's Uni-Halle (3,200 seats). In May 1955, the city of Solingen took over the partnership of the German general cargo ship Solingen of the Hamburg-American Packet Transit Actien-Gesellschaft (Hapag) . Solingen is twinned with: Since 1990, Solingen also sponsors Złotoryja County in Poland. The founders of Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, which later became

847-518: A similar type of practice were not prosecuted. Chris Jochnick and Roger Normand in their article The Legitimation of Violence 1: A Critical History of the Laws of War explains that: "By leaving out morale bombing and other attacks on civilians unchallenged, the Tribunal conferred legal legitimacy on such practices." The concept of strategic bombing and its wide-scale implementation during WWII led to

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924-467: Is Bergischer HC , playing in the top-tier Handball-Bundesliga which they were promoted to for the second time in 2013, reaching 15th place in the 2013–14 campaign and therefore staying in the top flight for a second consecutive season. BHC originates from a 2006 cooperation between the SG Solingen and rivals LTV Wuppertal from the nearby city of the same name . The club advertises itself as

1001-526: Is 62 kilometres (39 mi) long, and the city's dimensions are 15.6 kilometres (9.7 mi) east to west and 11.7 kilometres (7.3 mi) north to south. The Wupper river , a right tributary of the Rhine , flows through the city for 26 kilometres (16 mi). The city's highest point at 276 metres (906 ft) is in the northern borough of Gräfrath at the Light Tower, previously the water tower , and

1078-595: Is classified as oceanic ( Köppen : Cfb ; Trewartha : Dolk ). The average annual temperature in Solingen is 9.1 °C (48.4 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,046.1 mm (41.19 in) with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 17.1 °C (62.8 °F), and lowest in January, at around 1.2 °C (34.2 °F). The Solingen weather station has recorded

1155-499: Is currently operated by RheinRuhrBahn, a subsidiary of Transdev Germany . The Rhein-Wupper-Bahn (RB 48) runs over the Gruiten–Köln-Deutz line to Bonn-Mehlem via Opladen and Cologne . It has been operated by National Express as of 13 December 2015. Starting 11 December 2022, an additional line RE47, running from Remscheid to Düsseldorf via Solingen has been established. This line is served by Regiobahn . Solingen has

1232-595: Is the chairman of the council, the head of the city administration and the first representative of the city. Since 1999, the Lord Mayor has been directly elected by the electorate in a secret ballot. The current mayor of Solingen is Tim Kurzbach of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: The Solingen city council governs

1309-518: The Luftwaffe confined attacks to purely military targets, the RAF should "launch an attack on the German fleet at Wilhelmshaven " and "attack warships at sea when found within range". The government communicated to their French allies the intention "not to initiate air action which might involve the risk of civilian casualties". While it was acknowledged bombing Germany would cause civilian casualties,

1386-754: The New Apostolic Church also have communities in Solingen. Most of the Turkish immigrants belong to the Muslim faith and they have several mosques/worship places in Solingen: The Solingen Paladins  [ de ] is an American football club which was founded in 2006. Until its bankruptcy in 1990, SG Union Solingen was the main club, playing at the Stadion am Hermann-Löns-Weg . The Solingen Alligators are

1463-625: The Nuremberg Trials , wrote that: If the first badly bombed cities — Warsaw , Rotterdam , Belgrade , and London — suffered at the hands of the Germans and not the Allies, nonetheless the ruins of German and Japanese cities were the results not of reprisal but of deliberate policy, and bore witness that aerial bombardment of cities and factories has become a recognized part of modern warfare as carried out by all nations. Article 25 of

1540-807: The Pacific War , the Japanese frequently bombed civilian populations as early as 1937–1938, such as in Shanghai and Chongqing . US air raids on Japan escalated from October 1944, culminating in widespread firebombing , and later in August 1945 with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki . The effectiveness of the strategic bombing campaigns is controversial. Although they did not produce decisive military victories in themselves, some argue that strategic bombing of non-military targets significantly reduced enemy industrial capacity and production, and

1617-580: The Prussian Rhine Province , 17 miles (27 km) by rail north of Cologne became part of Solingen. In World War II , the Old Town was completely destroyed by a bombing raid by the RAF in 1944; 1,800 people died and over 1,500 people were injured. As such, there are few pre-war sites in the centre. From 1945 to 1949 Solingen was part of the British occupation zone. Reconstruction of

