---
title: '1942: Britain Hits Back - 1,000-Bomber Raids on Cologne, Essen, Bremen'
url: https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/uk-1942-britain-hits-back-1000-bomber-raids-1942/
description: Three aerial photographs show a factory district of Cologne and the Koelnisch Gummifaden Fabrik at Deutz before and after the raid.
section: Collection
---

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3. 1942: Britain Hits Back - 1,000-Bomber Raids on Cologne, Essen, Bremen

[![1942: Britain Hits Back - 1,000-Bomber Raids on Cologne, Essen, Bremen, 1942 UK poster: Three aerial photographs show](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/uk-1942-britain-hits-back-1000-bomber-raids-1942.jpg)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/uk-1942-britain-hits-back-1000-bomber-raids-1942.jpg)

# 1942: Britain Hits Back - 1,000-Bomber Raids on Cologne, Essen, Bremen

Three aerial photographs show a factory district of Cologne and the Koelnisch Gummifaden Fabrik at Deutz before and after the raid, beside a quotation credited to Winston Churchill promising that German cities will face an ordeal 'the like of which has never been experienced by any country'. The tell is the attributed prime-ministerial promise (testimonial) and the one-sided tally of 250 factories damaged or destroyed, given without British losses or civilian casualties (card-stacking).

## Propaganda techniques used in this poster

[Testimonial](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/testimonial/) [Card stacking](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/card-stacking/)

## Text on the object

Original (English) · read from the image, not independently checked

```
"German cities will be subjected to an ordeal the like of which has never been experienced by any country" promises
WINSTON CHURCHILL

1942: BRITAIN HITS BACK
1,000-BOMBER RAIDS ON COLOGNE, ESSEN, BREMEN

ON MAY 30th, 1942, over 1,000 bombers raided Cologne in a concentrated attack lasting 90 minutes. Here is an aerial photograph of the devastation caused in the factory area of the city. At left: The Kölnisch Gummifaden Fabrik at Deutz, Cologne, before the raid. At right: The same factory after the raid. The main building has been entirely destroyed. Over 250 factories were damaged or destroyed in the raid.

[emblem:] THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN AUGUST-OCTOBER 1940 (1940 1942)
```

[← Tomorrow May Be Too Late!](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/tomorrow-may-be-too-late-kirby-army-1942/) [Accidents are Bottlenecks - Prevent Them →](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/uk-accidents-are-bottlenecks-1942/)

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