Culture in Dresden Waurich"). Kurt Vonnegut's novel "Slaughterhouse-Five" describes the bombing of Dresden in February 1945 seen from a slaughterhouse near the old city of Dresden. Vonnegut was prisoner of war in Dresden during that event. Contemporary novelists who are active in Dresden include Uwe Tellkamp and Ingo Schulze. Both broach up the theme of "Mythos Dresden". Tellkamp is known for his novel "Der Turm" ("The Tower") plotting the life of an academic family in its educated social environment (ivory tower society) of Dresden in the last seven years of former East Germany. Dresden's heterogeneous cityspace strongly influences the lifestyle of the city.
Bombing of Dresden in World War II for they knew very little about Dresden; the RAF even lacked proper maps of the city. What they were looking for was a big built up area which they could burn, and that Dresden possessed in full measure." According to the historian [[Sönke Neitzel]], "it is difficult to find any evidence in German documents that the destruction of Dresden had any consequences worth mentioning on the Eastern Front. The industrial plants of Dresden played no significant role in German industry at this stage in the war". Wing Commander [[H. R. Allen]] said, "The final phase of Bomber Command's operations was