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1694-472: The Schachbundesliga (Chess Bundesliga) , the top tier of the German chess league system, and is the most successful club in German chess history, having won a record 12 national titles (1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1980/81, 1986/87, 1987/88, 1996/97 and 2015/16), three national cups (1986, 2006 und 2009) and 2 European cups (1976 and 1990). In handball , Solingen's most successful team

1771-534: The plague with about 1,800 deaths in 1614–1619, Solingen was heavily fought over during the Thirty Years' War , repeatedly attacked and plundered, and the Burg Castle was destroyed. Early in the 20th century, Ohligs's chief manufactures were cutlery and hardware , and there were iron-foundries and flour mills . Other industries were brewing, dyeing, weaving and brick-making. In 1929, Ohligs located in

1848-577: The 1899 and 1907 Hague Conventions on Land Warfare also did not provide a clear guideline on the extent to which civilians may be spared; the same can be held for naval forces. Consequently, cyclical arguments, such as those advanced by Italian general and air power theorist Giulio Douhet , do not appear to violate any of the convention's provisions. Due to these reasons, the Allies at the Nuremberg and Tokyo Trials never criminalized aerial bombardment of non-combatant targets and Axis leaders who ordered

1925-523: The British government renounced deliberate bombing of civilian property, outside combat zones, as a military tactic. The British changed their policy on 15 May 1940, one day after the German bombing of Rotterdam, when the RAF was given permission to attack targets in the Ruhr Area , including oil plants and other civilian industrial targets which aided the German war effort, such as blast furnaces that at night were self-illuminating. The first RAF raid on

2002-718: The French Air attaché in Warsaw reported to Paris, "the German Air Force acted in accordance to the international laws of war [...] and bombed only targets of military nature. Therefore, there is no reason for French retorsions ." That day – the Jewish New Year – the Germans concentrated again on the Warsaw's Jewish population, bombing the Jewish quarter and targeting synagogues . According to professor Szarota

2079-525: The Jewish Quarter ablaze. On 22 September, Wolfram von Richthofen messaged, "Urgently request exploitation of last opportunity for large-scale experiment as devastation terror raid ... Every effort will be made to eradicate Warsaw completely". His request was rejected. However, Adolf Hitler issued an order to prevent civilians from leaving the city and to continue with the bombing, which he thought would encourage Polish surrender. On 14 September,

2156-833: The Luftwaffe began targeting British civilians in the Blitz . After the beginning of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, the Luftwaffe attacked Soviet cities and infrastructure . From February 1942 onward, the British bombing campaign against Germany became even less restricted and increasingly targeted industrial sites and civilian areas . When the United States began flying bombing missions against Germany, it reinforced British efforts. The Allies attacked oil installations , and controversial firebombings took place against Hamburg (1943), Dresden (1945), and other German cities. In

2233-623: The Polish Air Force. Polish Air Force bases across Poland were also subjected to Luftwaffe bombing from 1 September 1939. On 13 September, following orders of the ObdL to launch an attack on Warsaw's Jewish Quarter, justified as being for unspecified crimes committed against German soldiers but probably in response to a recent defeat by Polish ground troops, and intended as a terror attack, 183 bomber sorties were flown with 50:50 load of high explosive and incendiary bombs, reportedly set

2310-639: The RE7 trainline) and the low cost Weeze Airport (coaches from Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof). Solingen has belonged from its beginnings to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne ( Erzbistum Köln ), and more specifically to the Archdeaconry of the Probst ( provost ) of St. Kunibert , the deanery of Deutz. For reasons that are unclear, the city has long been associated with St. Clement,

2387-481: The Solingen City Council elected an honorary Lord Mayor and a full-time Lord Mayor from among its members. Until 1997, the honorary lord mayors had mainly representative functions, while the full-time lord mayors were the chief administrative officers of the city of Solingen. In 1997, the dual leadership of the city administration was abolished. Since then there has been only one full-time Lord Mayor. He

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2464-493: The absence of international law regarding aerial bombing in World War II. Most nations had refused to ratify such laws or agreements because of the vague or impractical wording in treaties such as the 1923 Hague Rules of Air Warfare. Also, the major powers' possession of newly developed advanced bombers was a great military advantage; they would be hard pressed to accept any negotiated limitations regarding this new weapon. In

