title: Lost Books of ‘Operation Gomorrah’: Rescue, Reconstruction, and Restitution at Hamburg’s Library in the Second World War
abstract: Luther comments on Galatians 5:13 that '[i]t is impossible for the people of Gomorrah to be ruled by the gospel of peace' .1 This sentiment appears to have been shared by the Allied commanders when they unleashed 'Operation Gomorrah' , at the time the most devastating aerial attack ever to be carried out against a city. Its target was the north German port city of Hamburg, and in military terms the raid must be judged a success. Hamburg was engulfed in a firestorm that raged for ten nights and n