Norwich - A Shattered City

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During two nights of intense bombing in April1942 Norwich suffered its worst ordeal of thewar as Hitler targeted the cathedral city fordestruction as part of his vengeance campaigndesigned to lay waste Britain's cultural centres.Known as the Baedeker raids, the Germanbombers tore the heart out of the city,turning the commercial centre to a near wasteland,and leaving entire streets in ruins.Yet, ironically, though there was heavy loss oflife, with over 200 deaths caused by these raidsalone, the majority of the city's most historicbuildings, including its Norman castle andcathedral, escaped the bombs and the fires thatravaged so many shops, factories and homes.The author has made much use of records inthe National Archives together with Mass-Observation diaries held at the University ofSussex to tell the full story of a ruthlessbombing campaign that continued into thesummer of 1942. His research, combined withvivid eyewitness accounts, offers a freshperspective on the raids as well as setting themin their proper historical context.