2541-444: The absence of specific laws relating to aerial warfare, the belligerents' aerial forces at the start of World War II used the 1907 Hague Conventions — signed and ratified by most major powers — as the customary standard to govern their conduct in warfare, and these conventions were interpreted by both sides to allow the indiscriminate bombing of enemy cities throughout the war. General Telford Taylor , Chief Counsel for War Crimes at

2618-438: The advance of German ground forces through direct tactical and indirect air support with attacks against Polish mobilisation centres and thus delay an orderly Polish strategic concentration of forces and to deny mobility for Polish reinforcements through the destruction of strategic Polish rail routes. Preparations were made for a concentrated attack (Operation Wasserkante) by all bomber forces against targets in Warsaw. However,

2695-463: The automobile company Studebaker , trace their lineage to bladesmen from the region who emigrated to America in 1736. WKC Stahl- und Metallwarenfabrik WKC Stahl- und Metallwarenfabrik ("WKC Steel and Metalwork Factory"), formerly Weyersberg, Kirschbaum & Cie., is a German sword manufacturing company located in Solingen , North Rhine-Westphalia . The company was founded in 1883 with

2772-587: The beginning of the new millennium, the Klingenstadt has undergone a massive transformation as a result of urban development projects such as Regionale 2006 and City 2013. For example, the new Korkenzieherstrasse cycle path was created and the demolition of the Turmhotel and the former Karstadt Passage made it possible to build a new shopping centre on Neumarkt in Solingen-Mitte. After the closure of

2849-420: The bombing of Warsaw as within the agreement because it was supposedly a fortified city—Germany did not have a policy of targeting enemy civilians as part of their doctrine prior to World War II. The British Government's policy was formulated on 31 August 1939: if Germany initiated unrestricted air action, the RAF "should attack objectives vital to Germany's war effort, and in particular her oil resources". If

2926-622: The bombing. Due to prevailing strong winds they achieved poor accuracy, even causing some casualties to besieging German troops. The only Polish raid against a target in Germany was executed by PZL.23 Karaś light bombers against a factory in Ohlau . The Polish air force left Poland on 18 September 1939 due to the Soviet attack on 17 September 1939, and imminent capture of the Polish airstrips and aircraft stationed in eastern parts of Poland. There

3003-405: The boroughs' important administrative affairs. The five city boroughs: Ohligs/Aufderhöhe/Merscheid and Höhscheid/Burg are divided into sections ("Stadtteile") that were once separate towns and are still statistical and planning units but are no longer self-governing. The city further comprises many neighborhoods with their own names, although they often lack precise borders: Solingen's climate

3080-614: The buildings and the equipment so as to further grow the company. In 1995, André Willms, the current owner, joined the company. In November 2005 the Wilkinson Sword factory of London closed. In order to facilitate production of British ceremonial swords Wilkinson held a sealed bid for its assets. WKC participated and acquired the majority of Wilkinson's tools, spare parts and their roll forge. These items were transported to Germany and implemented in WKC's production process. This allowed

3157-463: The city alongside the mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: Solingen Hauptbahnhof is served by Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn line S1 from Düsseldorf and Düsseldorf Airport Station. S-Bahn line S7 links Solingen (including the station nearest the city centre, Solingen Mitte , and Solingen-Grünewald ) to Wuppertal via Remscheid , Remscheid-Lennep and Wuppertal-Ronsdorf . This line

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3234-475: The city could be legitimately attacked as it was a defended city in the front line that refused calls to surrender. The bombing of the rail network, crossroads, and troop concentrations played havoc on Polish mobilisation, while attacks upon civilian and military targets in towns and cities disrupted command and control by wrecking the antiquated Polish signal network. Over a period of a few days, Luftwaffe numerical and technological superiority took its toll on

3311-480: The city, instructing citizens to evacuate the city pending a possible bomber attack. On 25 September the Luftwaffe flew 1,150 sorties and dropped 560 tonnes of high explosive and 72 tonnes of incendiaries. (Overall, incendiaries made up only three percent of the total tonnage dropped.) To conserve the strength of the bomber units for the upcoming Western campaign, the modern He 111 bombers were replaced by Ju 52 transports using "worse than primitive methods" for

