On February 3rd, 1945, 1,000 Allied bombers attacked Berlin, targeting the rail system. The attacks on Berlin had intensified around this time, as the Soviet army was approaching the German capital from the east and western Allied forces were providing air support.

A Historical Newspaper Perspective

"The British-based U.S. heavies, numbering more than 1,000, dumped approximately 3,000 tons of explosives and incendiaries on Berlin Saturday in the most concentrated raid ever carried out against the capital," reported The Sunday Messenger on February 4, 1945. "It was the first time in the war that no German planes interfered with Allied bombers over Berlin, but some groups of the American force ran into intense anti-aircraft fire and returning crews reported seeing several Fortresses shot down."

"A dispatch from Stockholm said thousands of refugees jammed into Berlin from the east were killed in the raid when they were unable to find shelter in the battered city." By the end, the raid had killed several thousand and made 120,000 homeless. The Soviet army would reach Berlin on April 20, beginning the Battle of Berlin.