On July 29, 1943, after a bombing raid by the British Royal Air Force (RAF) on Cologne, Germany, an elderly German woman stood in shock in front of the bodies of schoolchildren.

     On July 29, 1943, following a bombing raid by the British Royal Air Force (RAF) on Cologne, Germany, an elderly German woman stood in shock before the bodies of schoolchildren. Cologne was one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany during World War II. The air raids resulted in a 93% reduction in the population, primarily due to evacuation, and approximately 80% of the historic city center, which had a thousand-year history, was destroyed.

   On the night of May 30–31, 1942, Cologne became the first target of a 1,000-bomber raid during World War II. Between 469 and 486 people (approximately 90% of whom were civilians) were killed, over 5,000 were injured, and more than 45,000 lost their homes. Following the air raids, it was estimated that 150,000 of Cologne's population of approximately 700,000 had left the city. The British Royal Air Force lost 43 of its 1,103 bombers. By the end of World War II, 90% of Cologne's buildings had been destroyed by Allied air raids.

       The German city of Cologne was subjected to 262 air raids by the Allied British Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. A total of 35,268 tons of bombs were dropped, resulting in the deaths of 20,000 civilians during the war. From winter to spring 1940, air raid sirens sounded whenever British bombers flew overhead, but the first bombing took place on May 12, 1940, and the first thousand-bomber raid on Cologne occurred from May 30 to 31, 1942.