3388-561: The civilian population in an aerial bombardment campaign . As the war continued to expand, bombing by both the Axis and the Allies increased significantly. The Royal Air Force , in retaliation for Luftwaffe attacks on the UK which started on 16 October 1939, began bombing military targets in Germany, commencing with the Luftwaffe seaplane air base at Hörnum on the 19–20 March 1940. In September 1940

3465-1032: The company to produce a greater number of sword types and to supply more countries. WKC won the contract to produce the Model 2011 Swords for West Point Cadets at the United States Military Academy . In 2001 André Willms took over majority ownership of WKC from his father Ernst Joachim Willms. He is the current Managing Director of the company. Strategic bombing during World War II Britain: China: France: Netherlands: Poland: Soviet Union: United States: Yugoslavia: Germany: Japan: Italy: Hungary: Romania: Bulgaria : Thailand : Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups World War II (1939–1945) involved sustained strategic bombing of railways, harbours, cities, workers' and civilian housing, and industrial districts in enemy territory. Strategic bombing as

3542-402: The company was a target of Allied bombardment. These bombings resulted in almost all of the buildings and equipment owned by the company at the time being destroyed and so all operations there ceased. In 1955 the company again changed hands with Hans Kolping, a Solingen knife producer, buying the company. He restarted the company and produced swords, knives and pistols. Soon after he discontinued

3619-477: The construction of the Viehbachtalstraße motorway through the city in the late 1970s. In 1975, the city grew again with the incorporation of the previously independent town of Burg an der Wupper. In 1993, Solingen made international headlines for a right-wing extremist arson attack in which five Turkish girls and women were killed. The attack was followed by demonstrations and riots in the city. Since

3696-1038: The district synod of Lennep, today part of the city Remscheid . A new synod was established in Solingen in 1843, and the city acquired its own superintendent , a form of church administrator. This formed the basis for the present-day Church District of Solingen, a member of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland . With the exception of the free churches , most Protestant churches belong to the Church District of Solingen. Today approximately 34% of Solingen's population belongs to Protestant churches, and roughly 26% belong to Catholic churches. Other church communities in Solingen include Greek Orthodox , Evangelical Free (including Baptist and Brethren ), Methodist , Seventh-day Adventist , Pentecostal , Salvation Army , and free churches. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , Jehovah's Witnesses and

3773-565: The field as the fastest way to win the war. Proponents of this approach argued that civilian deaths inflicted by strategic bombing of the cities during the WWII were justified in the sense that they allowed to shorten the war and thus helped to avoid much more casualties. The third approach was demonstrated by Michael Walzer in his Just and Unjust Wars (1977). Walzer formulated the so-called "supreme emergency" thesis. While agreeing in general with prior Just War theoretical postulates, he came to

3850-528: The first military acts of World War II and the first major act of bombing, was carried out on a town that had little to no military value. Similarly, the bombing of Frampol has been described as an experiment to test the German tactics and weapons effectiveness. British historian Norman Davies writes in Europe at War 1939–1945: No Simple Victory : "Frampol was chosen partly because it was completely defenceless, and partly because its baroque street plan presented

3927-408: The following extreme values: Solingen was first mentioned in 1067 by a chronicler who called the area "Solonchon". Early variations of the name included "Solengen", "Solungen", and "Soleggen", although the modern name seems to have been in use since the late 14th and early 15th centuries. Blacksmiths' smelters, dating back over 2000 years, have been found around the town, adding to Solingen's fame as

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4004-563: The interior of Germany took place on the night of 15/16 May 1940 while the Battle of France was still continuing. During the German invasion of Poland, the Luftwaffe engaged in massive air raids against Polish cities, bombing civilian infrastructure such as hospitals and targeting fleeing refugees. Notably, the Luftwaffe bombed the Polish capital of Warsaw, and the small towns Wieluń and Frampol . The bombing of Wieluń , one of

4081-461: The lowest point at 53 metres (174 ft) is in the southwest. The following cities and communities share a border with Solingen, starting in the northeast and going clockwise around the city: Solingen currently consists of five Stadtbezirke, or boroughs . Each borough has a municipal council of either 13 or 15 representatives ( Bezirksvertreter ) elected every five years by the borough's population. The municipal councils are responsible for many of

