I never imagined that a nostalgic symbol of the holidays could have such a sinister connotation.
I first heard the term while talking to eyewitnesses in Schwarzenfeld. Hedy also referenced them in her stories of wartime Berlin. When a German in the 1940s mentioned “Christmas trees,” it had nothing to do with a bulb-laden Tannenbaum in a parlor.
Early in WWII, Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) suffered heavy losses when they bombed German cities during the day. By 1942, they changed tactics and began conducting their bombing raids at night. This presented an obvious challenge. How would the bombers manage to hit targets in the dark?
The RAF solved this problem with “pathfinders”—a small squadron of planes that flew minutes ahead of the bombers. The pathfinder units were manned by the most highly skilled pilots, bombardiers, and navigators. It was their job to map out precisely where the bombers would release their payload over the darkened landscape, and they marked lanes for the bomber pilots to follow by dropping target indicator flares. These flares were pyrotechnic candles, similar to fireworks, that glowed with sparks of white, green, or red, and the color apparently identified primary and secondary targets. This procedure reduced the amount of time that RAF planes spent over a heavily defended target zone, and thus it dramatically decreased the number of bombers lost to enemy fire.
To German civilians looking skyward, the target indicator flares looked like a beautiful and deadly swirl of sparks. They fanned out slowly as they fell. The resulting shape reminded them of a Christmas tree lit up in a darkened room. The sight sent a jolt of terror down their spines and made them bolt for an air raid shelter.
Why do I mention this now? It will be relevant in a couple days… particularly at the ungodly hour of 4AM.
(Giving credit where it’s due—I found the details on Christmas Trees on Reddit. The author of that article quoted this source: Sion, Edward M. Through Blue Skies to Hell: America’s “Bloody 100th” in the Air War over Germany. Philadelphia: Casemate Publishers, 2008. See the Imperial War Museum website for a historical photo of target indicator flares.)
Useful reminders
This post is part of a month-long series reflecting upon historical events that contributed to my debut historical fiction novel, The Sower of Black Field. Visit the “Latest News” area on my website for a recap »
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