4158-549: The major belligerents (Britain, France, Germany, and Poland) to confine their air raids to military targets, and "under no circumstances undertake bombardment from the air of civilian populations in unfortified cities". The British and French agreed to abide by the request, with the British reply undertaking to "confine bombardment to strictly military objectives upon the understanding that these same rules of warfare will be scrupulously observed by all their opponents". Germany also agreed to abide by Roosevelt's request and explained

4235-460: The merger of two major Solingen sword-making companies, Weyersberg and Kirschbaum. In 1900 the company was the largest in Solingen, employing around 1,200 workers. WKC uses traditional hand forging in their production process. The company supplies over 50 militaries, military academies and police forces worldwide with ceremonial swords. The company also makes Japanese Katanas using the traditional hand forging process. Weyersberg, Kirschbaum, and Cie.

4312-534: The newly defined Archdiocese of Cologne, to which the city's current parishes still belong. As mentioned, the Reformation only gradually gained a foothold in Solingen. A reformed church affiliated with the Bergisch synod was established in 1590, and the city's parish church became reformed in 1649. Lutherans had been present in Solingen since the beginning of the 17th century, and a Lutheran congregation

4389-409: The old central station in Solingen-Mitte, Ohligs station was officially named the new Solingen central station by Deutsche Bahn AG on 10 December 2006. On 23 August 2024, a mass stabbing occurred during a festival for the city's 650th founding anniversary. Solingen's population doubled between the years 1880 and 1890 due to the incorporation of the town of Dorp into Solingen in 1889, at which time

4466-540: The old town began in 1949. The newly built Protestant church in Fronhof was consecrated in 1954, and the destroyed towers of the Catholic church of St. Clemens were rebuilt in a different style. By the end of the 1970s, the city's population had increased due to numerous new housing developments in all parts of the city. The city's infrastructure continued to grow, with the opening of the theatre and concert hall in 1963 and

4543-533: The open to avoid such targeting), and indiscriminate attacks on fleeing civilians which according to Szarota was a direct violation of the Hague Convention . Warsaw was first attacked by German ground forces on 9 September and was put under siege on 13 September. German author Boog claims that with the arrival of German ground forces, the situation of Warsaw changed; under the Hague Convention,

4620-620: The operation was cancelled, according to Polish professor Tomasz Szarota due to bad weather conditions, while German author Horst Boog claims it was possibly due to Roosevelt's plea to avoid civilian casualties; according to Boog the bombing of military and industrial targets within the Warsaw residential area called Praga was prohibited. Polish reports from the beginning of September note strafing of civilians by German attacks and bombing of cemeteries and marked hospitals (marking of hospitals proved counterproductive as German aircraft began to specifically target them, until hospitals were moved into

4697-630: The outset of World War II did not specifically forbid the aerial bombardment of cities – despite the prior occurrence of such bombing during World War I (1914–1918), the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), and the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). Strategic bombing during World War II in Europe began on 1 September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland and the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) began bombing Polish cities and

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4774-403: The population reached 36,000. The population again received a large boost on 1 August 1929 through the incorporation of Ohligs, Wald, Höhscheid, and Gräfrath into the city limits. This brought the population above the 100,000 mark, which gave Solingen the distinction of being a "large city" ( Großstadt ). The number of inhabitants peaked in 1971 with 177,899 residents, and the 2006 population figure

4851-570: The production of pistols and concentrated on ceremonial sword production and so the company established its own blade etching plant. The company's first orders at this time came from the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps . On 1989 Hans Kolping died and left the company to his life partner, Margard Willms. Soon after the company changed ownership and Joachim Willms undertook large investments in

4928-405: The rapid pace of aviation technology created a belief that groups of bombers would be capable of devastating cities. For example, British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin warned in 1932, " The bomber will always get through ." When the war began on 1 September 1939 with Germany's invasion of Poland , Franklin D. Roosevelt , President of the armed neutralitarian United States, issued an appeal to

5005-538: The report was inaccurate – as its author Armengaud didn't know about the most barbaric bombings like those in Wieluń or Kamieniec, left Poland on 12 September, and was motivated by his personal political goal to avoid French involvement in the war, in addition the report published in 1948 rather than in 1939. Three days later, Warsaw was surrounded by the Wehrmacht , and hundreds of thousands of leaflets were dropped on

5082-406: The size of village, what guaranteed that bombs nevertheless fall down on Frampol. From one side it should make easier the note of probe, from second side it should confirm the efficiency of used bombs. The directives issued to the Luftwaffe for the Polish Campaign were to prevent the Polish Air Force from influencing the ground battles or attacking German territory. In addition, it was to support

5159-402: The sword making process. This was in accordance to the Division of Labor act devised by the Sword makers Guild of Soligen. Prior to the merger Fritz Weyersberg had purchased the patent for a blade roll forge invented in England. This machine allowed the sword manufacturing plant to significantly increase blade production. By 1900 WKC's production was such that it employed around 1,200 workers and

5236-431: The third Pope, symbols of whose martyrdom appear on the city’s shield. Although the Protestant Reformation gradually made gains in the city, which was under the control of the Counts of Berg , the population by and large remained Roman Catholic for a while. The Catholic community was newly endowed by the local lord in 1658 and in 1701 received a new church building. In 1827 Solingen became the seat of its own deanery within

5313-439: The town's coat of arms . In the late 17th century, a group of swordsmiths from Solingen broke their guild oaths by taking their sword-making secrets with them to Shotley Bridge , County Durham, in England. Solingen lies southwest of Wuppertal in the Bergisches Land . The city has an area of 89.45 square kilometres (34.54 sq mi), of which roughly 50% is used for agriculture, horticulture, or forestry. The city's border

5390-422: The uncritical suppression of unwelcome facts; he is still capable of believing what he wants to believe, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Indeed, there are none so blind as will not see, or so deaf as will not hear. It is, therefore, no doubt unrealistic to hope for the general acceptance of rational views about such an emotive subject as the ethics of air bombardment. Before World War II began,

5467-465: Was 163,263. The following chart shows the population figures within Solingen's city limits at the respective points in time. The figures are derived from census estimates or numbers provided by statistical offices or city agencies, with the exception of figures preceding 1843, which were gathered using inconsistent recording techniques. 30.9% of the population of Solingen has foreign roots (statistics 2012). The people of Solingen have been able to elect

5544-562: Was founded in 1635. In 1672 a formalized religious agreement was reached between the city's religious groups. The Reformation was also introduced in Gräfrath in 1590, where a church council was apparently established in 1629. The Reformed and Lutheran churches were formed into a united church community in 1838 following the general merger of Reformed and Lutheran churches in Prussia in 1817. The Protestant parishes originally belonged to

5621-404: Was founded in 1883 with the merger of two family-owned sword manufacturing and marketing companies in Solingen, Germany: Gebruder Weyersberg, founded by Wilhem, Peter and Johann Ludwig Weyersberg in 1787 and WR Kirschbaum & Cie, founded by Wilhem Reinhordt Kirschbaum. The newly founded company used traditional techniques for sword making and each of their then employees specialised in one task in

5698-544: Was no exception; even Pursuit Brigade , an organic part of the defences of the Polish capital, Warsaw , was transferred to Lublin , one week into the war. There happened also a non-planned single bombing of the Free City of Danzig . On 7 September, at about 11 PM, a Polish Lublin R.XIII G seaplane was flying over the city, on a mission to attack the German Schleswig-Holstein battleship . However,

5775-489: Was not updated before the outbreak of World War II. The absence of specific international humanitarian law did not mean aerial warfare was not covered under the laws of war , but rather that there was no general agreement of how to interpret those laws. This means that aerial bombardment of civilian areas in enemy territory by all major belligerents during World War II was not prohibited by positive or specific customary international humanitarian law. Many reasons exist for

5852-497: Was the largest company in Solingen. At this time the company not only produced swords but weapons, motorcycles and bike parts as well. In the year 1922, WKC was bought by the company "Siegen Solinger Gussstahlverein" who was a previous supplier of theirs. The company continued to flourish until the Great Depression . During this time like most companies in Germany, WKC suffered greatly and worsened as during World War II ,

5929-520: Was vindicated by the surrender of Japan . Estimates of the death toll from strategic bombing range from hundreds of thousands to over a million. Millions of civilians were made homeless, and many major cities were destroyed, especially in Europe and Asia. The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 , which address the codes of wartime conduct on land and at sea, were adopted before the rise of air power. Despite repeated diplomatic attempts to update international humanitarian law to include aerial warfare , it

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